Chapter Six: There's More to Life Than Rescuing Settlements, Preston Garvey

Author's Note: Yeah I KNOW, Preston gets a bad rap, but seriously, you can just get back from like a solid week of saving settlements and Preston will still find a reason to send you somewhere. He learns to be more autonomous though. He get's better.

"My sketchbooks, oh Cogsworth. I can't believe I'd forgotten all about these!" Malcolm paused at the photograph and the accompanying sketch. "Oh, Mack…" he showed Preston the photograph, "My family, mom, dad, and twin brother…. man I miss them." Malcolm sniffed and turned to MacCready and Cogsworth, "Where was all this?"

Cogsworth whirred happy to change the subject to happier things, "Mr. MacCready was kind enough to fetch them from the attic crawl space."

Malcolm turned to MacCready, "Did you happen to see my violin case up there as well?"

"A… what— case?"

Malcolm signaled for them to wait and he charged off and climbed up to retrieve a case that neither Preston nor MacCready had ever seen before.

"Good thing I went with the synthetic horse hair for the bow… and relaxed the wires before I placed into storage. I'm going to see if I can tune it."

Cogsworth seemed positively giddy and explained to Preston and MacCready , "I've heard of well kept antique violins… pre-war, of a similar vintage to what sir's violin is currently. Two hundred years old, and could still be played."

Malcolm fiddled with the knobs, tightening the strings, plucking them to test the tune. When he seemed satisfied he turned to Cogsworth, "How'd the pitch sound?"

"My internal tuner indicates you've not lost your talent for perfect pitch sir!"

Malcolm smiled widely as he placed the bow against the strings and played America's National Anthem from memory.

MacCready was floored, no holotape or record he'd ever heard before held a candle to hearing an actual instrument in person. They were few and far between in the Capital Wasteland and the Commonwealth.

Rarer still, the people who had any notion how to play them.

Malcolm seemed positively giddy, "I gotta show this to everybody here! First stop, the Long's residence. Kyle's going to love this."

Malcolm charged off, energy renewed and smiling from ear to ear.

MacCready and Preston followed closely after him as he practically skipped to the Long's large vegetable garden.

Marcy was the first person he ran into, "Hello Marcy. Have I ever got something special!"

Marcy pointed at the violin, "What's that?"

"A violin." Malcolm replied simply, "It's a musical instrument."

He held the violin aloft, and tucked it dramatically under his chin, placed the bow on the strings. Neither Preston or MacCready recognized the tune, but it was beautiful and it's notes rang across Sanctuary.

Marcy lit up and called out for Jun and Kyle. Jun emerged from the shack with Kyle close behind.

Little Kyle, reminded MacCready of his own little boy Duncan. Far away in the Capital Wastelands, the cure for his illness hopefully well on its way to getting to him.

Kyle was actually bouncing in excitement and clapping with absolute joy.

When Malcolm finished the piece he lowered his violin and bowed theatrically.

Kyle charged up to him, "Wow! What is that, Mr. General, sir? I've never seen anything like it before! I've never heard anything like that before!"

Malcolm lowered it for Kyle to get a better view, "It's my violin, from before the war. I'm honestly surprised to have found it in working condition. It's a musical instrument, the strings vibrating cause the sounds. I played a song from a ballet, called 'Swan Lake'."

Jun stepped forward cautiously, obviously a naturally timid man, "It was a very beautiful song General Germaine."

MacCready might have been dazed during his first tour, but he vaguely remembered Malcolm reminding Jun that he; 'didn't need to call me General Germaine, really— Malcolm is fine'.

By now, the music had drawn in a curious group of Sanctuary residents, all seemingly brimming with their own questions.

Kyle marveled at the instrument, "Can, you play any song on this?"

"I can play a version of pretty much any song. Any song I've heard at least once. It's going to be a bit different because the songs on records and holotapes have multiple instruments; whereas I only have the one."

"Can you please play, 'The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow', Mr. General, sir? It's one of my favorites!"

"That's one of my favorites too Kyle! Of course I'll play it for you!"

Malcolm played the requested song, drawing in even more residents of Sanctuary.

Everyone clapped upon the songs completion, and Malcolm took another theatrical bow.

Malcolm looked over his shoulder at MacCready, and his smile turned bashful. "Still haven't run out of surprises, eh Robert?"

If MacCready hadn't thought he was hopelessly in love before this... He was certainly enraptured now.

-chapter break-

It had turned out that all Preston had wanted to tell Malcolm was that there was reports on increased raider activity out near Fort Hagen, "Really sorry to have bothered you with this, it isn't even that urgent. Honestly, I'd already told them to increase the patrols...but I'd wanted your opinion on what else we should do."

MacCready scoffed, "Guy's barely back home for a day and you already wanna give him reasons to leave?"

Malcolm sighed, "I need a shower and a nap." He said, practically in one long exhale. "Fort Hagen is well supplied," Malcolm said tersely, and then paused and rubbed at his temples, "and more than adequately stationed, don't forget that they have three military checkpoints helping to monitor the courtyard."

"Of… course, General." Preston seemed ashamed at himself with how'd he bothered the General with a very unimportant matter so soon after having returned home.

Malcolm gave Preston a tired smile, "It's good that you're keeping tabs on all this for me. Make sure to have the list of requested supplies ready for me upon my departure. Thank you, lieutenant. I'll check in with you when I'm set to leave in three days time."

"Yes sir, General!"

Malcolm yawned as Preston scurried off to do his regular border patrol.

MacCready looked at Malcolm as he stretched tiredly, "It has been a long couple of days huh?"

"Yeah, the fatigue is really starting settle in, I'm going to take a hot shower—"

"You have heated water?"

Malcolm hummed sleepily, "That's right, set up the water heater myself…. care to join me?" Malcolm finished his sentence with a suggestive smile.

MacCready felt his blood rush south, heat starting to pool in his groin, "Oh, absolutely."

MacCready followed Malcolm back to the house, and into the bathroom. The hot water was heavenly, to say nothing of the view.

They held each other close, and kissed. However, it was obvious that Malcolm's energy was flagging from exhaustive traveling and fighting over the past few days.

"'M sorry hon, I really wanted to do more. Honest." Malcolm yawned again, and his eyes half-lidded, "Need to rest first though."

MacCready kissed Malcolm, "I understand babe, been a long crazy month for you. You need your rest… could I lie down beside you?"

"Of course love, you needn't even ask."

"You're so impossibly gorgeous." MacCready marveled, as he laid beside Malcolm in his bed, "That when I wake up and see you again, I'll think I'm still dreaming."

"Flatterer." Malcolm murmured quietly, "Sweet dreams, my sweet sniper."

Before MacCready could reply, Malcolm was fast asleep. MacCready followed shortly after.

-chapter break-

When MacCready awoke, Malcolm had already woken, but was still sat beside him in the bed sketching something.

MacCready stretched and yawned as he woke, Malcolm smiled and said, "Morning, sleepy head."

MacCready looked at the sketchbook, "What are you drawing?"

Malcolm showed him the page, it was a near photorealistic color sketch of MacCready, aiming his signature sniper rifle. "My fiancé. He's quite handsome if I do say so myself."

MacCready laughed, "Fiancé, huh? Sounds fancy… I've heard it before, but I've no idea what it means though?"

Malcolm looked confused, "When two people are engaged but not married, they're fiancé's" at MacCready's odd look Malcom asked, "why are you looking at me like that?"

"I...probably should have checked that the rules for marriage were the same in your time… I'd thought… we were already married?"

"Oh!" Malcolm started, "I probably should have known, what with there being only rudimentary local government at best that marriage was probably declarative." He said laughing at himself, "Back in my time, you needed to have a special ceremony, usually called a wedding, and get a Justice of the Peace, or some other official to officiate the marriage."

MacCready shook his head, "Only understood part of that…"

Malcolm kissed MacCready, "Pre-war traditions, don't really apply. I guess it never occurred to me that would have changed, but it makes sense now that I hear it."

MacCready still looked confused, "So? Are we married or… not?"

Malcolm kissed MacCready deeply, "I apologize, I misspoke earlier. This is a drawing of my husband. Who I hope understands that I am 210 years out of my time and don't know all the rules yet."

MacCready smiled happily, "Well I'm glad we got that cleared up."

"I love you."

"I love you too."