"Piper, get this gods be damned beast away from me!" I yelled for about the fortieth time that afternoon.
The laughter from the other six people with me only served to aggravate me even more. Dogmeat attempted once again to glean some affection from me, shoving his head underneath my hand. I've always disliked dogs, and the creatures all seemed to sense it. I'd never met a dog that refrained from whining, making faces that most folks found endearing, and cuddling up to me until I'd give it a token pat and send it on its way back to its owner. However, this dog was relentless. There were plenty of others here to get attention from. Why me?
Sandra patted her legs, and Dogmeat went running to her. Piper said her oft repeated assertion that the animal had followed her out of concern for Nate. I didn't doubt that; the dog did appear to be more intelligent than most of its kind. Still, I wished she would keep it nearer to her instead of me.
After nearly two weeks on the road, we'd gotten few hints as to Nick's whereabouts. Piper had directed us to the Abernathy farm first, thinking that it'd be a good start after the fond tales Nate would share about "those damn Abernathys" needing his repeated assistance in the early days of his life outside of the vault. She knew from both man and synth that Nate often traveled with Nick alone back then. Surely the settlers would remember something that might help.
Turns out that Blake Abernathy, patriarch of the farm, could only send us on to the next place he could guess Nick may have gone. Greentop Nursery had become a thriving settlement thanks to Nate's help. Daniel confirmed that he'd seen the pair many times at the nursery during his trade route stops. One of the farmers, Rebecca Morrison, had taken a shine to Nick. Both Daniel and Blake thought she might be more helpful than some of the other folks we'd spoken to outside of the settlements along our way.
It was near sunset when we approached the nursery. As we crossed into sight of Greentop, a woman called out to us.
"Danny! We've missed you!" she squealed.
"Hey Becks! Good to see you again." Daniel replied.
The source of the happy voice came running at us, and practically jumped into my man's arms. Daniel swung her around, and set her back on the ground. The ghoul woman, wearing a vivid yellow sundress and combat boots, took in the rest of our group, and immediately zeroed in on me.
"Are you Brenna? You must be. Danny has spoken so well of you every time he stops by." Rebecca said, thrusting out her hand for a fist bump.
I couldn't help but smile at her infectious bubbly personality. That there yet remained people in this world who were ever the optimist astonished me. To have hope and joy despite all the hardship was a beautiful sight to behold. I returned her greeting, tapped her fist with mine, and then turned my smile over to Daniel. He reached out for my hand, twining his fingers together with mine. Rebecca looked between the two of us, and hugged first Daniel and then me.
"Ahhhh. Danny, wait. This is the mystery woman you fell in love with?" she asked with a knowing smirk.
"Oh really? He talked about me? I've gotta hear this." I asked both of them.
Before Daniel could be further embarrassed, Sandra jumped in. She got right to the heart of the matter, and asked if Rebecca could tell us anything about Nick, or if she'd seen Nate acting strangely in the recent past. Piper seemed to be barely restraining herself from jumping down the poor woman's throat in her determination to figure out what was going on with her lover's behavior and Nick's disappearance. Sensing the tension in the air, Dogmeat went and sat at Rebecca's feet.
"Hey Dogmeat! Thought you were on my side." Piper said, unbelievably sounding disappointed in the animal's choice of loyalty at the moment.
The dog cocked his head to better look at Piper's eyes, and whined as if to say that Rebecca had nothing to do with Nate acting oddly and Piper should know that.
"You know, before we haul this poor woman in for questioning, we oughta make acquaintances." Mel interjected.
Daniel introduced us all in turn, saving me for last. Rebecca told us to call her 'Becks' just as Daniel had. Elliot, always the fool, took her hand and kissed it before asking her to show us to a private place to talk. The girlish smile she favored him with told us all we needed to know. McAllister was one smooth operator when he wanted to be.
"Looks like I may not be the only one of us to fall for a ghoul." I said, nudging Daniel playfully with my elbow.
"Best place for a quiet chat is on the lookout platform on top of the greenhouse. I'm on guard duty anyway. Or I was supposed to be, at least." Becks said, sounding a bit sheepish at having left her post to greet us.
When we reached the ladders that led up to the platform, Elliot told Becks to head up first so he could 'better enjoy the view'.
"Where the hell did you find this guy? He's a piece of…" Piper started to say before Ollie interrupted her.
"Work. A piece of work. And we stole him from the Brotherhood of Steel. Don't tell Danse." he said deadpan, trying to avoid laughing as hard as his wife was.
"He's from the Brotherhood? Why would you…" Piper squawked in surprise before Elliot's voice trickled down from the top of the ladder.
"Former Brotherhood. And I seem to remember rescuing you from the Prydwyn, Stryker." he said irritably.
Becks peered over the edge of the greenhouse at the men.
"Ok boys. Time to put your dicks away. We all know I have the biggest one here." she said, her voice strong with authority.
I looked at Daniel and grinned.
"I like her." I said.
"Figured you would." he replied with a smile.
Soon we were all on the roof, including Dogmeat, who got boosted up by a doting Sandra. One look around was all it took to see that the farmers here were well protected. Turrets of varying types pointed in each cardinal direction, and various traps ringed the rear of the greenhouse itself. A quick glance through Helga's newly improved scope told me that a supermutant camp wasn't too far from the Minutemen settlement. That explained the extra security measures.
Some industrious person had placed sleeping bags for those who stood watch to rotate amongst for rest. A living room set consisting of two chairs and a couch sat in the middle of the platform, illuminated by the swiveling spotlights. Becks led us over to the seating area, and asked us to make ourselves comfortable while she checked the perimeter.
Once Rebecca had climbed back down and was on patrol, I asked Piper what she thought we ought to ask about first. She was the one most impacted by Nick's disappearance. He was the only link we knew of that might possibly know what had gotten into Nate, or at least be able to sniff out what that might be. We needed Valentine too, and it seemed going with Piper might be our best bet as far as finding him went.
"I'm not sure, Zombie. Asking if she's seen either of them seems to be the most obvious choice, but it may not be the right one. The one that will get us answers that matter. I need the truth, not a pretty lie." she answered.
"Dare I ask why you call my lady 'Zombie'?" Daniel said, glaring in Piper's direction.
"Don't worry about it. I'll explain later. So what about those questions? I can see Becks on her way back, so you'd better come up with something fast." I said, not wanting Daniel to hear the details of my arrival from anyone but me.
I turned towards the clunk of heavy boots on the ladder just in time to see our potential "question victim" step up onto the platform watch tower. Noting our conspiratorial faces, Becks switched from happy go lucky to tough as nails in the blink of an eye. It was quite remarkable, really. This ghoul was much more formidable than she let on. One glance at my lover told me he knew this side of her, and was proud of it.
"Oh boy. What have we gotten ourselves into?" I thought.
"I see you were all busy discussing whatever brought you here in the first place." Becks said, one hip cocked to her side with a fist planted firmly against it.
"Gorgeous, and a mind reader. I may just be in love." Elliot swooned from the sleeping bag he had plopped himself on.
"Shut it, Sugarpie." said Ollie, looking for all the world as if for once in his life he didn't want a confrontation.
"Ok dickfuck, I'm done with this 'Sugarpie' bullshit." Elliot growled at Ollie as he got up from his sleeping bag.
Ollie leaned back further into Mel's lap as the angry former Brotherhood scribe towered over him, and a devious smirk bloomed to life on his face. I couldn't believe that these two were still vying for alpha male status.
"Alrighty then. Buttweasel it is instead. We'll put it to the group. Sugarpie versus Buttweasel. Just write your anonymous vote on the ballot and pass them on over to Dan to tally." Ollie said coolly.
"Don't drag me into this, Stryker." Daniel said, his chin resting on the top of my head as we snuggled up on the couch.
"Anyone ever tell you guys that you're all a bit crazy?" Piper said, her exasperation quite evident.
"It's our best feature, don't you think?" Mel said.
"Never has a more honest statement been made." Sandra added, sounding less than thrilled with the prospect of us gaining the reputation of insane people.
A pistol shot rang out in the night, and we all twisted towards the sound. Dogmeat leapt from Sandra's lap, and trotted over to Becks, the gun she had just fired pointing skyward in her hand. Elliot stood frozen, his fist still pulled back as he was preparing to punch Ollie. Sandra tugged on the back of his shirt, and told him to sit down and shut up.
"Thanks, beautiful. Now, if I don't have to shoot anyone, I'd love an explanation." Becks ordered.
"Nick Valentine has gone missing. From what we've been able to find out, he dropped right off the map nearly four months ago at worst, and 6 weeks at best, depending on who you talk to. I remember that night last autumn here with you two, and I thought maybe he had come back to see you at some point. At least that was my hope. I think we all would've rather found him here still in… Well, with you anyways." Daniel said, blushing at the last words he stammered over.
"Nicky's gone?" Becks asked, worry and fear swirling together in her voice and her eyes.
I motioned for her to come sit by us, and Becks flopped onto the couch with a sigh. Everyone on the rooftop, Dogmeat included, waited for her to speak. The shock on her face told us all that she had information we were looking for.
"When was he last here with you?" I asked gently.
"He came here about three months ago. We spent a few nights together before he took off again. Nicky had been on cloud nine when he showed up, but back to his usual 'knight in shining trench coat' routine the day he left." Becks said.
Some of her words clicked home in my mind.
"Whoa. Hold up. 'Spent a few nights together'? Are you and Nick…?" I faltered, hoping I'd been wrong in my assumption.
A devilish grin spread across her face.
"I believe the term you're looking for is 'intimate partners'." Becks said, obviously delighting in my shock and discomfort.
"Fuck." I said, because really, there were no other words.
"Exactly!" Mel snorted.
Becks patted my knee, and said that she and Nick had been off again, on again lovers for the better part of the last year. Whenever their relationship had been "in a cooling phase" as she put it, she'd find someone else to warm her bed. I sat there, slack jawed, before telling her that I'd never met another person as self-assured as her. What I really wanted to say is that I couldn't imagine how the mechanics of that would work out. No pun intended.
"Did he say anything to you about Nate? Anything at all that sticks out in your mind?" Piper asked eagerly.
"Not specifically, no. He only said that he'd resolved a long dead cold case with a former partner, and he was behaving much more…self-confident when he came to me. Said something about a guy named Winter getting his just rewards, whatever that meant." Becks shared, a look of concentration on her face.
"Last thing he said to me back in Diamond City was that he was heading out on personal business. Maybe that was it?" I suggested.
"Blue used to work with Nicky on some of his problem cases last year. I can't imagine that would contribute to his behavior though. When's the last time you've seen Nate, Becks?" Piper asked.
"About eight months ago, I think. He seemed preoccupied. Nate asked all of us what we knew about the Institute. None of us had the answers he was looking for, I guess." she replied.
I looked over my shoulder at Daniel, and whispered to him, asking if he had any ideas about the right line of questioning. He shrugged, and said that the only thing he could think of was if Becks knew about anyone else Nick may have gone off to rescue from the depths of nefarious mystery. I rubbed his arms that were around me, and told him quietly that he ought to ask that one.
Just as he opened his mouth, Piper jumped in.
"Ok so we know Nick left here seemingly on another case. Blue was likely with him on the last case, this Winter one. Who might Nick have gone to if he was on the tail of another mystery?" she asked.
"He was heading in the direction of The Slog when he left my bed. Best bet is that he was off to talk to someone there. Wiseman always has his ear to the heartbeat of the Commonwealth. Maybe Nicky needed some information that he had." Becks said.
"The Slog? Is that another settlement?" I asked. I was still learning about the Commonwealth every day it seemed.
From above my ear, Dan told me about the tarberry farm run by ghouls. It was one of his favorite stops on his trade route, but that I'd missed his run there in the weeks we'd traveled together before we'd fallen in love.
"Then we're off to the farm, I guess. Are you sure that's the direction he went, Becks?" asked Sandra doubtfully.
"Absolutely. I watched him through my sniper rifle scope as he was passing the hive of greenskin aberrations near us. Took out more than a few for him to have clear passage. He looked back at me and tipped his hat like he always does before resuming his departure." she told us.
"Let's go, people. Now." Piper demanded.
"Hell no we're not! It's only just become night. I'm not running through the dark to chase after your lover." I said indignantly.
Everyone began speaking at once, arguing this way or that about the merits of nighttime travel. Ultimately, the group would stay put until dawn arrived. Becks directed most of us to the group home set up behind the main building on the settlement. Once the others had been dropped off, she led Daniel and I to a small private little shelter on the far side of the public house. Once again, traps swooped around the perimeter, and a missile turret could be spotted up in the trees.
"I figured you two lovebirds would appreciate a little privacy. Catch ya later!" Becks said brightly as she left.
"Well I can't argue with that." Daniel said as he swept me up into his arms and crossed the threshold.
I couldn't help but giggle as we entered the cozy little shack. We snuffed out the little lamp next to the bed, and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company before calling it a night.
I woke to a knock on the shelter's door. Disentangling myself from a groggy Daniel, I wrapped a spare blanket around me before opening the door. One of the farmers had brought us some steaming hot coffee and razorgrain mush. It was the closest approximation to oatmeal in this world, and I had become accustomed to it. He had thrown in a good handful of tarberries, and I must admit that the breakfast in bed was a welcome gift.
After Daniel and I had eaten and dressed, we joined the others. All of us had armored up, and gathered our weapons and necessities for our journey to The Slog. The Strykers wanted to set out the same way Valentine had, and eliminate the supermutants along our way. Piper thought they had a good point in starting our search the same way the synth had gone. Elliot wanted to skirt around the mutants as much as possible, and Sandra agreed with him. While we were debating over the best path, Becks rushed over to us. The ghoul had switched her bright sundress for some serious armor, the chest piece crafted from what appeared to be an umpire's protective gear. There was a certain irony to her sporting what once obviously belonged to a Diamond City security guard.
"Seems like you guys need some muscle in your hunt for Nick. I certainly would love to see the look on his synthetic face at the little army you've gathered, Brenna. Let's head out!" Becks announced.
I had no convincing argument that would keep her here at Greentop. Looks like our group had become like an avalanche, gaining power as it crashed down. Dogmeat pranced joyfully around the eight of us. The dog was ready to take on whatever he must to get his human of choice back.
The two sharpshooters in our group, Becks and Sandra, climbed up to the little sniper's nest in a tall tree next to the mutant side of the farm. As the rest of us formed up and went into the mutant camp with guns blazing, I felt like we had finally turned into a fairly intimidating team.
"I've such a load of grenades now. Here, help carry them!" Mel shouted and laughed as she tossed her payload of frags at the first line of greenskins to come our way.
Elliot hid behind another tree, leaning out from cover to land precise shots with his laser rifle. Daniel's incendiary pistol made quick work of the less armored mutants. I was excited to finally give my new gun a whirl.
"Say hello to my little friend!" I screeched. I'd always wanted to use that old movie line.
I was somewhat surprised at the kickback as I fired off the .44 that Elliot had given me. Instead of it making me question my abilities, it brought on a feeling of strength and determination. I needed to become a more proficient fighter if I were to stay in this world even longer than I already had. I was very glad that I had practiced reloading the pistol during our downtimes. What had initially been a slow and fumbling process now went smoothly.
One of the huge mutants on the roof nearest to us hoisted an equally huge weapon onto its shoulder. My memory flew back to that first attack on Sanctuary, and the weapon I had discovered near the playground. The freak was preparing to fire off a Fat Boy, and send a mini nuke our way. I lined up the mutant in the sights of my .44, and shouted to the rest of my party so that they could either take cover, or assist. Remembering some of MacCready's tricks, I took a deep breath and held it before firing.
The airborne explosion shuddered the very breath in our lungs. Every living creature on the ground involuntarily ducked down. In the space of a few heartbeats, the battle resumed. During those few precious seconds though, I'd felt my heart roar with joy at my accomplishment. I had taken out both the nuke and the greenie who wielded it. I'd protected my own, and there was precious little else that could bring such pride.
Time resumed its rapid pace in my own perceptions, and before I could jump out of its path, a bullet grazed my shoulder. I gritted my teeth, cursed to myself, and killed the bastard mutant who had shot me.
"There will be time enough to deal with this soon." I thought.
The blood trickled down my arm and dripped onto the pistol. Oddly enough, it felt absolutely right that my life force would join with my source of inflicting the same damage on others.
Silence fell over me, and it dawned on me that the battle had been won. Daniel came running to my side with Dogmeat hot on his heels. Becks and Sandra had climbed down out of the sniper perch, and were checking in on the others. Piper had sustained a minor wound as well.
"Next time someone aims at a nuke and tells you to duck, fucking duck alright?" admonished Becks.
"Yeah, yeah. Maybe next time I'll just hide up in the trees with you instead." snarked Piper until the stimpak and Med-x hit her system.
Daniel smoothed my sweaty hair out of my face, and carefully injected the same medicines into my shoulder. As the burning pain subsided, I relaxed more and more into his arms.
"Can't even make it a few miles away from home, can we?" sighed Elliot, obviously frustrated that we weren't battle hardened warriors yet.
"Hey, man. I shot a nuke. Shot. A. Nuke! I'd say that counts for something." I slurred, the pain medication doing its job quite nicely.
"Come on, hero. Let's get up and running again, shall we?" Elliot said, sliding one arm underneath mine and assisting Daniel as the guys lifted me up from the dirt.
Still somewhat high, I left the fighting to the rest of my friends along the way to The Slog. We made excellent time, and came marching down towards what looked to be a public pool about an hour before twilight arrived. I could just make out the fruits floating across the top of the pool water, and the silhouettes of farmers hard at work in the garden area nearby. One of these outlines raised a hand and waved a greeting towards us.
"Dan! Just the ghoul we wanted to see!" came a friendly shout from the waving figure.
Piper slowed her steps to join Daniel and I.
"Is that Wiseman?" she asked, her ace reporter side about to surface.
"Sure sounds like him. Have you met before? He's a really kind guy with a strong sense of community and is a pacifist, believe it or not." Dan replied.
We neared the berry filled pool, and the ghoul in charge came striding over to our group. An air of anticipation and of expectation crackled in the air between each member of my team. Wiseman shook hands with all of us, and then passed a folded note over to Piper.
"Ms. Wright, I presume? Valentine's description of you was spot on. Not that I'd expect anything less from him." he added with a chuckle.
Before she even opened the letter, Piper asked what it contained. He said that he had no idea as he "doesn't go around opening other folks' stuff". Piper tore open the folded note from Nick, and went pale. She passed it over to me, and sat down on a nearby bench while I read.
In neat Palmer script, the letter began:
"Piper, I knew you'd come out this way eventually. Knowing people's instincts can sometimes come in handy.
To you, and to the others with you- don't try to fake it, Piper- don't worry. I've gone on to C.I.T. to find the answers I've been searching for since Nate took a turn for the worse. He's always been a bit of a blowhard at times, but lately he's been a whole other man.
Save your concerns for when we undoubtedly meet again, crack reporter. I will find out what's going on, even if it's the last thing I do. Let the others know that I'm still hunting for the answers they are seeking. We will go over the case later.
Your most effective detective,
Nick Valentine"
"Shit." I said, adding "I'm starting to feel like this is a twisted fetch quest. What say you, mutt?"
Dogmeat whined, and looked over towards the location of the ruined college. That settled it. After we rested, it was off to school we go. Pack me a lunch then. Preferably tarberries.
A/N:
So I feel like this may not have been my strongest chapter. Serves me right for writing while battling the flu. Despite feeling like a large dish of poo, I thought the chapter was decent enough to publish. In any case, I hope you'll hang around for more. Nick's rescue squad is on the way, and the adventure picks up the pace.