It didn't take long for Max to return. While he was gone, a robot dog came out from the other room. His brain was exposed and half of his body was cybernetic. I remember recruitment ads with these dogs in them. There weren't many in our area, but they were effective from what I hear. He seemed very friendly though. I pet him as I walked around looking at Max's various collections including snow globes, some vault suits and different outfits, and a gun display. He's quite the collector. Sounds like me.
When Max did return however, he looks exhausted.
"Tired?" I ask.
"Yea, I'm exhausted." He says.
"Want to get some sleep for a bit?" I ask.
"Is that cool with you?" He asks.
"Yea, of course, go ahead." I say.
"Thanks. Feel free to look around and mess with whatever. I don't mind." He says with a yawn.
"Alright. Go to bed. I'll see you in a bit." I say.
He nods and stretches as he heads to his room in the center of the apartment. I look around and find a few magazines to read. I find a couch in the other room and sit. The dog follows and we sit in silence as I read my magazine. The dog lays on the carpet and falls asleep too. After a few hours, my eyes feel heavy. I nod in and out of consciousness for a while, when suddenly I am woken up by a scream. I jump up and run to find out what it is.
I run into Max's bedroom and see him shivering and jolting in his sleep, no doubt from nightmares. I carefully approach him. Waking my husband up after he came home from the war was always tricky. He never would have ever meant me harm, but he was in a tangled up mess in those dreams. No one was safe if you woke him up at the wrong moment. Sometimes it was best to wake him up after. He never hit me, but he's yelled and kicked and screamed before. After a few times of that, I learned I didn't want him to go through that anymore and just held him when he woke. That seemed to work way better for his recovery.
I treat this the same way. I approach him with caution, not wanting him to freak out on me. There's no telling what he could do. I walk up to him and gently grab a chair. I set it next to his bed and sit, watching him twist and turn in his sleep whimpering with every move. His dog begins to worry at the foot of his bed laying his head on the bed and whining surely wishing he could help. After a few more moments of this following another scream, he jolts awake looking around the room frantically until he finds my eyes. Almost instinctively, he grabs my wrists and squeezes.
"You're okay, you're okay, you're safe. You're here with me safe." I say looking him in his eyes.
His breathing slows as he relaxes and realizes where he's at.
"You saw all that?" He asks out of breath, sweat dripping from his brow.
"Yea, I did." I say.
The dog stands and walks over to him forcing his head under his hand. I'm guessing he's one to not disturb in the middle of a nightmare judging by the dogs reaction.
"I'm sorry, I didn't wake you did I?" He asks laying back down and releasing my hands placing his arm over his eyes.
"No, I was just reading." I tell him.
"You think I'm crazy?" He asks.
"No," I say plainly, "my husband had problems like this too. I'm familiar with the screams." I tell him.
"Did they ever stop?" He asked worriedly.
"No." I say truthfully, "but I helped him feel safe, and they stopped coming so often. But they never truly went away." I say.
He nods and uncovers his face.
"What are they of?" I ask him.
"Well," he says taking a breath, "you ever been shot in the head?" He asks with a smirk.
"No, can't say that I have." I tell him.
He nods, "I have."
"Really?" I ask.
"It's a long story for another time." He says sitting up, "but right now, we got shit to do." He says standing and stretching.
"Like what?" I ask.
"Like coming up with a contract between the Brotherhood and my boss, Mr. House." He says .
"How are you going to make that happen?" I ask.
"Well, it wasn't easy to get him to the bargaining table in the first place. A few years ago, had different decisions been made, the chapter of the brotherhood here would have been wiped out. Fortunately, I lied to Mr.House and we staged an explosion in a bunker nearby, made it look like the job was done. He would have never known, well until now." He says.
"So he wanted them gone?" I ask.
"Yup, asked me to snuff them out. Didn't like the idea of killing them off. They were harmless at the time, still are. Kept to themselves and were actually one of the most peaceful factions in the Mojave besides the Followers of the Apocalypse. Just don't get too close." He says.
"And he wants to negotiate now?" I ask.
"Yes. But he will only negotiate with you. You will be the spokesman, or woman I guess. All you have to do is agree with what he wants, there will be no other options. He's already doing a huge favor for us by not finishing the job himself. He has a gain from this now." He explains.
"And what's that?" I ask.
"Sovereignty. He wants the Brotherhood uninvolved with the strip completely. He has tech here they would want, and he wants them to turn away from it. Agree, and he will help defeat the Enclave." He says surely.
"And you're sure he will hold up his end?" I ask.
"Positive. He runs more of a risk allowing the Enclave to do whatever they want, they pose the bigger threat. They're bigger, stronger, and more aggressive. They won't hesitate to take the strip." Max says.
I nod, "what about the elder? He'll be furious we negotiated for him without his knowledge." I say.
"That's where this gets tricky. We'll have to make it back to hidden valley and negotiate with him first, convince him to agree." He says.
I nod my head, "I can make that happen." I say confidently.
"Alright, then let's hit the road." He says rising to his feet.
He pets and praises the dog I now know as Rex. I give him love as well and he gives us kisses before we leave. We enter the elevator and the loyal pup lays down on the carpet in front of the doors and awaits our return.