38. Visit to Another Life

MacCready POV

Mother by Florence + the Machine

A couple weeks after getting back from DC and surprising the crap out of my wife—so much so as to make her stab me in the arm—she and I decided to visit Sanctuary Hills with the boys. Although Shaun knows that Nate isn't exactly his father, he has still been wanting to visit the spot where Beth and I had laid her late husband to rest. Beth also said she was curious how Gravy Boat and Co. were doing, and that she wouldn't be getting any smaller—if we're to make the trip, it'd have to be soon, as baby MacCready was due in roughly fourteen and a half weeks at the time.

Add a few days, and we're all ready to go—ready to take the boat as far as the Tucker Memorial Bridge and make the rest of the trip on foot. Although he's not too happy about it, Duncan carries the combat knife Beth gave him a while back, and as she steers the boat along its path, I hand Shaun a 10mm pistol—the same pistol she had taken from the security guard's skeleton back before leaving Vault 111. As he holds it in his hands, he looks a bit nervous, scared even.

"No need to freak out, Shaun. It only bites if you let it." I show him where the casing comes out, where the safety is. He still looks nervous, but tries to shove it down and just carry the gun, knowing it'd help both his mother and my peace of mind.

We parked the boat underneath the bridge about an hour ago, and are now making our way toward the small community. We briefly make a stop in Lexington—luckily, no hostiles seem to be around—and take a small rest, since the boys aren't used to traveling for so long. Even the Corvega Assembly Plant seems to be void of Raiders today. Beth makes mention that this was the first place she killed a person out here.

"Yeah, there was only one Raider on duty out here." She points to the general area they were in. "Unfortunately, they spotted me, and I had no other choice but to kill them. It took several days for me to get over it—but not completely. Took a few weeks to fully recover from it." She points to the pistol holstered in the waist of Shaun's pant. "That was actually the gun I used. So, yes—it does work." She smiles at the boy, hoping to make him feel better about having it with him.

We continue along one of the roads leading to the "houses of the future," as they were known back before the War. We see an old diner a little ways off, but decide to go around it, not fully trusting strange buildings. Next comes Concord—the place Beth and I found the same people we're going to see. I remember we had Deacon with us when we took out all those Raiders. Man, it has been a while, I think.

I'm busy talking with Beth as we come up to the Red Rocket just outside Sanctuary, so I don't see the threat until it's lunging at Duncan—a single mole rat. I see it attacking him, it seeming to be happening in slow motion, yet I don't have time to reach for my weapon. I hear two rounds fire from a gun, and see the body of the rodent fall lifeless.

Glancing up, I see Shaun holding the 10mm pistol we'd given him this morning. His eyes are round, his breathing heavy. And sure enough, two casings lie on the ground next to his feet as his finger still lays on the trigger.

"Duncan!" Beth sees exactly what I've noticed and runs over to him, kneeling—not quite fast, but in a hurry—and hugs the boy.

He then spins and sees what could have hurt him just seconds ago. "You saved me, Shaun." He goes up to him and gives him a hug. "Thank you, brother."

As Beth stands and Duncan goes over to the now dead animal, Shaun puts the safety back on the pistol and places it back in the waist of his pants. I grab the short legs of the mole rat and prepare to take it to Sanctuary with us—hey, food is food. Beth holds onto Duncan's hand, happy to have him safe, so Shaun and I walk together in front of them.

After we come close to the bridge leading into the neighborhood of the past, I tell him, "You did good. How long before you shot it did you see this thing?" I indicate the rodent I have with me.

"I'm not sure. A few seconds maybe? It all went so fast—I just didn't want him to get hurt." He looks down, seeming ashamed by his action of heroism.

"Hey. You did good," I repeat. "You have good reflexes. You're a natural, as far as I'm concerned." He perks up a little bit, but still seems embarrassed. "Would you want to train a little more, get even better at it?" He shrugs. "Well, for your first time ever firing a gun, you did amazing. I encourage you to keep it up—it comes in handy out here."

By now we've arrived near the first few houses. This is when I see Gravy Boat coming up to us.

"Hey, folks. Looking for a place to stay—" He stops short when he recognizes me. "Well, long time, no see, merc retiree. I didn't recognize you at first. Where's that guy you were with, and your girlfriend?"

I point behind me, where Beth is still catching up with Duncan—maybe ten or so feet back. "Wife, actually."

Preston looks to Beth, sees her ever expanding belly, and does a double take. He looks to Duncan, then to Shaun, and finally at me. "Has it been that long?" he wonders out loud, apparently taking the boys' ages as a sign of how long it's been since they came from Concord.

I laugh. "Not really. Shaun here is Beth's from another life—Duncan," I point to the youngest of the two, finally having caught up with us, "is mine. This one here," I glance down at Beth, "is about negative fourteen weeks old." She laughs at my joke. "So, no. It hasn't been that long."

He smiles at us. "Glad to hear there's a happy story going on somewhere in the world. What about your other friend—is he okay?"

"Deacon's fine," Beth responds, placing one hand on her hip like pregnant women do for back relief. "Took off out of the Commonwealth a little while back. You might be familiar with the time there was an enormous boom in Cambridge—it was around then."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear that, and hope he's well. But, yes. I am familiar with that 'enormous boom in Cambridge,' as you put it. Who did that? Was it the Brotherhood?"

I chuckle. "Yes. And you'll never guess who led the siege."

He shakes his head with a small grin on his face. "You did. Never imagined you as the military type." I shake my head, silently telling him he's wrong—a small grin of my own, my pride showing through. He just looks to Beth with wide eyes. "No."

"Yes," I reply. "It was her." I pat his back with my free hand—as one still is holding onto the dead mole rat—and move past him, going further into town. "Ten points to Hufflepuff," I say, deeming him to one of the houses Beth had told me about in the past. Not only that, but we were actually very fortunate to come across the entire set in an old bookstore one time.

"No way," I hear him say again as the four of us leave him behind near the bridge. Eventually, he catches up and welcomes us into the town of sorts.

"It's not much, but it's home. At least we have a place to lay our heads, grow our food." He looks around to the houses. "Which one was yours, if you don't mind me asking?"

Beth points to the one in the middle of the street, on the north side. "That one."

"Nobody's done a thing to it since we got here. If you want it, consider it yours again—we'll leave it alone."

"I appreciate it," she says, offering him a small smile.

"Anything for you. You helped us in Concord, and again with the Institute." He glances toward the yellow house across the street—the house we stayed in when we came up here before. "I'll be back after a little while. Make yourselves at home." He turns and leaves, leaving us to do whatever.

Beth leads us into the blue house, her old home. She shows Duncan and Shaun around the living spaces. She has a different life now. She's moved on, I think as I smile at her, happy to see she isn't upset like she was last time. She easily goes through the house, explaining what it was like to listen to holotapes sent by your family across the country, or how easy it was to just hop in a car and go anywhere you liked. She shows us where she used to sit in the backyard when she had a day off work, and where she used to hide all her chocolate from Nate. This transitions right into Shaun and her taking off up the hill to see his grave. Although I suggest Duncan and I stay here to give them some privacy, she insists that we come along. So, again, the four of us go out onto the street and head west a bit, before darting off toward the vault.

Back when we'd first come here, I asked her if she wanted to bury Nate in the backyard of their home, but she told me that not only was he too heavy for her to carry—as she wanted to do all the work—but she wanted him on top of the hill so he could see Sanctuary better, see the booming town it was bound to become one day.

She leads the way, Shaun on her tail, and Duncan and I hanging back a bit. As she walks between the vault entrance and the security booth with the button to descend, I see the marker, signifying Nate's resting place. Of course, some grass has grown up on the semi-fresh dirt, so it's a bit hard to find at first—for me. However, she goes right to it—no need to look around. She looks to Shaun, then back to the small mound of earth.

"This is Nate, your father," she tells the boy. "He was a war vet, just like my cousin was. Just like his own father was.

"He had brown eyes, so it's a miracle you have my blue eyes, as brown is typically dominant. His hair was a warm black colour—so, again, lucky you ended up with blond like me. He was just all around a really nice guy. And I think you would have really liked him."

She turns back to the grave and starts talking to her late husband. "I found Shaun, Nate. He wasn't exactly what I was looking for—but I found him. He's… gone now, too. But I have a new, better son." She puts her arm around the boy she speaks of. "I couldn't have asked for a better Shaun. You'd love him so much—he takes so much after you, you have no idea how crazy that is to me." I hear her sniffle lightly—and apparently, so does Shaun, because he puts his arm around her and pats her back. She looks down to him then back at me. "Hormones," she says through a smile. "I'm just so happy, because despite what I started out with, I have all this—all you guys. And I'm just so overwhelmed right now." She wiggles out of Shaun's arm and tries her best to sit on the ground. However, she kind of struggles, so I go over and help her down. "Thanks," she tells me.

So she doesn't feel alone, the three of us also sit on the patchy grass, surrounding her while she cries her happiness out. Several minutes later, she asks me to help her stand so we can head back into town. And, as he did on our way in earlier, Preston meets us on the road.

"Hey. I was wondering where you took off to," he says as he looks up the hill, curious why we were coming from the vault.

"We buried her husband up there a while back. Just showing their son his dad's resting place." I motion to Shaun, who is smiling up at the man.

"Oh," Preston says, looking back up the hill, seeing it in a new sense. "We'll leave him be, then. …I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am."

"Please. Just Beth," she replies. "And it's okay now. I have a new family to be thankful for—and oh, how I am." She smiles at Duncan and myself, not even bothering to look down to baby MacCready while she absently rubs her hand over our baby girl.

"Well… I'm glad. Um, listen. Can I talk with you about something?" Colonel Beef Gravy seems a bit nervous as he says this.

"Sure."

"I believe when we first met, I said how I was part of the Commonwealth Minutemen. Am I just making that up, or did I actually say that?"

"No, you did. I remember cause I related it back to America's colonial times."

"Oh, yeah," he laughs. "Guess I kinda remember that now." He wrings the back of his neck. "Well, anyway. Since you helped us get out of Concord in one piece, and you were the one who did the Institute in, I started talking with those you helped bring here with me. It's not exactly unanimous, but… we decided to offer you a position with us."

"With… you here in Sanctuary?" She acts confused, although I can sorta see where he's going.

"Kind of. Uh, no. Not really. Um… Would you be the General of the Minutemen, Beth?" He looks at her in high hopes, but her own expression…

She's just completely baffled. "…Me? Why me?"

"You're clearly capable. And… we're kind of running low on officials here. For a while now, I've been the one in charge of the whole group. But that's not me—I'm not a natural born leader. You are." Her expression becomes even more incredulous. "When you guys walked in, you were in charge of your posse. Even though you were bringing in the rear. But that's only because your husband here is overprotective—which, at the moment, is understandable."

"It's Robert, by the way," I tell him.

He stretches out his hand to shake mine. "Nice to meet you formally." I shake the man's hand as he turns his attention back to Beth. Interesting fellow. "So, what do you say?" he asks her.

"You want me to be General of the Minutemen? Me, a pregnant woman? Plus, taking into consideration that this is only the second time we've met."

"It doesn't matter to me how many times I've seen you. You are capable, and I trust you completely to take charge of this militia. Both of you, if you wish." He glances at me.

"Oh, no," I say. "Leave me out of it."

Beth seems to be in serious thought as Preston continues to stare at her, awaiting her word. After a couple minutes of deliberation, she nods. "Okay. I'll do it."

"Great." Preston smiles at her, then to the boys and I. "We have to celebrate. Finally, the Minutemen can make a comeback. Let us dine and be merry," he chuckles, copying the English language from a far bygone era.

He then leads us to the yellow house across the street from Beth's, the house he'd gone to when he left. This is apparently where the center of town is, as everybody from Concord is in it.

"This is our new General?" a woman asks as Presto Gravy introduces Beth to the group. "You've got to be kidding me." Just from her resting bitch face, I really want to smack her upside the head, but with that comment—it'll be a miracle if she makes it through the night.

"This is not just our new General, Marcy. This is the woman that led the attack and ultimately destroyed the Institute. And do you not remember her, her husband here, and their friend helping us back in Concord with those Raiders?" A little quieter, he adds, "You were the only one who voted against her being with us. Just suck it up." The woman's face shows even more of an exasperated expression as she stomps out of the room. Preston turns to us. "Don't worry about her. She's always been a bitter person."

"You and Shaun can have the bed," I tell Beth. "Unless you think the couch will be more comfortable?" I remember when we'd come here before, how the bed was pretty broken down. Still, it didn't look as bad as the couch did.

"Are you sure, babe?" she asks, glancing down the hall.

"Yeah. If you want to switch just let me know, okay?" She nods as she and Shaun head down the hall and go into her old bedroom.

As Duncan lays on top of me, trying to get comfortable, I explain to him. "Sorry about this—I know you're used to a bed now. But since there's only one, we're letting Mom have it. It's getting harder for her to sleep now that your baby brother or sister is growing bigger."

"It's fine, Dad." He finally finds a position good enough for him. A few minutes later—when I think he's asleep—he says, "I thought you were thinking it was a girl—so I'd have a sister. Why'd you say brother or sister a little bit ago?" He looks up at me.

"Well, I guess it's because we're not sure, you know? And I don't want you to be expecting one or the other, in case I'm wrong, or in case Mom's wrong. Does that make sense?"

He nods. "Yeah. But I really don't care either way. A brother or a sister would be great." He smiles as he roots around, trying to find another comfortable position for his head. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Duncan." I close my eyes and drift off minutes later.

"Dad." Groggily, I open my eyes to see who I think is Shaun standing in front of me. "Dad?" I blink a few times, getting the sleep out.

"What is it, Shaun?" I whisper, as Duncan is still asleep.

"Mom can't sleep."

"What?" Having just been woken up, I'm finding it hard to comprehend things. "What do you mean?"

"She can't get comfortable. I asked her if she wanted to move onto the couch like you offered before bed, but she said no—that she didn't want to disturb you guys. But I knew you wouldn't have it, so I came here to tell you.

"Maybe if you and I switched places, she could go to sleep better—since she's used to you being there all the time anyway, and not me."

After some time of thinking it over—my mind still being cloudy—I nod, and gently scoot out from under the boy lying on me. "Okay. You stay here with Duncan," I continue to whisper, having woken him up slightly. "He should fall back to sleep in seconds…" I pause. "See, there's his snoring already. Think you can sleep okay here?"

"Don't worry about me, Dad. I'm more worried for Mom. Besides—I can sleep almost anywhere. Those scientists programmed me good." He slides into the spot I was in moments ago. I'm glad he can joke about these things now.

I walk into the bedroom Beth is in, and see her lying on her back, her eyes closed. I walk to the other side—the side I normally sleep on—and crawl in beside her. As she feels me, she looks to my face. "What happened to the couch?" she asks quietly.

"Shaun said you couldn't sleep, and was worried—got me worried, I guess." I lay on my side, facing her, my elbow propping my hand up to hold my head. "Can't get comfortable?"

"No," she sighs. Moving to face me, she props her own head up. "So, why are you here?"

"Maybe I can help." I lay on my own back and pat my chest. "C'mere." She doesn't hesitate as she lowers her head down. With her exactly where I like her, I tell her, "Go ahead—stretch out. Get comfortable."

I remember back to when she and I were in College Square Station, when I was reminded of my not-so-bright past and got drunk due to it. It was the night I finally started talking about Lucy. She knew I was upset and started running her fingers through my hair. I remember how soothing it was—how I nearly fell asleep with her doing it. So, I decide to run my own fingers through her blonde hair, in hopes it'd help her fall asleep easier.

"That feels nice," she tells me, sounding like she's already half out of it. She stretches her arm out, laying it across me as she curls up into my side—well, as much as she can manage with a baby bump between us.

"Goodnight, baby," I say, kissing the top of her head.

After staying in Sanctuary for almost a week, we decided to head home. Beth wanted to stop by Bunker Hill for a night—which I thought was weird. She just chalked it up to being tired and wanting to check out the caravans' wares. We could have just gone home, I thought. I'm the one driving anyway. She could have just rested on the way back. But I didn't argue, so Bunker Hill it was.

Then it was the Prydwen. I'd known that she wasn't planning on going back for a while, so it surprised me when she told me to swing us by there. The boys and I stayed on the Vertibird landing down at the airport while she took the whirligig up to the airship. I laughed at how Duncan gazed up at the thing, but was still a bit concerned in the back of my head. She didn't even say why she wanted to come here. Is something wrong, or is it just a social visit?

Beth POV

Mother by Florence + the Machine

"So, you don't see anything wrong?" I ask Cade as he glances at his clipboard.

"No, I do not. Go over the symptoms with me again, if you would."

"Certainly," I say. "I've noticed extra fatigue coming home from one of my excursions. Also, my back has been hurting more than normal, although that probably has to do with sleeping on my back. I've been getting headaches, and my vision has been a bit blurred—plus, I've been a touch lightheaded, dizzy." He scribbles all these things down and looks over them before speaking.

"I'd say it'd be best to start sleeping on your side now. Your fetus has become so large that all the added weight to your spine and arteries can cause complications. This can have much to do with your being lightheaded slash dizzy, as well as your headaches and blurred vision. It's all that pressure from sleeping on your back—that would be my guess. If everything doesn't seem to be going away, come see me again." He turns and digs through a bin, handing me a bottle of pills from the sound. "If you must, take these. It's a combination drug that can both help you sleep and alleviate some of your back problems—so take them with caution."

"I appreciate it, Knight-Captain." I stand up from the gurney he'd made me sit on. "Thanks again for seeing me."

"It's no problem. Congratulations, by the way." He turns his attention back to the clipboard in his hands—most likely another soldier's profile—as his way of saying we're done here.

As I'm descending the ladder, leading to the command deck, I—of all times—lose balance and nearly fall down the bloody thing. And I would have, had it not been for the gloved pair of hands catching me.

"Be more careful, soldier," Maxson says, not realizing it's me yet. As he does, however, he straightens me up on my feet. "Sentinel—it's been a while." He glances down to the bulge which is always front and center, but looks back up to my face quickly.

"Haven't heard anybody call me that yet," I tell him. "Going to have to get used to it. And it's not rude," I chuckle. "You can look—it's kinda hard not to, I admit." I place my hand under the baby boy.

Taking that as an okay, he looks again. "I must say, I've only seen a handful of… expectant mothers."

"It's not informal to say 'pregnant,' Elder." I laugh at him, earning a sheepish expression. "It's perfectly normal—every single one of us got here like this."

"I'm aware," he all but mumbles, seeming his actual age for once.

"Elder, if I may: how many women have you seen pregnant? Like, an estimate."

He motions me to follow him onto the observation part of the command deck. Once he's leaning against the railing, he says, "Maybe two." He seems like he's thinking back.

"Who were they, if you know?"

"One was just a wastelander I'd seen on a Brotherhood patrol before taking the Elder positon. The other, however, I knew somewhat personally. She was a member of the Brotherhood in the Capital Wasteland a long time ago. It's been about… I want to say it was seven or eight years ago. She hasn't been back since. Shame, too, since she was the one to start Project Purity." My eyes go round at that name. "Are you familiar with that project, Sentinel? You seem surprised to have heard it by name just now."

"I would say I'm familiar with it. Kate started that, yes?" He nods. "Yeah, I know her. And her family—including her son." Now his eyes go round.

"How do you know her?"

"She took care of my husband's son for a year when he was sick. When he got better, and we went to pick him up and bring him here, I met her. One of the nicest people I've ever had the privilege to know."

He smiles—Maxson actually smiles. "I couldn't agree more. I've known her for half my life. I was just a Squire back then—hard to believe it's been that long."

"Yeah, time tends to fly, doesn't it?" He nods in agreement. "Well, I just came back from visiting my old house, and I'm kind of tired. I really just need to get home and relax, so if you'll excuse me. I'll be back later. Not sure when, but I will be. Possibly with a baby," I chuckle. "I don't want to keep Robert or our sons waiting down at the airport." I turn to leave. "It's been nice talking with you, Elder."

He clears his throat. "Arthur will do just fine, Sentinel." I turn and look at him in shock, although I hide it.

"Well, in that case, just call me Beth, Arthur." He nods his head once, turning his attention to the windows of the observation deck.

"Well, that was something," I say as I climb off the Vertibird with Robert's help.

"What was?" He and the boys follow me as I head back to where we'd left the boat.

"Maxson and I had a conversation—like, an actual conversation. He's more than just a stoic, brooding Elder. He seems like he'd be sweet, once you crack that outer shell of his." All fourteen feet of it, I think with a grin. I think of his smile, something I'd never seen before. "He knows Kate, by the way."

"What? How?" This grabs Duncan's attention, too.

"You told me before that she was in the Brotherhood, right?" He nods. "Well, he said she was a part of it when he was younger—he told me he was just a Squire," I chuckle. "Hard to imagine him that young and small, he's so big now."

"He say how long ago that was?" Robert asks, completely enthralled in the tale. All four of us board our boat and start the short ride home.

"He hinted at around ten years ago was when he first met her." He laughs. "What?"

"That was around the time I met her, too." He chuckles again. "I know she did a lot of traveling in that year, but I didn't think it was that much. What a small world."

"Always has been," I say.