Well, for this site, this has been a long ass time. I thought that it wasn't getting attention here and that people didn't care about it. Then, I checked it today to see that people had actually followed it and left a few reviews. So, here is the second chapter and know that I am working on a third. will not get left behind again :)

Nora lightly shook Curie, awaking the scientist. Curie slowly opened her eyes, and immediately had the urge to go back to sleep. Her eyelids were heavy, and her senses were groggy. The experience of waking up for the first time was jarring and quite unpleasant. But the soft smile Nora greeted her with made it a little better, as well as the look in her eyes, it was something that Curie couldn't quite place, but it left a warm sensation in her stomach.

"Good morning, Curie. It's time to wake up," Nora said softly. She then helped Curie up into a sitting position and gave her room to get her bearings. Curie stretched, yawned, and rubbed her eyes, willing the heaviness in her lids to go away. Nora crossed her arms and took in Curie's actions, finding them to be adorable, just as everything that Curie did was cute to her, even when Curie was a robot. She had a genuine innocence to her and mixed with Curie's desire to learn and makes discoveries, it made the scientist a ball of absolute cuteness, something that could melt Nora's heart.

Curie stood and stretched some more. She then noticed how Nora was observing her, and looked at her curiously. She then frowned in concern when she took in the tired look in Nora's eyes and the dark circles under them. "You did not sleep last night."

Nora simply shrugged, "I had to keep watch."

"But you need rest as well, Madam."

That earned Curie a smile, the marine being moved by her concern, "I'll get some rest when we get back to Sanctuary," Nora stated.

But Curie looked skeptical, knowing the importance of sleep to humans, and that Nora was not going to be at her best, travelling on no sleep. Her senses, alertness, and reflexes were going to be completely shot. Travelling like that through such a place like the Commonwealth was ill advised, and Curie was aware of how little help she could provide if they ran into trouble.

"You should at least take a nap, I will awake you if anything occurs," Curie suggested. But Nora shook her head.

"I'll be fine, running on no sleep has never stopped a jarhead before; and we need to head out ASAP to ensure we make it back before nightfall," Nora explained.

That really didn't convince Curie, but she decided not to argue further, thinking it was best to follow Nora's word in such matters. But her medical knowledge ate away at the back of her mind, telling her how depleted Nora was going to be on such a dangerous trip. Still, the duo gathered their things and headed out.

One thing the bombs didn't take away from the planet was the changing of the seasons, something Nora was thankful for. She loved the cooler times of the year, in particular the fall. It took away the scorching sun without bringing the frigid cold of winter, it was also one of the things that made her basic training bearable.

Fall was slowly coming upon them, and it made the long walks they endured easier, and considering how bone tired Nora felt, she didn't think she could take a walk under a summer sun. She was running on fumes, and it was noticeable that Curie was worried. She kept giving her worrying glances, and asked a few times if Nora wanted to stop. But Nora rejected the offers, wanting them to keep trucking for a few different reasons. Part of it was getting home as soon as possible, but another part of it was that she didn't want to seem weak. That had always been one of her biggest flaws, trying to be the toughest woman to come out of Boston, and having someone she was attracted to near her only made the flaw worse. She did some stupid things in her younger days to impress some girl or guy she was crushing on.

After receiving one more worrying glance, the marine let out a sigh, "I'm fine, Curie," she reassured.

Once again, Curie was doubtful. Their pace had continuously slowed throughout the day, Nora obviously could barely keep her eyes open, and there was a noticeable drowsiness to her words. Luckily, they were coming upon Concord, which meant they were about an hour or so from their destination. But the snail's pace they were going would make the rest of the journey longer, and nightfall was slowly creaking upon them, something they both realized.

Nora's shoulders slouched even more in defeat, and she sighed tiredly. She felt ready to give in and just stop to catch some Zs. She had been up for well over 36 hours and her body was starting to fade on her. She half feared she would fall asleep while walking, and land right on her face. But they were so close, and there was no way she was going out like a wimp in front of Curie. And so they trucked on, and reached their destination well after nightfall.

As they came upon the bridge that led into Sanctuary Hills, Dogmeat ran out to greet them, his tail wagging in excitement.

Nora smiled and kneeled to greet him, and immediately being attacked with eager kisses. She scratched him behind the ears in return, and gave the german shepherd pats on the head, all the while making sickly annoying baby noises at him. Curie watched the display with interest, intrigued by the feeling within her chest. She couldn't help but smile at Nora's behavior and Dogmeat's obvious delight in being reunited with his owner.

Her eyes then widened in surprise and partly apprehension as Dogmeat took notice of her. He sniffed towards her, unsure of this new stranger. Nora looked up at her a smiled encouragingly, nudging with her head for Curie to greet him. Tentatively, Curie held out a hand towards the dog, and let him sniff it. He did so, and seemed to decide that he liked Curie, and gave her hand a lick.

The ticklish sensation made Curie giggle, something that made Nora smile even warmer. Curie gave him a scratch behind the ears, mimicking Nora. Dogmeat hummed appreciatively and came to her fully, and jumped on his hind legs in hopes of reaching her face to give her kisses. But his weight and eagerness nearly sent her toppling, before she righted herself. "Down, Dogmeat," Nora commanded sternly as she stood.

The dog reacted obediently and quickly went back to all fours, bowing and whimpering guiltily. Nora gave Curie an apologetic look, seemingly embarrassed over Dogmeat's misbehavior. But Curie herself hadn't minded it that much. "It's quite alright, Madam. Dogs are always excited to meet new people."

"Still I'm sorry about that, I should've known he was going to react that way."

Curie brushed off her apology and started walking towards home, "no harm was done and there are more important matters at hand, like getting you to bed".

That was something that Nora could agree with, and she took off after Curie, albeit at a much slower pace. Dogmeat trotted happily at her side, already over his earlier transgression.

Walking into the former home complex, they spotted, Preston Garvey keeping watch in one of the high towers. He tipped his hat towards them at first, before realizing he didn't recognize the woman accompanying his general. Curious, he climbed down to greet them. "

"Evening, Monsieur Garvey," Curie greeted him.

Upon hearing the accent, he looked completely baffled, his eyes going as wide as saucers, "Curie?"

An excited smile spread across her face as she held her arms out wide, showing off her new body, "in the flesh."

Preston looked back and forth between both women, unable to form the words to ask the question.

"It's a long story, Preston," Nora explained.

He finally gave her his full attention, and noticed how dead tired she looked in the eyes and could sympathize. He had done his own share of missing out on sleep for days on end. The explanation could wait for tomorrow. "I'll leave you two to it," he stated before heading back to the watch tower.

Nora smiled at him gratefully. She always appreciated his empathetic nature, something that was desperately needed in this world. Being so close to her bed, Nora allowed herself to yawn, something she had fought doing all day. Curie herself, was finally feeling the long day's trek catch up to her and let out one of her own.

The marine took notice of it. "Les get you to bed," she remarked, reaching down to give Dogmeat a pat. She then walked Curie over to one of the large housing areas that contained beds (which she had built with her own hands) and bid her goodnight. Before she could walk back to her house, Curie called out to her. Just as she turned around, Nora was encased in a tight hug. A took a second before she returned the embrace, a content smile crossed her face. She wasn't sure what the cause of the hug was, but she was more than happy to accept it nonetheless.

Curie hugged her even tighter and buried her face in the marine's shoulder. "I just wanted to thank you for giving me such a gift, this body, human ingenuity," she explained, emotion evident in her voice.

"It was nothing, Curie, and you are most certainly welcome." Nora then pulled back and looked down into Curie's gaze that was overflowing with sincerity. She couldn't stop her eyes from drifting down to Curie's lips, and internally marveled at how soft they looked. Such thinking, and the action itself lasted but for a second before Nora got ahold of herself. She was in deep, deep trouble. "Goodnight, Curie".

Quickly, Nora broke the contact between them and made a beeline for her own home with Dogmeat by her side. She didn't slow down until she was inside her house and the door was firmly shut behind her. She leaned against it, with closed eyes and let out a sigh. Dogmeat let out a curious whimper that caught her attention. She looked down at him to see him sitting, and looking up at her, almost with a question in her eyes. "She's beautiful, isn't she, boy?"

That earned her another curious whimper, along with an adorable head tilt. She ruffled his head, and started off towards the bedroom, shedding her armor and weapons as she went. She was only left in her underwear and her trusty 10 mm pistol on her person before she collapsed face first onto her bed, and was out like a light the moment her head hit the pillow.

Considering all the horrors that Nora had seen since waking up, things such as her husband's murder, death all over the place, and monsters horrific enough to turn the people from her time white, it was a no brainer that she had her fair share of nightmares. But tonight, she dreamed wonderfully. In her dreams, she felt the sensation of slim fingers running through her hair, pale skin beneath her lips, and her name being moaned in a French accent.

She slept for well over 12 hours, which worried some of her comrades. Curie was sent to check on her, and the image that was presented to her in the master bedroom, was striking to say the least. Nora was out like a light, splayed about on her stomach. And there was so much of her, for Curie to see. Curie's eyes meticulously drifted over her form, drinking in her mocha skin, muscled frame, and scars.

Curie's mouth went dry, and unbeknownst to her, her eyes dilated as well. Nora, in this predicament was….. stimulating in a way. The scratching sound of Dogmeat's claws hitting the floor broke her out of her trance like state. The loyal dog went right past her and jumped on the bed to wake Nora up with kisses. Nora woke with a start the moment he touched the bed. She instinctively whipped out her pistol from, under pillow and aimed it at him. He was unfazed by this and went on about his business of licking her in the face.

Nora relaxed and let out a sigh of relief, and embraced him, "I almost blew your brains out, boy."

"Madam," Curie began hesitantly, still reeling from the picture that a barely dressed Nora was.

Nora looked up at her in surprise, finally taking note of her in the room, as well as her tone. It was strange and the look in Curie's eyes was even more baffling. If Nora chose a word to describe it, it would be heated. She swallowed thickly, and took in her state of dress. She became self-conscious, and used Dogmeat as a way to shield her body from Curie's wondering gaze. Her cheeks heated up and she partly wondered how long Curie had been standing there, gawking at her. "What is it, Curie?"

"The others were worried about you. You've been asleep for quite some time, and it well over due that you eat and give your body sustenance"

Nora nodded, "alright, just give me a second to get dressed."

Curie gave her one last strange gaze before giving her some privacy. Once she was gone, Nora let a breath, uncertain how to feel about the encounter with Curie. She was almost certain that Curie had been checking her out, and it seemed that she liked what she saw, a thought that made the marine smile as she got up to get ready for the day.

So, there it is. Please leave a review telling me what you think and how I can improve.