Maverick was livid.
Fucking James. Maverick still wanted to thank the bastard but this was ridiculous. Seeing Leyah just break down like that worried him. Leyah never broke down. She always kept her composure and planned what to do next. He hadn't seen her do something like this. He held her close, starting to form a plan in his head. Leyah had found a map of the Vault locations upstairs the first time they were here so they knew where Vault 112 was.
Now, they had to get there.
Maverick did a quick estimation in his head and he came to the conclusion that it would take at least half a day for them to get out there. It would take them less time if they stayed at Megaton tonight and headed out in the morning.
"Ley, we need to get going if we want to get to Megaton before it gets dark," he said, rubbing her back.
She let out a couple sniffles before pulling away enough to look up at him. Her bottom lip quivered, but he was seeing the determination he was used to seeing come back in her eyes. "Okay."
She was quiet the whole way to Megaton, which worried Maverick even more. Leyah was always chattering about something. He couldn't blame her, though. He knew he would be the same if his mom or Rachel was in the same situation.
Megaton came into view late in the afternoon and they made a beeline toward Leyah's house. Leyah opened the door and Maverick was instantly greeted with the sight of a buzz saw.
"Holy shit!"
"Wadsworth, it's okay! He's welcome here!" Leyah quickly yelped, throwing herself between the Mr. Handy and him.
The buzz saw stopped whirring and the robot's multiple eyes narrowed suspiciously. It still creeped Maverick out. Mr. Handys always had this effect on him.
"I'm sorry, ma'am! I was just following my standard security precautions."
Leyah patted the damn thing's dome. "That's quite alright. Has anyone tried to visit since I left?"
Maverick let her do her business with the robot and he dropped his pack next to the lockers before going up the stairs. He knew Moira's would be closed at the moment, so they would have to restock tomorrow. Shit, this was going to be a tough trip, he could feel it.
He stepped into what looked like the bedroom and he collapsed face down on the bed. Damn, he was getting too old for this shit. His whole body ached and he knew it was from traipsing around almost continuously.
Footsteps and the soft clank of armor hitting the floor warned him of Leyah's presence. He heard a drawer open from the dresser nearby and the rustle of her clothing. Fuck, he needed to change himself. He hated sleeping in his armor.
He sagged down into the mattress when he felt her hands start to unbuckle the various straps of his armor. Slowly, he helped her remove all of it until he was just in his shirt and pants.
She settled down beside him and curled against his side. Biting her lip, she started to play with the collar of his shirt. "Mav, I'm scared," she mumbled, "what if he's dead?"
For once, Maverick didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her everything is going to be okay because that would be a blatant lie and he knew the odds of James being alive was shit. Instead, he wrapped both of his arms around her and held her close. He hated to admit it, but he knew hugs worked better than words sometimes. Rachel constantly picked on him about it whenever he was worried about a mission.
"We'll get through it, I promise," he said softly, kissing the top of her head.
God, he hoped he was right.