31. The Fight
MacCready POV
The Kill (Bury Me) by 30 Seconds To Mars
"That…" I struggle for breath as much as words. "Wow."
Beth lays next to me in our bed, having showed me yet another amazing time. Her lungs expand and deflate at a fast pace, just like my own. I glance over to see her eyes closed, a smile on her lips. "That's how you consummate a marriage," she says, glancing over at me, her grin turning crooked in complacency. I lean up on my elbow, gazing down at her. "What?" she asks, seeing me staring at her.
"Nothing." I move a piece of hair out of her eyes. "You're just really beautiful, Mrs. MacCready."
She smiles hugely. "I could get used to that." She leans up to meet me, giving me a kiss.
She settles back down onto the mattress, with me on her chest, as we both look around our room, lit only by small groups of candles. We're laying here completely content—more than content—when a thought crosses through my mind. And the more I think about it, the more I'm worried about it.
"Beth?"
"Hm?" I can still hear the grin on her face.
I lean up onto my elbow again. "What would happen if you got pregnant?" She looks confused. "I mean… I love kids. And having a child with you sounds awesome, but… I'm kind of scared. Duncan was an accident—a happy one—but still. I'm afraid I'm raising him wrong, and I don't want another kid to fu—er, screw up. This wasteland isn't exactly a good place to raise a family…"
She puts her hand on my cheek. "Robert Joseph MacCready. You are not doing a thing to screw Duncan up. He's a great kid, and he's lucky to have you as a dad. I agree—this world isn't ideal for family life, but it's all we have now.
"And… as for me getting pregnant… It's more than likely not going to happen… I—I haven't had much of a period since leaving the vault. I don't know if it was the cryostasis that froze my cycles or what, but… I don't think we need to worry about that, babe."
"Oh." I lay back down next to her. "Okay." Even though I'd never been to a proper school, I know that periods equal to pregnancies, and a lack thereof, means no children. "Okay."
"Is that okay?" she asks me, concern evident in her tone.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's fine." I can't help but to sorta feel relieved, yet at the same time—in a way—I feel… disappointed?
"Anybody home?" I recognize the voice of the annoying man instantly. What is Deacon doing here? "Hellooo?"
"We're in here!" Beth yells. Deacon walks through the front door like he owns the place. "Well, make yourself at home, D," she laughs.
He comes into the living room, where we sit, enjoying some of the coffee she'd found back at Fallon's. "You said you were home. That equals to 'come in' for me, Bethany."
"I already told you that wasn't my name back at Switchboard." She gives him an exaggerated look of annoyance.
"Would you prefer me call you Elizabeth?" he asks her with a lopsided grin, knowing he's more than likely pressing her buttons.
She sighs. "Then again, I've always liked the name Bethany."
"That's what I thought," he continues to grin.
"So, what have you been up to?" Beth asks him.
"Nothing much. Just making runs back and forth to the Capital Wasteland, making the occasional trip to Diamond City—you know, the norm. What about you two?"
"Oh, man," Beth laughs. "What haven't we done since the last time we saw you. We've been to DC ourselves, actually."
"Yeah—to Megaton."
"Um… yeah…" Beth's brows knit together, most likely wondering how he knows as much as he does, but not questioning it. "I almost died," she continues.
"In Vault 81."
She nods slowly. "Yes… In Vault 81." She acts like she's thinking for a moment, then says, "We found out one of our closest friends is a synth."
"Danse from the Brotherhood. Shame they exiled him. I ran into him on my way in. A little stiff-necked, but nice enough. I guess."
"Yeah." She actually looks annoyed from all his info-sucking abilities.
She's still looking irritated when Deacon suddenly says, "And you two got married. Yesterday in Diamond City, was it?"
Her mild annoyance turns into actual anger and she nearly flies off the handle. "And how might you have obtained this information, Deacon?" She sets her mug down and crosses her arms in a defensive manner.
"I have contacts inside the Wall. They said you also got in one of the guard's faces. I would have loved to have seen that."
"I'm so sure," she responds, her tone ice cold while turning her face away.
"I don't understand why you're upset at me, Beth." As soon as the sentence passes Deacon's lips, she's up and walking toward him.
"Maybe because if I wanted you to know half the stuff you know, I'd tell you myself. You ever wonder how creepy it can be to have someone know personal things—things they weren't even present for?"
"My job is intel. I can't help it." He takes a step back. Not in a cowardly way, but in surprise at her outburst.
"Well, maybe you can learn to help it when it comes to my life from now on, yeah? I don't understand why you're so infatuated with my life, Deacon. Really. I have no clue."
Despite my general dislike for the man, I stand up for him. "Maybe it's like with me. Honestly, I was pretty obsessed with you from day one."
"You were hired on by me, though," she says, looking back to me. "It's different. He wasn't exactly invited."
"Well, damn, Beth. Don't hold back." His tone makes her look back to him.
She looks down, suddenly aware of her attitude. "Sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me today." She takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, D."
"Well, what's said is said. I know how you feel now, at least." He turns to walk to the door.
"Deacon!" She lunges and grabs onto his arm. "Don't go—let me make it up to you."
He shakes free of her grasp. "Don't bother wasting your time. I mean, I'm just some kind of fangirl trash anyway, right?" He strolls out the way he came.
Beth stands there in the doorway for a minute, facing away from me. Once she turns and takes her seat again, I realize she's crying. "Beth?" She puts her hand up and shakes her head. Please, stop, her motions say. She stands once again and heads up the stairs.
I want to follow her—make sure she's okay—but I know she needs to be alone right now. I take a deep breath and continue to read the book in my hands. A few seconds later, Duncan comes running in the door.
"Dad!" He stops in front of me—breath ragged, bent over, and hands on his knees. "Did you see that man on the island?"
"That's a friend of your mom and I. His name's Deacon. No need to worry about him, okay?" Duncan looks confused, but nods and goes into the kitchen for a Nuka-Cola. "Hey, grab me one, bud?"
It's been a good hour since Deacon left, and Beth is still upstairs. Duncan can tell something is up, but he's never been the nosy type. I decide she's had her quiet time. I just need to know what's up.
"Beth?" I enter our room, where I heard her go earlier.
"Yeah?"
I follow the sound of her voice into the bathroom, on the other side of the bedroom. I find her laying in the tub.
"Did… you want to bathe without your clothes?" I ask her—as she's sitting in the tub, full of water, her clothes still on.
"Not really." She repeatedly screws and unscrews the cap of a tube of toothpaste. No telling how long she's been doing it.
I sit on the toilet lid. "Okay…" After a few minutes of the same action, I take the toothpaste from her. "Beth, it's not your fault." She looks up at me.
"I think it is. I mean, I started it. He came by for… who even knows what for—I stopped him before he could even say." She tugs at her jeans under the water. Randomly, she says, "You know, I've been thinking… We should get a pet deathclaw. That'd be awesome."
I'm at a loss for words from her statement as she wiggles in the tub, clearly uncomfortable. I stand and grab her arms. She lets me pull her out of the tub and dry her off, change her into drier clothes. I lead her to the bed and lay her down, lying next to her. Although it couldn't be any later than afternoon, she yawns and rolls into me more. Sooner than later, she's snoring, and lightly gripping my shirt. Duncan comes into the room—or rather peeks around the corner.
"What is it, bud?" I ask him. He quietly walks up to the bed, knowing Beth is asleep.
"The ham radio is going off downstairs," he tells me.
"Do you know who it is?"
"She said Scribe Haylen?"
"Oh, okay. Can you ask Danse to answer it, please? I kinda don't want to get up right now." I indicate the snoring woman next to me.
"Sure." He walks out of the room.
Several minutes later, I hear both small and heavy footfall walk into the kitchen, where the ham radio is kept. "Danse. Go ahead, Haylen." A muffled voice on the other end. "Yeah." The voice again. "Yeah, good hearing from you, too." Pause. "I'll tell her. Thanks." Danse then proceeds toward the stairs.
A moment later, his head peeks around the corner like Duncan's had—just much higher up the doorframe. "Come in, Danse."
He walks into the room, seeming a bit awkward. "So… that was Haylen. I'm sure you heard."
"Only one end, but yeah."
"Oh. Well, she just wanted to tell Beth that Ingram needs to see her pronto. Sounds like they finally stopped dragging their feet."
"You mean…?"
"Yeah. Liberty Prime is ready."
Beth POV
R-Evolve by 30 Seconds To Mars
"With the help of the field scribes and Dr. Li, we were able to finish this big guy in a lot shorter time period than we were expecting." Proctor Ingram has the honours to finally reveal to me what the Brotherhood's big project has been this whole time. "Of course, it wasn't an easy task, but we got it done nonetheless."
Robert and I stare up at the giant robot, meant to fight Commies back during the War. However, the bombs fell far before he was complete.
"So, what're gonna do with him?" I ask her.
"What do you think? See those bombs strapped to his back?" She points up. "Looks like the Institute's last supper is going to be radiation—and a lot of it. Shame da Vinci won't be able to paint this one. It's going to be great." She looks over to a scribe and heads in their direction, leaving Robert and I in the robot's enormous shadow.
From the corner of my eye, I see Robert staring at me. He's been doing that ever since Deacon paid us a visit. I don't blame him—far from it. But I can't help to wonder what's on his mind.
And as if he could read my mind, he asks, "What're you thinking about?"
"A whole lot of things," I respond. "Why?"
"You've had a frown chiseled into your face pretty much all day—ever since your fight with Deacon this morning. Actually, even before then, now that I think about it." I try to plaster on a smile to prove him wrong, but he doesn't buy it, as he asks, "What's wrong?"
I sigh heavily. "Last night, when you asked me if I could get pregnant… You brought up something I never really thought of. Ever since I walked out of the vault, it never ran through my mind—the opportunity of being a mother again. But since you brought it up, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I mean, it'd be difficult—I don't even know how to begin raising a kid in a post-apocalyptic world. But, that still doesn't mean I wouldn't want to try. I think we'd be good parents, but…it can't happen. And I don't know how I feel about it."
He puts his hand on my elbow. "There's always kids in the Commonwealth we could adopt—unfortunately, parents are killed everyday."
"I know. But it's not the same. It's never been the same."
After a minute of silence, he asks, "So, that's what has you down? That's why you snapped at Deacon?"
When he puts it like that, it makes me feel even more guilty than I was earlier when the damage was initially done. I nod. "It's stupid. But I think so, yeah." I think about what's about to go down. "With all this," I motion around us, to the scribes, to Liberty Prime, "I'm officially picking a side. I'm going with the Brotherhood—one of the Railroad's worst enemies. I probably won't be able to see Deacon again. That means I can't apologize. I can't live with that—how can I?"
"But you'll be destroying the Institute—the number one enemy of the Railroad. Won't that count for something? I bet we'll see Deacon soon enough—and he'll have nothing to do but thank you for doing his dirty work. Cause if we're being honest here, that's what we're doing."
I take a deep breath. "You're probably right. Everything'll be fine."
Suddenly, Robert turns to look behind me, nodding his head, as if in greeting. I turn to find Maxson strolling up to us.
"Elder," I salute.
He nods back to Robert. "Paladin."
I ask, "May I ask what you're doing here, sir?"
"Taking a look at our fine spectacle of technology." He gestures to the giant robot which had become the focal point of the entire airport. "Also, I heard you were down here—I wished to speak with you."
"Oh?" I feel my face fold in confusion.
"Liberty Prime has been ready for a day or so now. But the scribes were unable to reach you through your ham radio.
"Most of us here in the Brotherhood found it would be fitting for you to lead the fight to the CIT ruins. Once there, Prime will takeover, until we reach the underground. It is then that your knowledge of the facility will be vital. None of us have been down there, so you'll have to guide us to where we need to go."
"I'm sorry, sir—'us?'"
"Yes. I assume your companion will be joining us. There will be a small army of both Knights and Paladins accompanying us as well. Obviously, you and I will be in the front line."
"I already figured I would be—but you? I wasn't expecting you to be joining us in the battle."
He makes a face, as if I should have already known. "I'm the Elder of East Coast Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel—I have to join the fight. I will have no soldier of mine risking their own life while I lounge around the Prydwen, waiting for results. I must go out, and assume the soldier's position myself to ensure success."
I'm astonished at his words. "I must say, sir, I'm surprised you'll be in the line of duty. Isn't it important to keep the Elder alive?"
For some reason, my question makes him actually seem twenty years old, as he answers, "Uh… yes. But I would say it is far more important that the Institute does not stay alive, Paladin."
"Couldn't agree more."
He peers out toward the west. "Dusk is approaching fast." He looks back at me. "Nighttime would be the best time to strike. Most will be asleep and never see it coming. Even once they wake, it will take time to adjust to the new threat imposed." He glances between Robert and I. "Prepare yourselves—we leave at 2100." He appears to try to spin on his heel and walk off, but almost falls over. Once recovered, he glances around to see if anyone besides us saw his clumsy attempt at basic movement. After looking at me with a slight angry, yet embarrassed face, he makes his way back to the Prydwen. I can't help my laughter—although I try to keep quiet due to his proximity.
"That was weird," Robert says, chuckling himself.
"Well, I suppose Danse was right," I say. He just looks confused. Explaining, "Danse had said that when we were at Listening Post Bravo, when I practically charged Maxson," he nods, remembering the story, "he said that I managed to 'intimidate' him—I believe that was his wording." I giggle. "Maybe Danse was right. Maybe I freak Maxson out now, because I challenged him. I bet he's not used to women half his size barging all up in his face like that."
"Probably not. Well, props to you then." He smiles.