Thank you so much, Paladin Bailey, for your review. I'm sorry that Nate and Hancock's relationship isn't Brotherhood approved, but I felt it was right for his character, and it was a wake up call that Madelyn needed. It means the world to me that you left such a kind review, and it's really inspired me to better this work even more. I have been rereading and adjusting inconsistencies if I find them, and I hope that those reading bare with me as this is my first time publishing a FanFiction where people other than close friends can see it. Thank you again! The favorites and follows mean the world to me and are what will keep me writing! And I am thankful for the comments given, even if you don't enjoy every aspect of the story, I'm happy that you continue to read.
Ad Victoriam!
Nate opened his eyes. He was staring at a wall, a metal wall. It could have been anywhere in Sanctuary, but he knew that this particular wall was the one in his bedroom. He slowly lifted himself up, trying his best not to let his head spin.
"Hey there, sexy," Hancock hung his head upside down off the bed to look at him.
"God, what time is it?"
"Hmm, I think it's half passed I need a kiss," the ghoul smirked and Nate almost rolled his eyes.
"Get over here and help me up," he grunted, reaching up for a beam above his head to try to get his ass off the ground.
"Getting too old to drink like that," Hancock stated as he rolled off the bed. The General nodded his agreement, but he wasn't sure if John was referring to both of them or just Nate.
"I don't think I'm going to even look at alcohol at least for a month after that," the general wrapped his arm around the ghoul who straightened him up. "But, no, really, what time is it?"
Hancock nodded his head from side to side thinking. Hangovers had almost no effect on him, but that was probably because he was just constantly high and/or drunk. Once Nate had tried to get him to stop but the ghoul expressed his concern that the cumulative hangover may just kill him. "I'd say just passed noon," he settled his black eyes on Nate as he rested a hand on his chest. Last night Nate had changed into some more comfortable clothing, a flannel and jeans. It was nice to wear something that wasn't armored for a little while.
"Should find Maddy, she's probably pissed that we left her alone," he frowned, disappointed with himself.
"I saw her and the MacCready boys leave the settlement, out the north gate," Hancock shifted his weight.
"Where would they be going?"
"I'm not sure, but MacCready goes out there with Duncan a lot, I just assumed they went fishing or something." The ghoul's fingers slipped between the buttons of Nate's flannel. "Think we can screw around a little?"
"Not right now," he sighed and kissed the ghoul's wrinkled forehead. "Tonight, and then tomorrow we'll head out again, I want to find out what happened to those settlers at Hangman's Ally."
The ghoul frowned a little but nodded. "It's like out honeymoon's ended or something, we just fuck less and less nowadays."
Nate smirked. "I don't love you any less."
"Yeah, yeah, I love you too, come on, we need to go get our little girl," he grabbed his hat and put it on. Hancock almost never changed out of his Mayoral duds, and today was no exception.
Nate's little house was a metal shack of sorts, with a kitchen, living room, bedroom, a balcony off the bedroom, and a staircase off the back door leading into the backyard. The front door was facing the large tree in the cul-de-sac. They had cleared away the two ruined houses but the foundations were strong, so Nate took the one that had the better view over the walls of Sanctuary, but that was back when the walls were just wooden slabs put up by him and Sturges, now he could barely see over the concrete structures. They'd done so much in a year….
His bedroom was just wide enough for two beds pushed together and a nightstand between them and the wall on the left side. The right side had the doorway leading into the living room. He'd spent a lot of time on the balcony, building it out with wood and set up a sitting area. He even had an area where Hancock and he could have breakfast outside under a canopy. The living room wasn't large, it was probably smaller than the one he'd had in his other house, but it did its job, with two modern, blue couches, and a single chair lined up so they faced a table with a radio on it. The kitchen was just to the right of the front door upon entry, but it was blocked from the living room by the walls of the bedroom. He didn't like the kitchen out of sight like that, but the house had sort of been just thrown up, so he didn't complain too much. Besides, he didn't really spend too much of his time here.
On their way out Nate grabbed the box of Sugar Bombs they had almost finished. Popping them into his mouth like popcorn, he thought about the events of last night. He had left Madelyn on her birthday with a bunch of strangers. What an idiot. She didn't know anyone here and he expected her to just have fun? And where the hell had she slept? He should have offered his bed to her and had him and Hancock sleep on their couches so she didn't have to sleep in the bunkhouse.
Hancock grabbed a handful of cereal and shoved the mass of it into his mouth without spilling any bombs. When he grinned at Nate he showed the puffs between his teeth and tucked into his teeth and the General felt a little better. Madelyn was a strong kid, she could handle herself. He just wished he could remember more of last night.
Nate and Hancock left the shack as they ate. They got waves and small talk from the settlers as they headed toward the north gate. Much of Sanctuary seemed to be asleep or hung over. "You think they're still out there?"
"Probably," Hancock shrugged.
The guard pushed the gate open for them, and then pulled it back when they were through it. "Now what?"
"I don't know, Natie, can't you do some, like, tracking or somethin'?" the ghoul waved at the ground helplessly, but they heard a yell from down stream. "That sounded like–"
"Maddy!" Nate was off at a full speed.
"Shit…" Hancock followed trying to keep up with the bigger man.
The Sentinel was able to jump from either side of the stream back and forth as each side held obstacles that would slow him down. Then he came to a body with a head smashed in by a rock. His pale blue eyes widened in horror as he knelt down next to it to check the body. It was a man, a raider by his wares.
Hancock stepped up and wrinkled the bridge of his nose. "Damn, who do you think did that?"
"I don't know," Nate looked around and then saw a building up the slope from them. There was a familiar duster bent over a task with its back toward Nate. He climbed up the hill as quickly as he could manage and stopped at the bottom of the stairs when he saw MacCready kneeling in front of Madelyn whose face was twisted in pain. The squire's shirt had been taken halfway off and it left her in a little green tank top that hung on her loosely.
"I should have been here to protect you," R.J. was saying, looking at her arm and moving it around slowly.
"You couldn't have known he would show up," Madelyn protested his words and then opened her eyes. They flickered over to Nate and she looked concerned. "I was hoping you wouldn't see me till I had an explanation," she frowned.
Nate entered the little shack and MacCready moved out of the way so that he could take his place looking at her wounds. "Are you okay? What happened? I saw that raider…"
"Well, that asshole thought I'd be an easy target or something, I don't know if he knew I was here or if he waited for MacCready to leave, but he," she waved a hand as if trying to look like she wasn't bothered by it, "Came in here and I just… reacted. We tumbled down the hill and…." But now her eyes were getting wet. She was finally taking in what had happened. "I, uh, killed him, he almost had me a couple times, so that made it easier. I told him to leave, or I'd do it." She sniffed, her nose thick with mucus. "He said I had a pretty face and he was going to fuck it after he killed me for my Brothers to find," and at that point the tears spilled over her eyes. They streamed down her face, making trails in the light dusting of dirt that everyone in the wasteland had on their face.
"Oh, Maddy," Nate wrapped his arms around her. "You did a great job, sweetheart," he whispered into her hair as she squeezed him tightly, her face in his shoulder. "He couldn't have won. He never stood a chance against you." He stroked her hair and tried to slow his own breathing. He wished that he could have been the one to kill the raider, but he knew that it had to be her she couldn't always be saved; especially as a Brotherhood soldier.
Hancock's hand rested on Nate's shoulder and he looked up to see he was brushing her hair out of her face. "Damn, Maddy, when I was your age I couldn't even throw a punch without breaking a finger, or my whole hand." He smiled at her, showing how proud he was. "You defended yourself without any weapon but your surroundings, do you understand how outrageously badass that is? I don't think I could have done it," he pointed a thumb to Nate. "You get it from him."
She let out a huff and raised an eyebrow at him. "Hancock, you know you guys aren't my real parents, right?" she asked, using her sleeve to wipe her nose and cheek.
"What?" Hancock looked surprised, his black eyes flickering to Nate and then back to her. "But I remember, I was there, I carried you for nine months, Maddy!" the ghoul played hysteria for a moment and Madelyn's face lightened up. She smiled, giggles bubbling up out of her.
Nate squeezed her and kissed her hair. She continued to hold onto him, her arms unable to wrap around his whole chest. "Come on, we'll get you back to Sanctuary and get you fixed up."
"Okay," she whispered and stood up.
Nate stood back, watching as the doctor treated Madelyn. Someone leaned against the wall next to him. When Nate glanced over at him he smiled a little. "Hey there, Nick." But the synth didn't smile, in fact, he looked upset. Like, pissed upset.
"Nate."
"What is it?"
"That girl's distracted you from someone," the synth's yellow eyes avoided his partner, disappointment obvious on his face.
"Oh, God," Nate breathed, the weight of guilt suddenly making his chest feel like he'd just been hit by a car.
"Yeah, you might want to talk to your son, he hasn't seen you in months." The detective's arms were folded over his chest and he refused to meet Nate's stare.
"I've just–"
"Been busy, yeah, with another kid, and your son doesn't understand why his own father doesn't want to spend time with him." The synth pushed away from the wall. "I know… I know he's not… the real Shaun, Nate," the synth finally looked at him. "You killed your real son, but this synth, this boy, believes he is your Shaun, and he's been acting out because he thinks you don't care about him. And I tried to explain you have so many duties, and he understood for a little while, but then you show up with this girl that you treat like your own kid? He can tell you care about her differently than you do him."
"Nick, I–"
"Just… go, talk to your son."
Nate nodded and left the synth to find Shaun. The boy was sitting in Nate's old house in the room that had been his nursery. Nate remembered the day the bombs fell. He'd looked so different back then, shorter hair, cleaner shave, smoother skin even, and of course less of a tan, but he'd come into this room right before the bombs had fallen…
"Mister Nate, Shaun has been changed, but he absolutely refuses to calm down. I think he needs some of that 'paternal affection' you seem to be so good at," Codsworth floated into the room and informed Nate and Nora. Then he drifted into the kitchen, around the bar and began to clean up after Nora, who had left the butter and jelly out from when she'd made him toast while the Mr. Handy left to clean up Shaun.
Nora gave a little laugh and leaned away where she'd been whispering in Nate's ear about that night's events and how she would wear her red dress to torture him until they got home. "You heard Codsworth. Go on. I'll be there in a moment." He got up and handed her his bowl of cereal, watching her as she ate her toast in a far more sexual way than was called for. He shook his head on his way to the nursery, coming up to the crib and peered down at his son. Upon seeing him, the baby's cries stopped and he smiled, reaching up for his daddy. The room was fairly plain for how much work went into it, but most of the work had been removing all the things that Nate's parents had added to the room. None of it was any good, and the things that Nora's parents gave them were brand new. A nice brown dresser, a red chair to match the couch and arm chair in the living room, a rocket ship rug that went with the wallpaper Nate had spent hours putting up because he didn't want to read the instructions and they hadn't gotten Codsworth yet.
Nate hated to admit it, but he liked Nora's parents more than his, which was odd since they didn't particularly care for him. He was twelve years older than their daughter, and he wasn't exactly the most traditional husband, but Nora loved him, and that was enough for him. He wanted to make them happy, though, and so he went out of his way to show that he was looking to be more than their son-in-law, and wanted to actually be their son.
"Hey there, little guy, I'm not far," Nate leaned into the blue crib, tickling his fingers over Shaun's chest, making happy noises to encourage laughter from the baby boy. Even though he was wrapped up, he kicked his legs to show his happiness. Nate loved to watch him smile, grabbing at the cloth where his feet were hiding. If he wasn't wrapped up he would suck on his toes, which Nora disapproved of, but Nate thought it was the funniest thing.
"How are the two most important men in my life doing?" Nora asked as she came up to the foot of the crib. Good thing he hadn't freed their son from his swaddling binds. "Hey, how's my little guy? Much better now, huh?" She reached in, tickling his feet through the cloth. "Mom just called, said they would be here in an hour, traffic in Lexington is crazy."
"Okay, so maybe we go to the park after they get here? And spend the hour we have getting Shaun a costume we actually like?" he gave her a smirk and she smiled back, laughing a little.
"Sounds like a plan."
"Sir? Mum? You should come and see this!" Codsworth's voice depicted a sort of stress that Nate had only heard the one time the robot had knocked hot coffee onto their brand new white rug. Codsworth had felt absolutely horrible, but Nora had hated the white nuisance and took that chance to buy a brown one with red and pale circles dotting it. She said it really brought together the living room.
Nora's face twisted immediately into confusion, "Codsworth? What's wrong?" She reached into the crib and grabbed Shaun as Nate jogged into the living room.
"… followed by… yes, followed by flashes. Blinding flashes. Sounds of explosions…. We're… we're trying to get confirmation…" the news anchor was visually upset, rubbing his forehead and running his hands through his hair. Nate and Nora had made jokes about how that man would never let his hair get messed up, but now he was running his fingers through it so many times no comb could fix it. Nate stood behind the couch, having to use the low back for support. What was happening? It couldn't be what he thought it was, not right after he finally accepted Vault-Tec's offer into a Vault; that was too… too perfect of timing.
"What?" Nora's voice showed her fear.
"But we have lost contact with our affiliate stations... We do have… coming in… confirmed repots, I repeat, confirmed repots of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania. My God…" and the news anchor was gone, lost with the signal. A siren blared outside pulling Nate back from where his mind has drifted off to in this moment of distress. It was exactly what he thought it was, and now he had to get his family to the Vault before a bomb killed them all.
Should they pack anything? The house was probably going to destroyed, and looted if nothing else. Nate felt a pain in his chest, he turned around, looking at his family. "Just a moment."
He ran into the bedroom, hitting the walls every time he made a turn because of his speed and weight. Nate was one of the biggest guys in his unit. It was something that sometimes got annoying, but Nora had always made him feel better about it because she told him how sexy it made him. Since getting married and having Shaun, Nate had been out of the army, and that meant that he wasn't working out as often, so he'd grown soft, and his agility had suffered, but he was strong, and he was fast.
Nate didn't know what to expect in the Vault, but he didn't think that he should bring much with him. He grabbed a duffle bag and threw it on the bed, opening it to look inside. The bedroom was the larger of the two, the nursery across the hall only about ten square feet smaller. It was built in the corner of the house, giving them two windows next to each other showing the street in front of the house. It now flooded with people, pouring out of the homes and from army vehicles pulling up.
The duffle bag had been pre-packed, per Nate's military readiness training. It had a couple stimpaks, cans of food that would stay preserved for a couple centuries, and his trusty laser rifle. The weapon that had been presented to him upon his discharge. It was his own make, and he'd went through most of his service carrying it around. There were some other things in the bag, matches and the like, but he had taken account for what mattered. Then he pushed the bed out of the way, exposing a safe built into the floor where the headboard had been able to hide it perfectly.
"Nate?" Nora's voice came from the living room, she was on the edge of tears. He hated himself for putting her through this stress, but he had to make sure he was prepared incase they left the Vault and didn't have anything.
"Just a second, love," he called back, trying to keep his voice level. 44-56-77 he spun the dial and listened as it clicked. His, Nora's, and Shaun's birth years. Then he pulled it open, money, documents, and jewelry were neatly stacked in the safe. He frowned, pulling out his stimpaks and food, dumping it into the safe. The rifle wasn't going to fit, he had to think of something else. If only it were a pistol, he thought and closed the safe, locking it. "Codsworth!" he called, and the robot appeared. "I need you to saw a hole in the wall, here, behind the dresser, long enough for my rifle," he pointed to the spot and pushed the dresser out of the way. "Now!"
"Sir…" the robot looked very uncomfortable as he started his buzz saw and tore into the wallpaper and drywall. Nate covered his mouth and watched as people outside ran for the Vault. He hoped there was time, and he hoped this was worth it. "May I ask why you're hiding the laser rifle?" Codsworth asked as he moved so that Nate could place the rifle in the wall, then he put the drywall piece back in place, and pushed the dresser back.
"I might need it in the future," he said simply, and then ran out into the living room, "We need to get to the Vault. Now!"
"I've got Shaun, let's go!" Nora was obviously relieved now that they were moving. Codsworth moved out of the way, ending up in the corner, but Nate didn't look at him, Nate didn't even think about the robot, only getting out of the house and up to the Vault.
"Residents of Sanctuary Hills, if you are registered, evacuate to Vault 111 immediately!"
Shaun sat in the red armchair that Nate had pushed to face the destroyed crib when he'd first come out of the vault and was too in grief to even move. The boy's head tilted slightly, he knew that Nate was there, but acted like he didn't. A normal ten-year-old boy wouldn't have been able to hear him approach. This thought made Nate frown. He didn't want to think like that, but it was the little things that reminded Nate that his son wasn't really his son.
"Shaun?"
"Yeah?" The boy didn't look at him. Nate didn't know what to say, so he just stood in the doorway. "Why don't I remember anything about this house?" Shaun asked suddenly. Nate's brows lifted and the boy turned to look over his shoulder at him. "This house doesn't even feel familiar…"
"It's really complicated, Shaun," Nate whispered and came forward to kneel beside him. "You were… not even a year old when you lived here, before we went to the Vault and then the Institute stole you from me," he rested his hand on the boy's black haired head.
Shaun leaned out of the touch and Nate frowned. "You treat me different than that girl. She was here, looking around. I made her go away."
"Madelyn came in here?" he asked. "What did you say to her?"
"I told her she wasn't supposed to be here. You don't let anyone in here," Shaun looked at him. The synth was so close to accurate, it tricked him sometimes, but right now, he could see it in his eyes. Shaun had Nora's eyes, and he knew that because even grown up Shaun had the same eyes, but this Shaun was wrong. His eyes were dull.
"Were you nice to her?"
"No," he turned away from Nate then, glaring at the crib.
"Why weren't you nice?"
"She's stealing you from me," the boy said without looking away from the crib, his arms folding over his chest.
"No she's not, Shaun…."
"She is!" the boy snapped at him then. "I saw it! You always talk to her, or about her! Even John loves her more!" he was shouting, and tears were filling his eyes and spilling onto his cheeks. "I'm your son! And you don't even remember me!"
"I never forget you, Shaun," Nate reached for the boy. At first Shaun pulled away, but Nate moved around the chair and wrapped his arms around him tightly, holding him against his thick chest. The boy settled down a little.
"Do you love me? Dad?" he sniffled.
Now Nate's eyes burned. "Of course, Shaun, I'm so sorry I make you feel like I don't. I do love you, Shaun." The man rested his chin on Shaun's head, tears running down his cheeks into his boy's hair.
"Are you crying, dad?" Shaun moved his head, trying to look up at him, but Nate shook his head and kept the boy from being able to look at him.
"As soon as I find out what happened to the settlers who went missing I will retire as general, and I'll stay home with you, and we can make trips to Goodneighbor as a family with John…" Nate pulled away to look at his son. "I'm sorry, Shaun. I've been the worst father to you…."
"It's okay, dad," Shaun reached up and wiped away the tears wetting Nate's beard. "I can wait until you retire."
"You shouldn't have to," the Sentinel frowned at his boy. He had a responsibility to this son. Sure, his real Shaun had sort of forced this synthetic version of him onto Nate, but he'd done it for Nate, so that he could be a father.
"Will that girl be my new sister?" Shaun asked then.
Nate smiled a little. "Her name is Madelyn, Shaun, and sort of. I have to take care of her, like I take care of you. So she is kind of like a daughter to me."
"I should say sorry to her," he frowned, and Nate nodded his agreement.
"Yeah, we don't want her thinking you hate her…."
"Okay, I'll wait a little while. I'm still mad at her," the boy sat back in the chair. "I learned you're older than Nick," Shaun said suddenly, changing the subject to something happier.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Yeah, he was only twenty-nine when the bombs fell," Shaun explained and Nate smiled at his boy.
Nate grabbed the pillow from the top of the bed and smiled. Hancock rolled his eyes. "You like this face-to-face stuff, don't you?" the ghoul's rough voice showed his amusement.
"I get off faster when seeing your face," he explained. "We don't have all the time in the world tonight, I want to head out pretty early."
"Oh, just a quickie? That's all I'm good for?" Hancock looked away dramatically, the back of his fingers pressed to his lips. Nate bent over him and wrapped an arm around his waist to lift the ghoul's bum off the mattress and put the pillow under him. "Jesus you're so fucking strong," he growled, his eyes flickering up to Nate. Smiling widely, Nate wet his palm and massaged his length. Then he collected a pool of saliva in his fingers and gently caressed the ghoul's tight hole.
"It's been a while since we've done this," Nate whispered to himself, his eyes rolling over the ghoul from face to ass. John's legs were wide, open for Nate to take him. The general moved forward and rubbed his head around the slick entrance. When he thought John was ready he started to move his hips in a gentle rock, pressing against the ghoul's hole.
"Fuck, this is always the hardest part," John breathed, his eyes closed in concentration. "Force yourself to relax," he coached himself and then gritted his teeth in an almost laugh. Nate pushed his head in then, and stopped when he felt the ghoul clamp around him. "Fuck you and your fat cock," the ghoul moaned and Nate smiled, leaning down over him with a smile.
"Thought you loved my fat cock," he asked, his face an inch away from the glaring ghoul.
"Shut up and fuck me, Nate," John growled, his arms wrapping around his lover's neck to draw him into lusting kiss. Nate's hips moved slowly at first, and then picked up. John moaned against his lips, arching his back and dragging his nails down Nate's shoulders. Nate pulled away from the ghoul's kiss so that he could dampen his palm with a wet lick, then he grabbed John's dick and stroked the length of it. "Damn it, how the hell do you do this to me?"
"I just know how to love you, John." Nate supported his weight with his strong arm next to the ghoul's head, so that he could hold his face over his and continue to message his cock. John flexed around him, tightening as Nate pushed into him and relaxed when he pulled out. "Oh, John," he breathed, surprised.
"Yeah, got my own tricks," the ghoul grunted and gritted his teeth as Nate picked up the pace. The sound of skin slapping together was almost enough to be heart over the radio floating in from the living room. John's fingers drug down his shoulders and then grabbed the back of Nate's neck to pull him into another kiss.
The beds they were on were strong, but they hammered against the wall with the force Nate had. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, yes, fuck, Nate, fuck," John grunted with each of his thrusts. Now he was tight around him, and it felt so good, Nate had to close his eyes in pleasure. His hand around John's cock moved to message his balls and Nate felt them tighten.
"Ah, fuck, John…." Nate exploded inside the ghoul, trusting as deep as he could, finishing in a pulse of come filling his lover to the point he felt it leaking out.
Hancock also finished, having felt Nate's throbbing length inside him pushed him over the edge. John finished in the space between them, getting his sticky come all over both of their stomachs and onto his own chest. Nate smiled at him, triumphantly. "Oh, damn it, was hoping I could hold that off and give you shit for it later…"
"I always finish you off, don't I?" Nate asked, his mouth moving down the ghoul's neck and onto his chest. He licked up the salty liquid. "Damn, you taste pretty good this time," he commented. As he moved lower and lower, he felt himself soften and fall out of John.
"I ate a salad for lunch," the ghoul shrugged and watched Nate lick his uneven skin. "It's not fair how sexy you are. How can you even look at me?"
Surprised, Nate looked up, his mouth had almost made it to John's shrinking head. "What?"
"You can have… anyone, Nate," John frowned, looking at the ceiling now. "Anyone; women, men, others, they would trip over themselves for you. I know so many of them are better than me."
"John," Nate moved off of the man and lay beside him. After the ghoul finally looked at him Nate saw the pain in his eyes, he was genuinely worried. "I love you, John, I don't understand where this is coming from."
"You're human, how can you… look at me and not wish I was?" he looked down at himself. "My skin is… disgusting. You can't tell me you don't wish it was smooth," he looked at Nate then.
"It never occurred to me, John," he ran a hand over the ghoul's chest. His fingers dipped and bobbed over the wrinkled skin. "This is you, this is the only you I've known. And I love you, John."
"Don't you miss Nora? How she felt to you?"
Nate felt a pain in his chest. "I miss her, but… it's not as bad anymore, and I don't even…" he closed his eyes. "I don't really think about her anymore. Sometimes something will remind me of her, but it's not like it was before. You're my everything, John," he touched the ghoul's face, meeting his stare. "You, John McDonough, are everything to me."
The ghoul's face twisted, his eyes soft like a puppy's and his lips pursed in a shaking frown. "Damn it, you…" John wrapped his arms around Nate and held him. The Sentinel held him, giving the side of his baldhead kisses.
"Don't question my love for you, please," Nate whispered in his ear. "Not unless you think I'm mistreating you."
"I don't think you can mistreat anyone, you big, fucking teddy bear."
"I'm your fucking teddy bear."
"And its amazing fucking."
They laughed and relaxed for a moment holding each other before Nate kissed the man's forehead and rolled out of the bed, "I told Shaun he could sleep with us tonight, so we need to get dressed for bed."
"Okay, but he's sleeping on your side, my springs are already shot."
"Well, if you wouldn't have pushed me down…"
"You fucking loved that, don't even blame me," the ghoul pointed a finger at him.
Nate rolled his eyes playfully and grabbed a pair of shorts and slipped them on. Hancock got up and joined Nate on his side of the bed where a dresser had been shoved into the corner. After a few minutes of shuffling through the clothes Hancock picked up a bright pair of yellow shorts and looked back at Nate, curiosity and amusement painted his face.
"Don't…." He waved a hand at him and looked away from the ghoul going into the living room to turn down the radio. Shaun was playing in the backyard just down the hill with Dogmeat. When Nate poked his head out he saw the boy throw a baseball and the dog leap high into the air to catch it. "Shaun! Time for bed," he called and the boy smiled at him, grabbing Dogmeat by the bandana.
"Okay, dad, be right there."
Nate watched Shaun wrestle the ball out of the dog's mouth before turning to head into his kitchen and grab a drink before heading back to his bedroom. "Do you want anything, John?"
"Nah, I'll just sip off whatever you have."
A gentle knock on the door stopped Nate from grabbing a water can from the cooler. He turned around and opened the door seeing Mama Murphy. "Oh, Mama, how are you? Come on in," Nate stepped aside and she smiled.
"Oh, Nate, always so polite." She shuffled in and looked around with her hazy blue eyes. "Your boys here?"
"Hancock's in the bedroom and Shaun's playing with Dogmeat in the yard, but he should be here in a second," Nate explained. "Did you want something to drink?"
"You got any wine, kid?"
"Of course," Nate grabbed a water can while she sat down on the couch across from the radio. He then looked for the wine to pour her a cup, he was happy he'd picked up the one nice glass he'd found in Vault 111. "What brings you over, Mama?"
"Just wanted to see you, you have been so busy, kid, and I heard you'll be leaving in the morning, probably before I'm gonna wake up." She sighed and relaxed in the couch.
"That Mama?" Hancock smiled, coming into the living room.
"Who else would it be? Not many old folk around here," she smiled at the ghoul.
"Oh, stop, you got nothing on me," he sat down next to her. John had thrown on one of Nate's shirts, which swallowed him, and made him look far smaller than he was.
"Shush, you," she waved a hand at Hancock who smirked.
"Here you go, Mama," Nate handed her the cup and she smiled her thanks before tipping back a sip. "I'm sorry we haven't talked yet, I know I said hi at the party, but I should have spent more time with you."
"It's fine, Nate, stop worrying about me. I had a nice time talking to Madelyn. She's a sweet kid, but she's got so much going on…" she frowned then and her eyes looked far away.
"What do you mean?" John's gruff voice showed his concern.
"It's nothing for you to worry about, she has to deal with it herself." The old woman waved a hand at them and then smiled. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about."
"What is it?" Nate sat down in the single chair and opening the water can, taking a sip of it while Mama spoke.
"Freedom is expecting puppies," she said, and Nate raised an eyebrow. That was her big important news? "Dogmeat's gonna be a daddy," she smiled and Hancock laughed.
"That dirty dog," he smirked and Nate handed him the water.
"That really what you wanted me to come all the way home for?"
"No, I wanted you to spend some time with your family," she frowned just a little. "I know you're important, Nate, but you can't go off and forget ya family all the time. You get lost in your work, and… it hurts us here." Nate felt her words strike him in the heart.
"I told Shaun after I find out what happened to the settlers at Hangman's Ally I'm going to retire. I'll be here 24/7 then, and you'll get sick of me." The man smile and Mama laughed a little.
"I don't think anyone can get tired of ya, kid."
"Dad?" Shaun came in and looked around. Dogmeat shoved passed him and sat at Nate's feet for a moment, so happy he looked to be dancing on his bum.
"Come in, Shaun," Nate lifted an arm for the boy to come to him and sit in his lap. He had missed the whole development of his son between one and ten, and now it felt strange, even after a year, to hold such a large boy.
Mama looked between the boys happily. "What an amazing family you have here, Nate. Hold onto it, kid."
"I will," Nate promised and Mama nodded knowingly as she sipped on her wine.