Author's Note:
I want to apologize for the delay in posting a new chapter lately. It should come as no surprise that like Brenna, I live with complex partial epilepsy. Mine has still not gotten under control since my diagnosis last May. This past week I had a few seizures, and just didn't have it in me to write. Thank you all for your patience. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Also, fair warning: there are some mild NSFW elements to this chapter. Further chapters may need to be rated M for sexual content.
There I sat amongst the remains of a dead civilization not my own, holding a tape with my name on it. MacCready walked over to see what I'd found.
"A holotape? That's seriously what we came for?" he asked incredulously.
"Holotape." I said, tasting the word and finding it lacking.
This little plastic square held terrifying possibilities. In my previous life, I'd had a living will and a set of advanced directives that dictated my wishes if the worst were to happen. Like say, a car crash. I was an organ donor, and had requested to be coded as a DNR. Do not resuscitate. Somewhere along the line, those orders were clearly ignored.
"We need to get out of here. I want to go home, Mac." I whispered.
"Home? Moneybags, I can't get you back to where ever you came from." he said, surprisingly gently.
"No, I want Sanctuary. I need my friends. Please? Let's go home." I asked.
Mac offered a hand to help me up from the macabre nest of bones. I shook my head, and boosted myself up. Tucking the holotape into my bag, I followed MacCready out of Med-Tek. I vowed to never return.
A week later, we crossed the footbridge into Sanctuary.
"So much for being gone for just a few days. More like two weeks." I thought sourly.
My neighbor, Sandra, was the first to see me. She came running, a huge smile of relief on her face.
"Brenna! We were all worried about you! Dan told us you'd be back soon, so what happened?" she asked.
"Moneybags wanted the wasteland tour." MacCready told her, glancing over at me.
I could tell he didn't want to spill my beans, as it were. I was grateful for that. I'd tell everyone at home what I'd found in my own time. I wasn't even sure exactly what it contained yet.
Sandra hugged me tightly. It was so good to be back. I could see Sturges approaching from the house he shared with Mama Murphy and the Longs.
"Alright! Our neighborhood time traveler returns. We missed ya." he said.
"A great welcome home, guys. Thanks. I appreciate it." I told them, the truth of my words hitting me.
Home. The word now had dual meaning for me. A place I worked to return to, and a place I finally felt comfortable with.
Sandra walked me back to my yellow house, relieving MacCready of his weirdo sitting duties. She told me there was a note from Dan waiting for me inside, but her words barely registered. I needed to find a way to play that tape.
I closed the front door of my little home behind me, dropping my belongings on the kitchen table as I went. I rummaged through my bag and pulled the holotape out. I felt like I was walking through deep fog as I made my way into the living room. Once I was sitting on my threadbare couch, the tears came forth.
How was any of this even remotely possible? Perhaps more importantly, where would I find a way to play it? I turned to set the ominous little plastic tape on the table beside me when I noticed the neatly folded paper tucked partially beneath the vase I kept there. A smile touched my lips. That must be the note Dan had left.
Discarding the tape in favor of the words of the man I'd been falling for, I opened up the paper. The precise handwriting within confirmed that it was from Dan. I'd seen enough of the crude printing of most wastelanders to know it was him. Only someone from another dimension or whatever like myself, or the pre-war ghouls had decent handwriting these days.
"Brenna,
I'm sorry to break my promise to wait for you. It's been nearly a week, and I must return to my trade route. I know you understand.
I hope MacCready brings you safely back to me. Frankly, I've never much trusted him. Putting my love in his hands has left me worried.
I will return to Sanctuary as soon as I can, likely within a week or so. Now it's my turn to ask you to wait for me.
I hope you don't mind, but I left some of my personal items in your spare bedroom. A lightened load means a speedier return. I will see you soon, I promise.
Yours,
Dan"
A goofy little smile touched my face. His words whispered to me. "My love." I wondered if he even realized he'd written that. Butterflies in the pit of my stomach swarmed around. It'd been nearly two decades since I'd last felt that particular sensation, the giddiness of new love. He said he'd be back within a week. Between my missing two weeks, and his one, that meant he'd be back any day now.
I've always been a bit of a nosey person, and knowing some of his personal stuff was sitting just feet away had my curiosity piqued. After some debate over invading Dan's privacy, I snuck off into my rarely used spare room.
In addition to a few other bulky items, the canvas bag I'd often seen strapped to his brahmin lay on the bed. I turned on the light in that room. Carefully undoing the straps, I opened his bag, and took a peek inside. Various papers, a few trinkets, and a picture. I slid out the photo, and just stared.
It was obviously a pre-war picture. It showed a group of people at a picnic. Women in sundresses, and the men in various shirts and slacks. I got the distinct impression that it was a company function. In the middle of the second row stood an adorable man with hazel eyes and a familiar shade of sandy brown hair. This was my Dan before he became a ghoul.
"Couldn't resist, huh?" came his voice softly from behind me.
I visibly startled, and whirled around. A guilty blush colored my cheeks. Dan came to my side, slipped his arm around me, and looked at his photo with me. I rested my head against his chest, and tapped the image.
"This is you." I said.
"What makes you think that?" he asked, sounding amused.
I turned to look at him, and slowly traced his lips.
"I'd recognize that smile anywhere." I whispered.
I knew things between us were developing rapidly, but I just couldn't bring myself to end it. The nights we'd spent either on the road or sitting around the fire pit with our Sanctuary friends had brought us closer together. Being with him made me feel young again, and it pained me to admit that I liked it.
"I looked much better back then. Not that I was ever handsome." he said, obviously in a self-depreciating mood.
"Whether human or ghoul, you're sexy in my eyes." I told him, almost wishing I could take my words back. Almost.
The initial look of shock on his face swiftly melted into one of deep affection. Before I could register it, his lips were on mine. I threw myself into his kiss, pressing my body against his. He slowly backed us up until we were sitting on the edge of the bed. I could feel my heart pounding as I guided his hand to my breast, my nipple stiffening beneath the heat of his palm. Suddenly, Dan jumped from the bed. I sat there, stunned. He must've seen the wounded look in my eyes.
"I…I just haven't… What I mean to say is that I'm sorry. I didn't intend on hurting you. I've gotta go." he stammered, practically running from my home.
"Dan! Wait up!" I shouted, taking off after him.
I found him outside in my yard. He was standing with his back turned to me, his face in his hands, seemingly embarrassed. I didn't know if I should go to him or let him be. I took a deep breath, and gently touched his shoulder.
"Hey. I don't know exactly what just happened in there, but I'm sorry if I've been reading your signals wrong. I never meant to push you into something you don't want." I quietly told him.
"It's not that I don't want you. God help me, I do. Badly." he mumbled.
He glanced down at me, and saw my pleased grin before I could hide it. He slipped his hand around mine, and guided me back into my home. We sat knee to knee on my couch.
"Have you heard the term 'smoothskin' before?" he asked.
I carefully considered before I answered that I hadn't heard it until that moment.
He sighed, and dropped his head back into his hands.
"It's a word used throughout the ghoul community to mean regular humans. Many use it as a derogatory term. Some don't. That said, there is a stigma to human-ghoul relationships between both groups. I want you to understand what you're getting yourself into if this continues." he said.
I could easily detect the sadness, and frustration in his voice. It almost sounded as though he didn't want to have whatever this was between us go any further. Shit.
"Dan…" I started.
"Brenna…" he began at the same time.
Our laughter filled the room. I leaned over and kissed him.
"I do want this, Dan. Whatever it is. Or will be. I care about you." I said.
"I feel the same. Just please take some time to think this over. There's no need to rush things. We've got plenty of time yet." he said while holding me tight.
I snuggled into his arms, enjoying his presence. We'd come a long way since I'd threatened to shoot him just months ago.
"Is that a holotape?" he asked, looking over my shoulder.
"Yeah. It's got my name on it. Literally. I just don't know how to play it." I told my would-be lover.
"Well that's an easy enough fix. I've got one on the brahmin. Let's go get it." he said.
We went back out to the trading post. Dan rummaged through his inventory, and came up with a metallic box that resembled a small old school boom box from my world. I slid my arm around his waist, and we went to have a seat by the fire with Sandra, and a few others. I had no idea what we were about to hear, but it was reassuring to have people I cared about surrounding me.
"Ready, love?" Dan asked.
"As I'll ever be." I replied, nervous but still inwardly swooning over his new name for me.
I passed over the holotape, and steeled myself for what was on it. Dan pulled me close to comfort me while we listened. He clicked the tape home in the player, and my voice issued from its speakers.
First came a muffled man's voice in the background:
"Are you ready, Ms. Morley?"
And then a woman who sounded eerily like me:
"This recording contains my living will. I authorize it and Dr. William Hoffman acts as witness. On this day, March 31, 1999, I have turned 18 years of age. I am now legally empowered to make the decisions therein.
In the event of my permanent impairment or death, I release my physical body to any descendants of blood relation I leave behind with the following exemptions: I have chosen to release my brain and all its attendant memories and personality traits, my respiratory system, and my cardiovascular system to the Vitruvian Society.
I entrust these exemptions to the Society in full knowledge of the potential uses by this organization. I release the Society from all indemnity, both from myself and any of my future descendants.
A dry chuckle came from the woman:
"Future. Pffft."
The man spoke up, his tone one of warning:
"Ms. Morley…"
The woman sighed and continued:
"I, Brenna Jane Morley, conclude this recording. I claim full authorization as a subject of the Vitruvian Society."
"Are we done here?"
Then a click and the holotape was finished.
"What the flying fuck was that?" I said in complete shock.
I'd never been quite as glad to see equally disconcerted faces surrounding me, or to be encircled in the arms of a man I love.