42. Full of Surprises

Beth POV

Ever since coming back from Diamond City for Christmas a couple months ago, we haven't left home. I still sorta want to stay here at home, but I can tell I'm getting antsy—I need to go somewhere. When I told Robert this, he seemed pleased, and wanted to go with me—wherever I was headed. So, we left the boys back home with their favourite uncle and are now on our way—with Tori—to the Prydwen.

Been a while since I've been here, I think as I climb aboard the Vertibird. Once on the flight deck, I feel how comfortable I am here—almost like another home. A Knight greets me on the way into the command deck. "You've done a heck of a job, Sentinel. Ad victorium!" I nod back to them and proceed, Robert and Victoria behind me.

"Did I hear something about our Sentinel?" I hear Maxson boom out. Before he can get an answer, he sees me. "Beth! I'm pleased to see you again. How's…" He waves his hand at me, indicating the lack of baby inside me. "How's everything?" he settles.

"'Everything' is fine," I tell him. Robert steps up next to me, gaining his attention immediately. I smile at his expression—a mixture of fear and amazement. "You can hold her, Arthur—if you want." He glances up at me, that fear growing slightly.

"I've never held a baby before. I'm afraid I'll hurt her."

I chuckle. "Like I haven't heard that one before. Don't be so scared. You're the leader of the Brotherhood, for God's sake." I take our daughter from my husband's arms, the former wide awake and staring at the bearded man with round eyes—the blue eyes that she inherited from both her parents. "See? Just like this." I hand her to him.

"What's her name?" he asks while having a stare down with her.

"Victoria," Robert answers. "Tori and Vitya for nicknames. Just not Vicki. We hate that name." I nod my agreement.

"'Vitya,'" he chuckles. "Strange of you to choose a Russian nickname from a Latin name."

I lean over to Robert's shoulder. "Told you."

"You've been telling me for two months. I know. Trust me."

After a minute, the Elder gathers my attention by asking, "So, is there a specific reason why you stopped by today? Other than showing off your daughter, that is."

"Got bored of staying at home. And, it's been a while since I've been back—been wondering if I have any tasks or jobs to complete."

"You're a Sentinel now. You make your own missions. The last job you had to take was as a Paladin. You wouldn't have to step foot on the Prydwen for years, and you'd still hold rank."

I'm shocked. "Oh. I didn't know that. I just figured I was on leave and would have to report back sooner or later."

Robert pats me on the shoulder. "I'm going to go get some clips from Teagan. Be back after a while." I nod as he leaves his wife and daughter with the brooding man he used to all but hate.

"I've been mulling over an idea in my head, Beth," Maxson starts. "I've mentioned it in passing with Lancer-Captain Kells, but not as in depth as I wish." He reaches his semi-gloved hand up to Tori's head—as if to feel her hair or something—but drops it and continues. "The Capital Wasteland holds no meaning for me anymore. It is where I grew up—in the confines of the Citadel—" He sees my confusion at his term and rewords it. "—in the Pentagon.

"Ever since Elder Lyons passed, and his daughter rose to prominence, everything was different. Not always a bad different, but altered nonetheless. Then she was killed in the line of duty, and everything really did change. I didn't know who to trust—and becoming Elder at sixteen years of age would just make this more difficult for me.

"Nobody back 'home' is someone I call friend—or even something as simple as comrade. Coming to the Commonwealth proved me right: that I can live away from the Citadel and be fine. I can still be the East Coast's Elder, just from a more comfortable distance. And now with the Institute eradicated, it seems a more suitable home for me than I originally anticipated."

I swear that was the longest dialogue he's ever given to just one person about anything personal. "So, Arthur. Are you saying you're staying here?"

"Yes. About half of the patrols will head back to the Capital Wasteland—both on board and on the ground." He clears his throat and speaks quietly. "You can tell Danse he doesn't have to worry as much about being snuffed out now." I feel my face fall into a round formation. "I got curious," he continues, "and asked Scribe Haylen where she thought he was. She said your island. Beth, don't be fearful about my telling a soul. I'm sure he helps quite a bit around there. He always had when he was with us."

And just like that, the Elder seemed to have gotten over his aversion to Danse being a synth.

To change the subject, I ask, "You said there's nobody back in DC for you. Do you not have a partner?" He looks down from my face to Victoria's, and shakes his head. "Well, hopefully you can find one here. You're a good man, Arthur. Shame to let all that husband material go to waste. And dare I say, father material. Tori's been quite calm with you this whole time." I gaze at her face, now sleeping instead of holding a staring contest with the man.

"Well, I suppose we'll find out one of these days, yes?" He hands my daughter back to me. "I'm not sure if the Prydwen's to stay here, or to travel back to the Citadel—but I'm curious: could you help me find a place to live until I figure all this out?"

I smile. He's asking me for advice. "I'd be honoured."

In return for helping Arthur find somewhere to live, I asked for a favour—a simple one, really. I asked for a book. But not any book. He personally walked me to Proctor Quinlan and granted my request easily enough.

Now, Tori, Robert, and I are in Danse's old quarters—it and all his belongings having been given to me when I took his place as Paladin, so to say.

"I have something for you," I tell him, grabbing his attention away from his Vitya.

"And what's that?" I hand him the book I got a while before retiring for the night. "A Spanish-English Book of Translations for Dummies." He looks up at me. "Really?"

"You're always complaining how you don't know what I'm saying in Spanish. Well, now you can't complain anymore. Just look it up." I take Victoria from him and place her in the metal bin at the foot of the bed. There were a few blankets in it, so one is now on the bed, the others unfolded into a soft pallet for our daughter inside the bin. "Better than nothing," I comment on her makeshift crib. "Well, see you in the morning."

I don't remember there being this many stairs, I think as I ascend the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City. But once I open the last door, the view sprawled out in front of me makes it all worth it. Shame I haven't been back here since I was with Nate.

I'm sitting on the edge of what I'd call a viewing platform when Robert finally joins me.

"Took you long enough to climb those stairs," I tease him. He smiles and moves up behind me, looking at Mexico City before us. "This view is one I'll never get tired of."

"The view of the city?" he asks.

"Yeah. All the city life—the people, the buildings. The food." I smile and close my eyes. "Want to get some tacos when we're done? I know a great place not too far from here."

"Sure. But maybe we should get down first. I'd hate to fall off this thing."

"Good idea." I swing my legs off the edge and stand up. "Can't wait for those tacos." He guides me back through the door we'd come in and start our descent down the monument.

MacCready POV

Sleepwalk by Santo & Johnny

I wake up to the noise of Vitya quietly cooing to herself and smile at the sound. She's just so content all the time. I roll over to put my arm around Beth, but come up with an empty space—although it's still warm. Sitting up instantly, I look around the room—maybe expecting Vitya to be making noise due to Beth messing with her. But, no. She's nowhere in the room.

"Beth?" I call out quietly. Nothing.

I creak open the door to see a single Knight patrolling the area. Closing the door to, I quickly pull on my pants and duster and leave Victoria in her bed. She'll be fine right there, I think as I go out onto the main deck. "Excuse me?" I ask the Knight. "Have you seen the Sentinel anywhere?"

The suit of power armour affirms they had, and that she'd taken off toward the forecastle in search of some fresh air. Making my way up the stairs, I open the door and indeed find Beth. She's sitting on the edge of the railing, her legs on the outside—able to fall to the ground at a moment's notice.

"Beth?" She turns and looks at me. Her eyes are open, but they have an odd look in them—as if she's looking somewhere far off.

"Took you long enough to climb those stairs," she says, a teasing grin appearing on her face. I feel my face scrunch together in confusion. What is she on about? I move up behind her, not quite trusting her. As she turns and continues to look out into the night, she adds, "This view is one I'll never get tired of."

Suddenly, I realize she's still asleep. That she must be sleepwalking, and is seeing something totally different than I am. I'd heard to just go with it when people are asleep. They can get hurt if you try to wake them. So, I do just that—go along with her illusions.

"The view of the city?" I glance at her grip on the railing, and am at least pleased to see that it seems tight enough to not fall immediately.

"Yeah. All the city life—the people, the buildings. The food." She smiles. "Want to get some tacos when we're done? I know a great place not too far from here." Tacos? What is that?

I again go along with it. "Sure. But maybe we should get down first. I'd hate to fall off this thing." I look down to the ground—much further than I'd prefer it be.

She finally comes down from her perch and stands next to me. "Good idea. Can't wait for those tacos." She loops her arm through mine as we leave the forecastle.

As we're walking down the stairs—headed back to her quarters—I hear Victoria crying. Of course, Beth wouldn't wake up when she left the room in the first place, or even when she sat on the railing or held a conversation with me. But, as soon as she hears Vitya, she wakes up. The distant look in her eyes clears, and she glances around, looking confused at her surroundings. She doesn't let this slow her, though, as she goes right into the room to tend to her baby.

Almost as soon as she walks through the door—with me right behind her—we hear Vitya's cries cease. And I'm shocked to see the reasoning behind it.

"Arthur?" Beth asks, surprised to find him in the room, holding our daughter.

He spins and greets us quietly. "I'm sorry to have just barged in, but she'd been crying for the better part of ten minutes. And since my quarters are adjacent, I couldn't just sit idly by."

Beth looks at the time on her Pip-Boy, still sitting on the counter next to the door, and moves toward the Elder. "It's around the time I feed her." She takes her from him and looks up at the man. "I'm sorry about all this. I had a bout of sleepwalking, it seems." She gazes at me.

"Perfectly normal," Maxson replies. "I'll just, uh, be on my way. Goodnight." He walks out the door, closing it gently behind him.

After he's gone, Beth continues to feed the baby girl, sitting on the bed, seeming perplexed—and with good reason. "What happened?" she asks me after a few minutes.

"I woke up and you were gone," I tell her. "One of the Knights said you had left a few minutes before I asked about you, and that you said you were going to the forecastle for some night air. You seemed to have been awake to them.

"I then found you sitting on the railing outside there. Scared me at first." I think about the only other time either of us had sat on any ledge of sorts, and shudder at the reason. "Anyway," I continue. "I realized you were still asleep and led you back here. You didn't even wake until you heard Vitya crying."

She chuckles. "Mothers are supposed to wake up when their children cry—it's an instinct. It's just bred into us." She thinks for a moment before asking, "What was I dreaming about?"

"No clue. About something called 'tacos?'" She laughs. "What?"

"Oh, man. I do miss tacos! Apparently, I miss tacos in my dreams, too." She chuckles, just to come to a stop. "Wait." She looks up at me. "Why did you leave Tori here?"

"I thought she'd be fine for a few minutes by herself. Besides, I didn't even know where you went, and I needed to find you." I look at Vitya. "It all turned out okay in the end. No worries."

It seems like she wants to argue about it further—It's not all okay, her eyes say—but she just rolls them and lets it go. She places Victoria back in the bin at the foot of the bed and climbs onto the mattress. "Well, let's hope that won't happen again. Goodnight. Again."

A/N: The whole sleepwalk thing started as a one-shot idea, but ended up in this instead. Funny how things work.