A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating as much as I had planed. I have a lot of shit going on lately. I've been dealing with my emotions by nesting on my floor under my Mario Kart blanket and cuddled next to my giant bear and watching Sailor Moon and Pokemon tapes and playing Fallout 3 in the dark for hours. BTW, what do you guys think of me writing another story where Charon's contract is held by a small child?

Chapter 47: Welcome To My Crib

The dilapidated ruins of the old road leading to the center of the city had crumbled under my weight. I asked Eleanor to sit this trip out for me, her sitting at home pouting and moaning like a child. The city sat in front of me like a looming tombstone.

Somewhere in the city, there was a baby stuff store. There had to be a decent crib in this massive skeleton of a city. If I lucked out, I would not only find a crib, but also a fair amount of baby clothes or formula or whatever else tiny babies need.

These past few months were rushed and the weight of responsibility was beginning to drag down on my shoulders. Before Eleanor, my only responsibility for the past two centuries was making sure my employer was alive. I never even had to worry about a child. Unless a child managed to get a hold of my contract, I would never actually even have to interact with a child unless ordered to.

I was going to have a baby girl. I was about to be a dad before I know it. The terms of the contract never addressed children, but it was just understood that I was not meant to be a father. The contract was full of loopholes though. A way around the silent understanding would be if Eleanor ordered me to be the father. She may have asked me to be the father, but she never ordered it.

This would have to be discussed when I got home but for now, I needed to find the crib. It was about nine o'clock in the morning. I left early to get a head start and have enough time to actually look thoroughly. I had no idea where to even look.

I was always good at finding food, water, and ammunition. Hell, it was what I was trained for. But the second anyone asks anything about children, my brain feels like a balloon popping.

I thought back on the days before the war, back to going to the store with my mother. I didn't remember any of the names of the stores we went to, and besides, they were all in Boston. Unless we went to chain stores, the memories were of no use.

The only store I could really remember clearly was the large general store with the mechanical horse out front all the kids begged their parents for nickels to ride. I didn't even remember what was inside the store. Just the green horse with the blue handle bars and saddle.

I kicked myself for being so mesmerized by the damn horse. That knowledge did nothing for me now. As I walked through the ruins unnoticed by any real enemies, I thought back on all the grocery stores I had been in in the city on my trips out of Underworld in the past fifty years. I vaguely remembered an infancy section in one that was close to the center of the city. The next question was where the fuck it even was.

I hadn't been there in years and it was inhabited by mutants then. Who knows if they're there or something new moved them out. Maybe I could even convince one of the smarter mutants to help me carry the supplies needed out to a check point. Now the only thing I needed to figure out in that plan besides finding the location is what to bribe them with. Mutants only liked killing. I could find a bunch of half broken hunting rifles and trade them for temporary manual slave labor. It wouldn't be the first bad thing I've done. And it sure as hell won't be the last.

Farragut West Metro Station seemed as safe a choice as any to get to the heart of the city. If there weren't too many raiders, I could breeze through within the next two hours. The bad thing about underground wasn't the enemies. It was the lack of sunlight. It was damn near impossible to figure out how much time had passed without a reliable watch. Eleanor's Pipboy would have come in handy in this time of need.

I shrugged to no one and pushed the gates open. This seemed a little too easy, but I didn't want to jinx anything. I readied my shotgun and held it closely as I glided down the ramp noiselessly and kept to the wall. The air was hot and musty, not unlike other metros. This one had more of a sweet scent of rot lingering around. Silently rounding the corner, I was greeted by two mole rats digging at the station floor.

Two mercy shots to the heads took them out quickly. They wouldn't find food unless some lost soul was stupid enough to come down here unprepared for even them. There wouldn't be any boxed food. People have scavenged for two hundred years. They clearly hadn't eaten in a long time, looking at each pronounced rib. I stepped past them and down the halls, only to encounter another. It hissed and jumped back in fear.

I held my shotgun up but stopped short when I remembered a box of snack cakes Eleanor made me bring. Those two before would have fought to the death over them. I dropped my gun slowly and held up my hands to show I wasn't going to do any harm. The mutated rodent shook violently with a loud hiss. It sat on its haunches, ready to strike if necessary. I reached around slowly to find the stale cakes and opened the box. The mole rat's hissing quieted some, but not completely. Human, or ghoul, kindness was very unfamiliar amongst the wastes for anything breathing. No one was born hateful. It's learned, either from those who raise them or a product of their environment.

I dumped the cakes on the ground quickly and backed away slowly, trying not to startle it. It's nose twitched in the air as it caught the scent and took a few careful steps towards the food. It grazed the cake its teeth as if to test it. I stood up slowly and stepped around it. It tore into the cakes hungrily, but kept a wary eye on me as I moved around.

I slipped out into a hallway and wound around down stairs and more hallways. The further I went through the metro, the stronger the rotting smell became. The panting of ferals confirmed my suspicions. I made my way up the stairs and found them locked behind a gate. A swift block to the lock with the butt of my gun fixed the problem.

Three ferals rushed out quickly past me. They stopped in front of an office and looked around. They clearly didn't know what to do with themselves once they were let loose. Hopefully, they wouldn't find the mole rat. Something about seeing the poor animal lying on the ground surrounded by hungry ferals didn't sit right with me. That wasn't a good way to go.

I shrugged and fired at one of them. The top of its head exploded, leaving only the jaw and rotting tongue lolling around as it fell to the ground. The ghouls were shocked at first, one of their own kind turning on them. They quickly got over it and ran at me. I pulled the trigger once again and the left temple of the closer one obliterated. It dropped and tripped the last one for a moment. This was pretty pathetic. I grabbed it by the shoulder tightly and shoved it over the short safety gate. It hurdled to the ground and was silenced with a loud splat.

The mole rat would live another day. I turned back and ignored the tempting filing cabinets. I made my way up more winding stairs and into the tunnels. This was going to be way too long.

What felt like an hour later, I was climbing up the stairs to Chevy Chase North. This deep in the city was a complete warzone. Brotherhood and mutants were constantly battling, some areas being completely covered in bullet shells and cases. I ducked down when I heard shouting and rapid fire. Of course I walked into another ethnic cleansing.

I hoped that the mutants would be a good enough distraction as I sprinted towards the closest pile of rubble. I didn't look back to see if I had been spotted before tumbling over the rubble and rolling to the ground. I shot up to my feet and rushed to the side of the large buildings. This was a more residential area. Maybe I didn't even have to find a store. There would hopefully be someone with an old nursery in one of the homes. I would just have to do a little digging.

Another hour and a half passed, full of me pulling away dry rotted boards on doors and doing a quick sweep of the houses until I got the second to last in the neighborhood. This was going to be a big waste of time. I would have given up if it hadn't been for the shredded remains of a stroller on the front steps.

I took a deep breath and pulled the boards away. Splinters dug into my skin and my palms were blistering already. The door was fucking locked. I was really not in the mood for this right now. It was hot and I was hours away from home. From Eleanor.

I stepped back and brought my foot up. With a loud grunt, I kicked the door open. It was shattered and satisfying. I set frag mines by the door under the larger strips of wood in case anyone was feeling brave. I pushed passed the remains of the splintered door and into the small kitchen. Bowls and plates were still left on the table and the kitchen was somewhat messy. These boarded up houses had been untouched for god knows how long. Everything was left the moment they heard the sirens.

God the sirens. The ringing and echoing and the screams. It was all coming back to me. It was terrifying. I was in the Institute courtyard training with the others when the sky turned orange. It was what could have been seen as a nice day before the blaring sirens seemed to be coming from everywhere. It was the first time in a long time I was terrified. Of course, we were all rushed into the shelter so all their work wasn't wasted.

The last time I saw the Old World was watching that warhead hurdling towards the ground and seeing it disappear behind the skyline. My stomach dropped as I knew that this was the last two seconds of life for thousands of people. The mushroom cloud that quickly rose up from the ground and shot waves of heat took my breath away. Not in the poetic way, but in the sympathetic mournful loss of all those families, including my own. The door closed as the heat rose and the door shook. That was the last I saw of civilization.

I shook the memories away as bile began to rise in my throat. I swallowed tightly and moved to the living room. It was a very nice house for back in the day. Now it was a safe haven paradise if it had good defenses. And wasn't smack dab in the middle of the city. There were two rooms branching off, one being the master bedroom with nothing note worthy except for some decent looking pillows.

Eleanor had complained about her pillow being lumpy and needing another anyway for her back. I made sure to leave the house with a lot of room in my pack. A pillow was almost weightless but took up a good bit of room. I grabbed the pillow and my eyes widened in shock at how soft it was. It was heavier than normal pillows and when I squeezed it, the shape quickly returned. This was a top quality pillow. I stuffed it in the bottom of my pack and did a quick sweep of the room for anything else of use for Eleanor. I found a soft night gown and a dress that had looked expensive at one point.

I left the room and entered the next. This wasn't even a bedroom. It was a large bathroom, complete with lady stuff. Exactly what Eleanor also complained about not having. I stuffed everything in the shower into the pack and searched the rest of the cabinets and drawers. I found a tube of toothpaste almost completely full, a hairbrush, q-tips, soap, a clean towel, and those weird panty plugs chicks need during "the reapening".

I left the bathroom with a heavier bag and headed up the stairs. There was another bathroom but this one was much smaller and only consisted of a sink and a toilet. There were two more bedrooms down the hall. One of which would hopefully be a nursery. I opened the door to the closer one and closed it when I saw it was only an empty guest room.

My hand gripped the door knob tightly. The anticipation was almost painful. This may be my only shot if I couldn't find a store with at least a crib before it was getting dark. I turned the knob and pushed the door open slowly. I stared at my boots until the door was open enough for me to see most of the room. I looked up to find my golden ticket. The exact nursery you would see in an upper class family's house.

The baby food was definitely a no, diapers would take up most of the pack, and the crib would have to be disassembled. It looked like one of those cribs that turned into a bed when the child was older, which I couldn't have cared less about. We already have a spare bed. Baby books lined the white shelves and small stuffed animals sat perfectly arranged. What really caught my eye were the two skeletons holding each other. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a much smaller skeleton wrapped in a blue blanket.

Suddenly, everything seemed so wrong. I was intruding in their home and stealing everything I felt like. Never mind the fact that I need, or wanted, it, I still felt wrong. This family didn't deserve to die and then have their home raided. For once, I was having a conscience about what I was doing outside of my actions with Eleanor. I had to bury them.

I sighed and dropped my bag on the floor. I stuffed everything I could in it: two stuffed animals, the blanket in the crib, all the diapers I could find, baby clothes, books, a bottle, and I dumped the contents three large cans of formula into one of the pillowcases from downstairs. I dragged it downstairs and left it in the kitchen and returned upstairs. I yanked the sheets off of the guest bed and laid them down on the nursery floor. I carefully picked up the skeletons and laid each one down delicately and with as much respect as I could.

I placed the parents side by side and rested the baby in between the two of them snuggled between their rib cages. I pulled the edges of the blanket over them and hooked my arms under them and lifted the bundle. Carefully watching my step, I made it down and out the door to their front yard. I rested them on the sidewalk and looked around. They had a flower bed at some point so there should be a shovel in a closet somewhere. I looked for a back door and found one I missed behind some blinds. I pushed them away and stepped outside.

A dog house with another sad skeleton sat by the door and I ignored it. Dead animals always had a lasting effect on me rather than dead humans. I kicked rocks as I made my way to the garden shed. Everything was old and rusted with holes, but the shovel in the back was good enough. I grabbed it and dropped it quickly when the frag mines went off.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I readied my shotgun and bust through the door. "Back the fuck off!"

I raised the barrel to find a super mutant looking... shocked? "Leave, mutant."

The mutant raised a hand in surrender. "I mean no harm to... anyone. I saw you come in and come back... out with those skeletons in the blanket."

I kept the gun trained on him. "What are you doing watching me?"

"You do not know these people, yet you... show them great respect. I... apologize for the rude introduction. My... name is Leo. But everyone calls me Uncle Leo."

This was either the smartest super mutant there is, or the heat is getting to me. "That's not what I asked."

"I saw you coming out of a house and go into... another one... and another one. You were in this one much longer and... came to see if you needed help." His lips twitched in what seemed like a smile.

A normal super mutant would have either kept moving on or tried to kill me by now. I lowered my gun and nodded. "Why are you so much smarter than the rest of your kind?"

Leo shrugged and stepped into the house. He was noticeably smaller too. Almost my height. "I am unsure of why I am the way I am, but I do not question a blessing."

I headed back to the backyard and picked the shovel up again. I drug it in, exhausted from today already. Maybe I can talk the mutant into digging the hole for me. He looked at me expectantly, as if he were already awaiting orders.

"Would you like some help?" He grunted.

I handed him the shovel. "Yeah. You dig the hole and I go back up there and get what I came here for."

He nodded stiffly. "If I may ask, what are you here for? You were very... determined to get what you were looking for."

My gaze shifted to the overflowing pack in the kitchen. "Stuff for my girls."

"Girls?" He looked at the pack in deep thought. "What do you mean?"

I sighed heavily. "My girlfriend or whatever she is... and our kid. She's expecting."

Leo's eyes softened. "That is a very noble cause for danger."

"Yeah, whatever. I need to go disassemble the crib upstairs and manage to find a way to get it back home and make sure I can even fight off whatever comes at me." I turned and made the short, yet long trip to the nursery and inspected it.

His heavy footsteps led outside and I could hear the old dirt and rocks shifting. He could also serve as a good look out. Unless he's nice to everyone. Then he'll be dead before I knew it. Whatever, I needed to focus on this crib.

About an hour had passed before I was certain I had all the smaller pieces in zipped up pockets. I picked up the boards and bars and the folded tiny mattress in another bundle. Ripping the fitted sheets off of the guest bed gave me a makeshift sack. I stuffed the crib parts into the sheets and tied the diagonal corners together and slung it over my shoulder.

Leo was nailing something to the door frame and a closer look showed he took one of the doors from the other houses and replaced the broken one. I should have just picked it the lock. Hopefully no one would break into this house anymore. Raiders weren't stupid enough to come to this area. They stayed close to Dupont.

"I see you are finished with... the crib." Leo stated. "Would you like some more help... with getting it home?"

I shrugged. "If you could get it to Springvale, that would be nice. It's close enough that I can bring it all home and you won't get shot."

I handed him the crib bundle and hauled the pack over my shoulder. "Alright. We'll go through Chevy Chase and come out of Farragut. That alright?"

"I shall follow your lead. I know that I am too trusting, but I haven't made... it this long without a fight." Lea assured.

I nodded. "Good."

We exited the house and boarded it back up. I turned to the loose dirt in the yard and felt lighter. We had done the right thing burying them respectfully. And I didn't feel so guilty for taking their shit now. I picked up one of the boards from the old door and my combat knife.

I carved the wood and pushed it into the start of the loose soil above their heads. They had a proper-ish headstone now. We left the yard and back to the rubble. I spared one last glanced over my shoulder to the family. "Thank you and rest in peace."

As I turned, something caught my eye. I did a double take and it was gone. I was seeing shit now. I could have sworn I saw two women waving.