The radio buzzed delightfully with an old show tune. She hummed along with it while she proofread the latest article she had written. Lighting a cigarette, she sat back in the chair and toggled the cursor to the start of the piece.
Is the Commonwealth on the Upswing?
By
Piper Wright
Since leaving Vault 111 four years ago, the vault dweller has worked tirelessly to reform the all-volunteer militia known as the Minutemen. As General, she's led men and women to do the extraordinary. Working with the Railroad, they wage war against those that plot to undermine the Commonwealth.
Just three years ago, the Minutemen and the Railroad freed us from the invisible chains the Institute shackled us in. At that same time, the tyrannous Brotherhood of Steel was cast out of the Commonwealth. Two sets of tyrants removed by everyday people with a singular goal. Liberty.
While we all carry on with our daily lives, they actively work to restore the Commonwealth to a way that very few can remember.
But is the Commonwealth truly on the upswing?
Maybe it's a bit optimistic to look at where we are today and draw that conclusion. So many folks live in fear of raiders or starvation. Is there more that can be done? Yes. Of course. There's always more that can be done.
Yet, as I sit here in the relative safety of Diamond City, I am struck by the fact we only have this vision of protection because of the selflessness of others. Folks working together to make the Commonwealth and our settlements a better place. Volunteers. City guards. Minutemen. The Railroad.
Can we be so optimistic about our futures as we toil away each day, no matter where we each are? I hope so.
The Minutemen work to open new settlements and trade routes, like the old Egret Tours Marina. Now a thriving route from the Old Boston Airport to Somerville Place and beyond. The Railroad worked to end the rampant slavery that's still present here.
But can they continue to do the impossible? Are these people capable of doing what no one else has been able to do for centuries? That dear reader, is the question. So far, they have, and all we can do is continue to hope.
She tapped her cigarette on the edge of the ashtray feeling accomplished. She had written a few new articles in the last several hours. She waited for the article to finish saving to the holotape, then turned off the terminal. Taking a puff from the cigarette she looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost six and Alex still hadn't returned. Getting the papers bundled and set out would normally take the three of them only a few short hours. The only real factor was the speed at that the bundler worked. Alex working alone and injured knew it would take a lot longer. Another pang of guilt stabbed her thinking about it.
Piper looked at the book on the desk and picked it up. She looked at the black leather chair and decided instead to go downstairs to read. She'd been curious about the book Alex had written but wanted to get ahead on her work before she indulged in any recreational reading. With her next four deadlines already hit, she felt a little indulgence was in order. Her feet moved quietly across the wood floor and down the stairs. She clicked the floor lamp on, pulling the blanket over herself that Alex had discarded the night before. The air carried Alex's fragrance on it as the blanket came to rest over her legs. She smiled, thinking about their night again wondering if tonight would be the same. A warm feeling spread through her gut along with a familiar need. She bit her lip and lifted the blanket to her nose. The woman's perfume was intoxicating as she inhaled with a soft sigh. It made the need into an ache. Shifting the blanket back into place reluctantly, she consoled herself with the thought of pinning Alex to the bed later.
The jukebox played a tune on the other side of the house, but it wasn't loud enough to ask Nat to turn it down. She couldn't even tell what it was, so it wasn't bothersome. The door between the two halves of the houses had been closed for hours. She wanted to give her sister time alone to think about what to say to Alex and to do her own thing. Danny had stopped by at around noon, so their afternoon had been free to relax and for her to get ahead on work. She even proofread a couple of articles Nat had written for the paper.
Nat's writing had improved in the last two years under Alex's tutelage. Piper let her fingers trace the old, broken leather on the book while she sat quietly with her thoughts. She didn't understand Nat's insistence that they hadn't been a family. As her fingers traced the edge of the book, she thought about her past relationships, not that they lasted longer than five minutes or were anything more than just sex. Cracking open the cover, she flipped the pages slowly, enjoying the smell of the ancient book. Alex was the first person in her life to care about her and Nat. More importantly, she had taken the time to show it. Nat had taken a liking to Alex from the start. As their friendship grew, Nat and Alex had become close.
She traced the print with her finger on the title page and over Alex's name. The scent of the worn pages made her happy for a reason she couldn't articulate. She realized how foolish it was that she hadn't pressed Alex about her past. Then again, it also meant that it might dredge up Nate's murder and Shaun's kidnapping for Alex and she wasn't willing to reopen old wounds. She just wanted to know more about her.
Piper turned the page to the acknowledgments.
This work is dedicated to my husband, Staff Sargent Nathaniel (Nate) T. Sterling of the 108th Infantry Regiment, United States Army. To my uncle, Captain Charles (Chuck) R. Sullivan, United States Navy - Retired. To my beloved aunt, Florence N. Johnston, a woman whose tireless commitment to the men and women of our Armed Forces is well known here in Boston, Massachusetts. To those who have given their lives in the Sino-American War, may your families find peace. To those yet to serve, may this war end quickly and our values as Americans be preserved.
A special thank you to my aunt Alice Sullivan and best friend and cousin Betty (Sullivan) Allen for listening to hours of boring legal jargon and doing it with a smile over a cup of coffee.
Lastly, I dedicate this work to my late father, Shaun M. Jones (deceased), and mother, Helen C. Jones (deceased), and sister, Madison H. Jones (deceased) – you will always be in my heart and are forever missed. You are the reason I found solace in the practice of the law.
Piper rubbed her head as she quickly read through it and was suddenly glad she never pressed Alex about her life before the vault as she read the names of Alex's dead family and friends in her book. It seemed like all Alex knew was the war and its aftermath. She looked at the text on the yellowing pages and silently made a vow to finish the book if it was the last thing she ever did. It felt like the right thing to do because it was something she'd written. It was a part of Alex and she wanted to know it.
The next time she lifted her head it had been almost an hour since she'd started reading. She was getting hungry, and Alex wasn't back yet. She stood with a stretch, feeling her tee ride up her ribs. She hadn't made it very far into the contents of the book, but the writing was astounding. The concept of human rights and their inherency that Alex proposed in the text was straightforward yet arguably complex. She dropped the blanket back on the couch next to the book thinking about it. Walking around the table, she headed to the fridge. Popping open the door she looked at the contents. Shuffling some of the items around to take inventory of what was available, she pondered how many caps Alex spent stocking the fridge before showing up on her doorstep. They could stay indoors for days and not starve to death. She shut the fridge and walk down the short hall to the door that divided the halves of the house. The pink neon greeted her cheerfully as she stepped to the other side. The jukebox was playing a peppy tune she'd never heard before, so she spent a few seconds listening to it. "Well, you don't know what we can find. Why don't you come with me, little girl? On a magic carpet ride." She smirked and walked to the jukebox as the song continued. It was catchy and she liked it. She stood there reading some of the album names as the song played through. Steppenwolf, The Second, 1968. She'd have to ask Alex about the kind of music it was later.
She walked to Nat's room as the next song started to play. "One way or another…" Piper shook her head as the lyrics flowed from the speakers. The woman's voice was growly, playful, and sexy at the same time. She muttered a curse, wishing she could see who was playing, as she lifted her hand to knock on Nat's door. "Hey kiddo, you getting hungry?" She waited for a response, but when one didn't come, she frowned a little. She knocked again. "Nat? You sleeping?" When Nat didn't answer she turned the handle and pushed open the door to the dark room. "Hey darling, let's get some…" Piper stared at the empty bed for a couple of seconds as it clicked in her head the room was empty. She looked from the bed to the desk, "God damn it, Natalie." She slammed the door shut, reminding herself she never told Nat to stay in the house and not to kill her for leaving.
Piper angrily walked to the blue door leading outside and ripped it open. The brightness blasted her eyes with searing light. The oppressive heat attempted to smother her as punishment even this late in the day. The market was crowded and alive. The air carried on it the almost nauseating smells of hot vegetables, raw meat, cooked food, trash, and body odor. Music played loudly and vendors were shouting over it and each other. People everywhere were pushing past each other, inspecting wares, or shilling them.
Piper took a step out the door and regretted it. The trade caravans were in town, which meant everyone from Murkwater Farms to Oberland Station was too. The last four days of every month had become an economic boon for Diamond City and the traders that attended the market. The entire town was crammed full of people. Even the unused parts were crowded with everyone and anyone East of the Back Bay. The Mayor had even partially lifted the ban on ghouls being in the city until nine at night, for the market to be more successful.
The crowd was so thick around her, she couldn't see Percy right next door. Her bare feet touched the worn carpeting that greeted visitors of the blue door. She muttered a curse before slamming the door shut and running back upstairs to find her shoes and gun. There was no way she was going outside without them. She quickly slipped on her shoes and quickly tied the laces. She snatched her gun from the nightstand and chambered a round. She put her pistol in her waistband and headed down the stairs. Piper hadn't hit the bottom step when she heard gunfire and screaming. "Fuck!" She ran down the last couple of steps, spinning at the bottom on her toes. She took the five steps to the red door and pulled it open.
"Piper!" The door on the other side of the house slammed shut noisily. Piper stopped, hearing her sister's frightened call, and shut the door. "Piper!"
Piper ran to the hall and ripped open the door, just as Nat got to it. Nat's shirt was torn, she was muddy, and her hair was a mess. "Nat? What happened?"
"They were…he tried… they're fighting…" Nat was terrified, trying to gulp down air and speak. She grabbed Piper, trying to pull Piper back toward the blue door. "You have to hurry!"
Piper grabbed her hands and held them to calm her. "Slow down. Tell me what's happened." Piper gave her an encouraging look, "Deep breath, then talk."
Nat took a breath, "Blue is in a fight in the market. You have to…"
Piper's body tensed at what she said before she heard more muffled gunshots that were very close by. "Stay here, don't open the door for anyone." She pushed Nat into her room, "You understand?" Nat nodded, her wide-eyed expression giving away her fear. "It's going to be…"
Loud banging erupted against the blue door. Piper pulled her pistol, and shoved Nat in her room "Get down, Nat! Stay there." She aimed her pistol at the door it at the door. "Who is it?"
"Open the fuckin' door, Piper!" The hurried brogue gave Cait away immediately.
Piper ripped the door open, and Cait pushed her out of the way, half dragging Alex with her over her shoulder. They only made it a few steps before Alex collapsed to the floor face-first, taking Cait with her. She slowed her headlong fall but ended up on her knees next to Alex. "You," Cait yelled at the Minuteman in the doorway, "Get the feckin' doctors here now." She pulled Alex onto her back.
"Oh my god," Piper gasped at the sight of her. Alex's nose had been broken, her entire face was lacerated, bruised, and bleeding profusely. One of her eyes had swollen shut and the other had hemorrhaged, making her silver-blue eye coloring look sickly like a ghoul's. The gray tank top she wore was torn and covered in blood. Alex's jeans were bloody down to her knees. The smell of Alex's blood overcame Piper, her mind carried her back to the night of the bear attack and rooted Piper in place in shock. She could hear her own heart beating in her ears with her anxiety.
"Don't you fuckin' die on me, Alex!" She lifted Alex, pulling her jacket off. "You stay with me, you hear, love?"
"Cait…" Alex grabbed Cait's hand shoving it away, her voice was barely audible in her anguish, "find Nat." Alex tried to roll back over, gripping her stomach in pain. It pulled Piper from her memories. Cait pulled Alex back around looking at Piper, "Where's the kid?"
Piper knelt in front of Alex, trying to comfort her. She ran her fingers through Alex's hair. Piper wasn't sure if Alex could see anything, but her eye looked directly at her. Piper could feel her heart breaking as blood started to pool on the floor around Alex. "She's here, Blue. Nat's safe." She watched as Alex exhaled harshly with a groan, clutching her stomach with her right hand, her left arm lay unmoving on the floor. Her eye closed as she trembled in agony.
Cait pushed Alex's hand aside and lifted her shirt and they saw the small stab wounds in her abdomen. "Shite! Fuckin' shite! She's been stabbed, grab some stims and rags." Cait snapped at her, clapping her bloody hands. "Piper, move!"
Piper ran to the shelves and started to rip open the boxes. She found the medical supplies and grabbed the stack of rags from the shelf next to the stove. Piper nearly ran Nat over as she came out of her room. "Piper what's…"
"No, no, no, you wait in there! Don't come out until I tell you that it's ok." She shoved her back inside and closed the door before Nat could see Alex and Cait covered in blood.
The jukebox hammered away quietly as Piper, slid next to Cait on her knees. "If you think I'll sit around as the world goes by. You're thinkin' like a fool 'cause it's a case of do or die. Out there is a fortune waiting to be had. If you think I'll let you go, you're mad. You've got another thing comin'. You've got another thing comin'."
The lyrics seemed oddly fitting in the horror of the moment. Piper thrust the stim into Alex's thigh as Cait tore the rags from her hands. "What happened?" Piper tried desperately to push her panic back down to help Alex.
Cait shook her head, "We just got here and were makin' our way through the crowd. I heard yellin' and saw her fightin' two men." Someone banged on the door, interrupting Cait.
Piper jumped to her feet, pulled her pistol, taking aim at the door, "Who is it?"
"Edna Garrett!" the woman on the other side yell back at her.
Piper pulled the door open, tucking her piston into her waistband, "Thank god."
The red-haired doctor's eyes flew wide open at the sight that greeted her. "I need everything bought in, quickly. Curie, I need you." Piper stepped back letting both women through the door.
"She's been stabbed. We just gave her a stim." Piper hurriedly told the doctor as she guided Piper out of the way.
"Thank you for telling me, but that's not going to be enough to help her." Doctor Garrett ripped open the red case she was carrying. "Joanna, I need the UV light, the ultrasound machine, and the trauma kit. Quickly!" The doctor dug through the red case she was carrying, pulling out almost everything in it. "We've got her, Cait, but I need you to move."
The Minuteman holding the door open took a step into the room "Doctor, do you want us to get anything for you?"
Curie rushed through the door, setting both her cases down. She gently pushed Cait's hands aside, "Mon ami, you must move. We will help her, but I must see what has happened to her."
"Solomon, please have someone get Doctor Sun. We're going to need his surgery expertise." He ducked back out of the door and talked to someone Piper couldn't see.
Cait stood up grumbling curses, moving out of Curie's way. "Fine, for fuck sakes."
The dark-haired assistant moved just as quickly as the doctor, opening cases. She pulled multiple pairs of glasses out and threw them to people. Piper barely caught hers, she was shaking so hard. Piper walked around the doctors and pulled Cait out of the way. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Newsy." Cait snapped at her. "It's not me blood."
"That can't all be hers." Piper stared in horror at the amount of blood Alex was losing. She suddenly felt light-headed.
"Joanna, get the sedatives and pain medicines ready, we won't have time to move her." Garrett opened a bunch of packages, handing the Pip-Boy to Curie. She pulled the top of a can open and started putting foam into Alex's stab wounds. "Alex, when you wake up, you're going to a lot feel better."
Piper watched Alex's head roll to the side, and she opened her hemorrhaged eye to look at Piper.
Curie put the Pip-Boy on Alex's wrist and calibrated it. She took the sedatives from Joanna and injected it into one of the connections. "Ma chérie, tu vas dormir maintenant. Tu es en sécurité ici avec moi." She nodded to Joanna, as she slipped on her glasses, who clicked on the bright UV light.
Alex's eye blinked, tears slipping from it. Her mouth moved but Piper couldn't hear what she was saying as the three doctors talked. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you..." It was already killing her she couldn't hold her hand or give her any kind of comfort, but not being able to hear whatever she said made her heart hurt worse.
Joanna pulled another case open, and Piper saw vapor escape from it. "What's her blood type?"
Curie glanced quickly over her shoulder at Piper as she unfolded a silver pole and hung a clear bag of fluid on it. "O negative."
Joanna pulled bagged blood from the cooler and sealed it into a small box. She flipped a switch on it and two lights appeared on it, one orange and the other red. Then handed it and another clear tube to Curie. "O negative warming."
"Merci, Joanna." Curie inserted a needle into Alex's arm and taped it down. She ripped open another package and pulled a multiple clear tube connection from the confines of the paper. She popped it into place in the needle and then attached the tubes to one of the multiple connection points.
Piper watched Alex open her mouth as Doctor Garrett gave her another injection. "Piper," Alex took a ragged breath. The effect of the sedative was almost instant, and Piper watched Alex's eye rolled into the back of her head as she tried to talk. "Eh…" Her speech only ended up trailing off into a gurgling sound as she passed out. Piper could feel the hot tears rolling down her cheeks. She needed to focus on something other than Alex's battered and bleeding face. She shook herself, turning to Cait who stood silently next to her, staring at Alex. The tears on Cait's cheeks slowly made their way to her chin and Cait didn't try to wipe them away.
"Cait," she whispered, not really meaning to. It was the fact that the look Cait wore behind her sunglasses tore at her heart. "Cait." She touched her arm and Cait jerked away from her. "Last time, I'm tellin' you. I'm fine." She roughly wiped her face, looking away from Piper and Alex.
"Ok," Piper was taken aback by her anger. "I got it, so let's get you cleaned up." She looked at the blood on her arms, Pip-Boy, shirt, and backpack. There was so much of it and all of it was Alex's. The bile rose in the back of her throat and Piper fought it back down.
Cait shook her head annoyed. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, woman."
Piper needed focus, or she'd lose the war with her grief. Cait was going to be that focus if she liked it or not. "You're covered in blood." She pushed open the door to the bathroom and pulled Cait into it. "This isn't the time to argue with me. I get you're upset; so am I. The doctors have her and you're a hot mess." Piper looked out the door at the bright UV light they were shining on Alex. "What are they doing to her?"
"I dunno. They said a bunch of shite about her body not workin' right." Cait turned on the water in the sink and started rinsing the blook from her hands and arms. She pulled off the Mark IV and ran water over it. "But she didn't fuckin' listen to 'em."
Piper looked at her hands, she didn't see any blood on them but decided to wash them anyway. "What does that mean?"
Cait took the glasses off and threw them at Piper. "I bloody well don't know. I'm not a fucking doctor." Cait gave her a foul look as she cupped her hands to capture the water in them.
Cait's bad manners were reminiscent of her days when she was strung out on psycho, and it instantly made Piper angry. Piper dried her hands on a towel. "Clean up and make sure to get that shitty attituded off, it stinks." Piper draped the towel over her shoulder, while Cait splashed water on her face, and left the bathroom. Cait mumbled something back at her, but Piper ignored her for both their sakes.
"But I've never seen nothing like you. Do ya, do ya want my love, Woman? Do ya, do ya want my face? I need you. Do ya, do ya want my mind? I'm saying. Do ya, do ya want my love?"
Piper's breath hitched as the jukebox played. The man's voice and the music stung her heart. People were rushing in the door with more boxes. Piper barely recognized the man in the white doctor's jacket as he looked at the bulky gray box he was holding. The image on it was moving, and she didn't understand what he was looking at.
"There's damage to the intra-abdominal vasculature," Piper realized he was holding something over Alex's stomach. "I can't tell if there's an injury to her bowls. We should be at my surgery for this, but I agree she'll bleed out if we move her."
Piper covered her mouth, the tears hiding in her fingers as they slipped down her cheeks.
Curie tapped the portable terminal. "She is responding to the UV light, Doctor. But it is not the level of response as the rayonnement ionisant."
Sun rolled his eyes, "I don't speak French, just speak English."
Curie didn't spare him a look. "My apologies, Doctor. We must use the serum."
"Ignorez le, c'est un imbécile." Joanna handed black case with a yellow marking on it to Curie.
"She said ionizing radiation, Sun. Non-Ionizing radiation isn't going to work fast enough in her body." Garrett said to him, and Piper could hear the coarseness of her tone. "That's why we need to give her the serum."
"I understand the word imbecile, synth." His glare only lasted a second then he looked back at the display. "If you want to save her life, we'll need to operate now. I can't operate on a radioactive patient."
Piper pushed harder on her jaw to clamp it shut. She wanted to scream for so many reasons. Scream at Alex for going alone outside; scream for not going with her to protect her; scream at Nat for being Nat. Her face started to hurt because of how hard she held it, but letting go would mean that scream would escape.
"Doctor Sun, the radiation in the laboratory…" Curie didn't get a chance to finish because Sun cut her off. "She will die! What do you people not understand about this? Why ask me to be here if you won't listen? We have to operate, here and now, to repair the damage."
Doctor Garrett looked up at Piper and cleared her throat. "You heard Alex is hemorrhaging. We will do our best to save her but," She looked at Curie as she injected antibiotics into her. "There is a chance she will bleed out during the operation."
"She's not a doctor, can we just please do what needs to be done?" Sun's irritation poured from him.
"She's her partner, Doctor. She needs to know that Alex might not make it." Garrett snapped at him, "Show some damn compassion for your patient and to her family."
"You're right. I… I apologize." He said softly.
"Doctor Garrett…" Piper was trying to talk but her throat was closing.
She picked up the black case and turned it so that Piper could see it. "We've also discovered why Alex's body is not responding to normal medical treatment. I don't have time to explain it now, but I need to tell you that we are confident if we treat her with the serum we've developed she'll get better faster."
Piper couldn't think, she was dizzy and nauseous. The radioactive symbol on the front of the box was making her sick. "It's a cruel, cruel, cruel summer. Leavin' me here on my own. It's a cruel… it's a cruel, cruel summer. Now you're gone…" She wished the jukebox would shut up.
"Then why are you yappin' and not doin'?" Cait's angry snap started Piper. "You're just wastin' time."
"Because if they're wrong, she'll die of radiation poisoning." Sun answer. "I'm sorry, I've just never heard of anything like what you're proposing. She's obviously not a ghoul. Look at her."
"We are not wrong. Alec's body does not accept our medical treatments and has not done so in months. This is the only way to treat her." Curie's politeness carried a certain flatness and irritation in it.
"Please… please do what you have to." Piper wiped her face trying to get herself under control. She had no idea what they were talking about. "What do you need from us?"
Sun started to move the moment Piper spoke. He moved the lights directly over Alex's abdomen and made the first incision.
"Please leave the room and wait for us to come get you." Doctor Garret answered returning her attention to Alex.
Cait spun Piper before she could watch the blood roll over Alex's abdomen from the incision.
"Let's get junior." She pushed Piper toward Nat's door and opened it. They found Nat quietly crying into her pillow. "Oi, McNugget, I need you to come on." Nat shook her head and the pillow still crying. Cait let Piper go and sat down on the bed next to her. She carefully took the pillow from her hands and pulled Nat into a hug. "We need to go, and I can't carry the both of you."
"This is my fault." Nat cried into her.
"Nah, it's not. But the doctors want us out of here and we need to go." She pulled Nat to her feet and pushed Piper to the door. "Look at me." Cait shook both of them. "Don't look at them when we walk out. Alright?"
Cait pushed them out the door, Piper noticed both the synths were blocking the view of the surgery by holding open the medical jackets. She silently muttered a prayer of thanks they had more courtesy than she gave them credit for.
"There's muscle damage which is expected from the stab wounds. Moving through the abdomen to investigate the... What the fuck? Edna, look at this." Sun was talking to the doctors, but Piper couldn't help but look back. She couldn't see anything they were doing, and she was grateful for it.
"What are they doing to her?" Nat tried turning against Cait's grip as she steered them into the other room.
"I told you not to look. You're just as thick as Piper, you know that?" Cait shoved them both through the door, then turned and shut it.
Piper took Nat to the couch and sat down numbly. She pulled the sunglasses from her face and tossed them on the table. Nat curled up next to her and for the second time in a single day, Piper found her sister crawling into her arms for comfort.
"This is all my fault," Nat whispered to her.
Piper shook her head, turning to Nat. "No, it's not. Not at all." She pulled Nat into a tight hug and held her.
Nat started to cry harder. "She told me to run, and I didn't."
Cait pulled herself from the door she was leaning against and walked to the fridge. Pulling it open she rummaged around inside until she emerged with her prize. Piper looked up as Cait walked to the couch with three beers. "Can she have this? Think she could use it; god knows I can."
Piper nodded, freeing a hand to pull her lighter out for Cait. She smoothed her sister's hair, knowing she needed to pull herself together for Nat's sake. "Why don't you tell us what happened?" She pushed against Nat gently, to get her to sit up.
Cait pressed a beer into Piper's hand. "Drink this, it'll help." She handed another beer to Nat and pushed it to her lips.
Nat took a drink and made a face. "It's kind of good." She took another drink, "It's different than the other one from last time, huh?"
Piper looked around her sister at Cait. "Did you give my sister beer before today?" Cait gave her a small smile and took a long drink. Piper rolled her eyes at Cait, "I can't believe you. You are a terrible influence on her."
Cait laughed into her beer with a shrug, "You're too strict sometimes, Newsy." Cait winked at Nat and Nat gave her a small smile back. "And you need to tell us what happened," Cait continued. "Did you recognize the men?"
Nat shivered, "No. Maybe? I didn't even see them at first."
"At first?" Cait pressed. She shared a look with Piper.
Nat nodded taking a drink, "I went to Publick 'cause Blue wasn't at home. I was tired of waiting and I didn't," she sighed, "think she was going to come home tonight."
Cait gave her a disbelieving look, "Why would you think that?"
Nat gave her head a single shake, "I was the world's biggest dick to her."
"Spill it, what'd you do?" There was a hint of amusement in Cait's voice. "Couldn't have been that bad."
"I told her she wasn't anything to me and that my sister's friend didn't get to lecture me."
The bottle slowly dropped from Cait's lips as she looked at Nat. "You said… what?"
Nat didn't look up from her hands.
"Which we talked about," Piper injected herself into the conversation, "and agreed that you'd wait to talk to her at dinner."
"Why would you say that?" Cait was confused and Piper could hear it.
Nat shifted uncomfortably, "They told me they weren't together and that we weren't a family."
"God damn it, Natalie, that is not what we said," Piper could feel her face flush.
"That's how I took it!"
"How you took it and what we said are two very different things."
Cait looked between them, wearing a puzzled expression. "Why do I feel like I'm missing somethin'? You've been together for a while now. Like years."
Piper closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She means we weren't having sex." Piper opened her eyes and looked at Cait's jaw hanging open. She prepared herself for the inevitable taunt that was coming. Cait closed her mouth. She took another look at Piper and drained the beer from her bottle. She got up, put the bottle in a basket, and pulled another beer from the fridge. She looked at Piper, shook her head, and put the beer back in the fridge. She walked to the shelves and pulled a bottle of whisky from it. She turned around and Piper could feel it coming.
Cait cracked open the bottle and took a long drink. "We shagged the first night, Piper. The fuck was you waitin' for; the second comin' of Christ?"
"God damn it, Cait!" Piper was instantly pissed. "Can you please not broadcast our past?"
"Whoa, what?" Nat turned to her sister, "You and Knuckles McGee? Seriously? When was this?"
Cait chuckled, "Didn't tell her? Pfft. No surprise there."
Piper rubbed her head, annoyed with Cait. "Ugh, no, I didn't. It was a long time ago. We're not talking about this."
"So, the fuck was you waitin' for?" Cait sat down on the couch next to Nat still staring a hole through Piper. "You're tellin' me you haven't fucked yet?"
"Yes," Piper shot Cait a disgusted look. "We have. You seriously need to drop it, Cait."
"That's not what you said yesterday. You told me you hadn't kissed her. You said you just talked."
Piper really wished Nat would stop talking. It wasn't helping. Cait pushed Nat back into the couch, and stared straight at Piper, "Are you fuckin' kiddin' me?" Cait shook her head and looked at the door that divided the two halves of the house in half. "I thought you were together ages ago. Now you're tellin' us you haven't been? If I'd have known I'd have taken a shot with her, and I'd have shagged her the first night."
"We've had sex, ok?" Piper scratched her eyebrow wishing the doctors would come to talk to them. "Now drop it because this isn't something I want to discuss with you."
Cait started to laugh and it irritated Piper more. "What? One time, Piper? Pfft."
"God dammit," Piper narrowed her eyes at Cait. "We fucked the entire night, Cait."
Cait stopped laughing her expression changed quizzically, "The whole night?" Cait narrowed her eyes at Piper, "No way. Don't believe it."
"I don't care what you believe." Piper went for the kill, "Haven't slept yet and it's not like you'd be able to keep up anyway." Piper and Cait stared daggers at each other.
"Kind of don't want those details, thanks." Nat drank her beer trying to disappear into the couch.
Piper silently dared her to continue but Cait backed down. "Whatever," Cait muttered taking another drink ignoring Piper's glower.
"Nat… talk about finding Blue." Piper prodded her sister still glaring at Cait.
Nat slowly looked between the two and took another drink. "How long ago did you, uh, date?"
"Been years and it wasn't dating, McNugget." Cait nestled into the arm of the couch cuddling the bottle of whisky.
Piper sighed in her annoyance. "Not long enough to forget it ever happened," she mumbled before finishing her beer. Cait rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else.
Nat pursed her lips, her face giving away her embarrassment, "Um, ok. Good to know." She took another drink, "explains a lot," she murmured.
Piper nudged her again, "So, you went to Publick, then what?"
"The doors were closed. With the caravans in town, there were so many people it took forever to go through the crowd." Nat set the empty bottle on the table. "I kind of got pushed into the mob and was going from vendor to vendor to look for her." She rubbed her hands on her dirty pants. "I found her by a farmer's cart." She folded her hands on her lap and sat there for a minute. "When I went up to her, she told me to go home but I didn't listen. I tried to talk to her, and she told me there were too many people in the market and it wasn't safe to be there. She just kept telling me to go home but I didn't want to. She wouldn't listen to me. So, I lied to her and said I'd go, but I followed her instead."
Piper set her empty beer bottle on the table with a disapproving look. "Nat, you know better than to lie to us. Why didn't you just come home like she asked you to?"
Nat tapped her fingers together, "I was afraid she wouldn't come back because she acted really mad that I was there."
"What? Why wouldn't she come home?" Cait sat up on the couch. "I still don't understand why you'd think that."
Nat didn't look up from her hands. "Mom didn't. Dad didn't. Piper didn't act like she wanted to. Blue didn't come back for a long time when she left for the Institute." She bit her lip. The magnitude of Nat's abandonment issues struck Piper.
Cait touched her arm to get her attention, "She isn't your mum or da. She's been tryin' to do right by you since she's known you." Cait took a breath and looked at the bottle in her hand. "She just needed time after the Institute with her son and all. Then we went to Nuka-World and…" Cait looked at Piper and didn't finish her train of thought. She shifted to a new one instead, "A couple of days ago she was arguin' with Curie and them doctors to let her out so she could come home to you. She wouldn't shut up about it and they had to send people with her cause she said she was leavin'. She practically got into a fistfight with Preston when he tried to stop her. If you think she'd abandon you, you're crazy." Cait looked at the bottle again and set it on the table. She looked up at Piper and didn't break eye contact. "I never met two people more dedicated as parents than Piper and Alex. You lucked out, junior, you got the good ones."
Piper hated it when Cait did things to redeem herself. She mouthed 'thank you' at Cait and gave her a small smile. Cait gave her a smirk back and blew her a kiss. Piper rolled her eyes.
Nat took a deep breath and glanced at Piper. "Keep talking, we need to know everything, ok?"
Nat nodded. "She stopped at a vendor selling donuts and funnel cakes. So, I took a chance and went to talk to her again. I only had the chance to touch her arm to get her attention." Nat swallowed and looked at her sister. "A man grabbed me from behind and apologized for me bothering her. He started pulling me when I heard Blue shout at him. She pushed me away and hit him. She told me to run, but I didn't because I wanted to help her. Another man grabbed me from behind, but he called me by your name, Piper. I pushed him away and someone else grabbed me."
Piper and Cait sat up. "There were three men?" Piper asked quickly.
"Yeah, there were three. Blue hit the second guy and pushed me into the crowd telling me to run. That's when one of them said my name and something about caps. She was fighting all three of them and the people pushed me out away from them. When I heard gunshots, I ran home to get Piper. I don't know where they were because there were so many people."
"We shot two of 'em, but there were only two fightin' her when we showed up. That means there's someone still out there." Cait looked at Piper worriedly. "Give me your key, Piper. I'll be back." Piper pulled her key from her pocket, handing it to Cait. She was out the door before Piper could say a word to her.
"Is that why you and Cait don't get along?" Nat watch her and Piper sighed.
"Sort of." Piper sat back and studied her sister. "We get along now for the most part, we just have very different perspectives on everything. I learned the hard way you can't help people that don't want it. You can't fix their problems for them."
"Did you try to do that with her?"
Piper nodded, "Yeah, I did. It was… I was dumb."
"Did you love her?" Nat asked quietly.
Piper nodded again, "Yup. I knew better and still fell for her."
Nat looked at the red door that led outside. She turned back to her sister, "Do you still?"
Piper quietly contemplated the question for a moment, "Not the way I love Blue. But, yeah, in some ways I still do. That's why she can annoy me like no one else can. And she loves winding me up."
Nat gave her a questioning look, thinking about their conversation. "Does Blue know that?"
Piper shook her head, "It's not something that's ever come up in conversation. I'm not exactly proud of my decision-making skills where Cait is involved..." She watched her sister for another second. "Look, Cait and I… it was seven years ago. It lasted longer than it should have, and it ended really shitty. I didn't talk to her for a long time because of it. We're only friends now because we're both different people." She gave Nat a small smile, "That and I didn't shoot her for being an asshole."
Nat smirked and looked back at the red door. "Kind of seems like she has a thing for Blue."
Piper laughed, "Cait has a thing for everyone. But yeah, she does. She has for a while." Piper had known for a while Cait had feelings for Alex. Not that she brought it up with either of them.
"Has she talked to Blue about it?"
"I don't know." Piper wondered the same thing, "It's not like Cait's shy about anything."
"That's true." Nat put her hand over Piper's. "Does it bother you?"
This time Piper studied her sister. Nat wasn't stupid, she was good at questioning people to get the information she needed or wanted. This was an investigation, and it wasn't lost on Piper she was her mark. "Sometimes." The two sisters watched each other for a few seconds before Nat finally rolled her eyes annoyed with Piper. "You're doing it again. Just fucking tell me."
Piper relented, "Cait is… well Cait. She's funny, brassy, and tough. After Blue went to the Institute, she left again with Cait." Piper put her head back against the wall thinking back, "After a while, I…" Piper sat up and looked at Nat not sure how to word everything.
"You thought they got together?"
"Pretty much. Then they showed up here. The way Blue stopped when she looked at us, and that expression on her face. That smile. Like we were the best thing she ever saw." Piper laughed sadly, "We talked about it this morning. She said realized she had something to live for… us. When we hugged her, she told me she never wanted to leave us again."
Nat drummed her fingers against her leg. "Have you ever loved anyone like her before?"
"No," Piper shook her head, feeling the heat rising in her body, choking her. "I didn't think people like Blue existed until I met her." The tears that slipped from her eyes burned. "I'm sorry I keep crying." She looked at her sister and watched her wipe her own tears away.
"Don't be." Nat wiped her face. "This sucks."
"She only just got here and now… this." Piper stared at the bottle on the table. She closed her eyes feeling another wave of nausea wash over her. She thought about Nat's abandonment issues and knew she needed to say something to her. "Nat."
"What?" Nat sniffed.
"The last thing she said was to find you." Pier looked at her, "She wasn't mad. She was worried about you. She fought those men so that you could come home. She saved you from being taken or killed. That's not something someone would do if they were going to abandon you. I told you; she loves you and so do I. We aren't leaving you." Piper watched her short struggle against her emotions and pulled her close. She didn't say anything else as she comforted her crying sister.
They sat together for almost an hour before Cait returned with Danny. She pushed the door open, with him on her heels. The door hadn't even closed before Cait pushed Danny toward Piper and Nat. "Tell 'em, Sulli."
He pulled his helmet off, his hair was wet with sweat. "I'm sorry about Alex. Cait said she's in surgery?" Piper nodded at him, trying not to cry all over again. "Doctor Sun will fix her up like he did me."
"Have they said anythin' yet?" Cait looked between Nat and Piper.
"No," Nat answered flatly. She didn't lift her head from Piper's shoulder.
Danny looked at his feet. "Piper, we're holding one of them. The other two are dead." He looked up at her, "They're Gunners. The most we got out of him is there's a bounty and they've accepted it."
Piper tightened her grip on Nat. "Who's it on?"
Cait pushed him, "Answer her." Her angry expression made Piper feel sick all over again.
Danny looked from Nat to Piper. "Five thousand caps for Nat alive, a thousand dead." Piper felt like throwing up. "Four thousand for you alive, a thousand dead." Danny looked at her apologetically. "A thousand for Alex dead or alive." He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "They want your whole family, Piper. They already offered me and Sami a cut."
Piper watched him shift nervously, "What did you and Sami say, Danny?"
"Ah jeez, Piper, you should already know we said no! But we're not anyone in or out because they might be tempted."
Cait pulled open the fridge handing him a cold beer. "For that fuckin' much, they aren't gonna stop comin'. They'll be like roaches on Diamond City."
Danny took a drink before answering, "Yup, and the Mayor isn't happy. Two Gunners shot on the first day of the Market this month? He's out giving a speech right now talking about how we got them, and everyone's safe." He held the bottle to his head for a second, "Cait, can we get the Minutemen's help over the next few days? They snuck in with the traders, which means more will too. We don't have the people for this."
"Course." Cait looked at Piper, giving her head a shake in disgust. "For those caps, they can buy anyone. You lot need to stay here." Cait gave Nat a worried look, "That means you, Natalie. No leavin', you hear? Not 'til we figure out what to do."
"Yeah, ok." Nat didn't move when she answered.
Her short answer instantly pissed Cait off, and Cait slapped her foot. Nat glared at her, insulted by the slap. "I said yeah, Cait. I heard you," Nat snapped at her.
Piper regarded her, covering Nat protectively. "Cait, seriously. She gets it."
Cait leaned over them, "I'm talkin' to both of you now, Piper. You aren't walkin' out that door."
Piper felt Nat tense in her arms. The intensity on Cait's face that made her pause, "We aren't leaving, Cait, Christ." For a moment, Piper watched the internal struggle that played out in Cait's eyes.
"I'm not carryin' anyone else home in pieces." Cait turned around and looked at Danny, "Let's go, Sulli." Danny barely set the empty bottle down before Cait had him back out the door. Piper didn't let go of Nat as Cait pulled the door shut. Piper laid with her head against the armrest and pulled Nat down to lay next to her, her head on Piper's shoulder.
For a long while the sisters were quiet. Piper put her hand over her eyes, trying to clear the fog that had settled in her head. Listening to Nat's rhythmic breathing was calming. She kept her eyes closed as she thought about what they needed to do. Gunners didn't stop coming for someone because there were walls or guards. The last time the Minutemen had tangled with them, they'd lost. But that was four years ago and before Alex. She felt sick again thinking about Alex, laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood a few feet away and completely out of her reach. Alex was injured, fighting three Gunners, and giving her sister a chance to run. It ate away at her. If she'd gotten out the door. If Nat had stayed home. If. The word chipped away at her heart. Anyone would take the contract for ten thousand caps, and anyone would sell them out for a small percentage of it.
Piper let her fingers travel to her temples and massage them. She was trying not to think about Alex on the floor in the other room. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
She heard Nat falling deeper into sleep. How long could she have protected her? She could fight and it kept her alive. But not like Alex or Cait and not like a Gunner. Her head hurt. They needed a plan. There was no way they could take on all the Gunners in the Commonwealth.
It made her wonder how safe they were in Alex's house… Their house… They hadn't even gotten that far yet. She had to correct herself while she wondered how long they'd been waiting for the doctors.
She heard the key in the lock and the door opened before she could sit up. Cait blew through the door, stopping when she saw Piper and Nat on the couch. She shut the door quietly and looked over at Piper. She was sweating like she hadn't stopped running since she left the house. The clean t-shirt she left in was dirty. Cait walked to the fridge and Piper moved to sit up, but Cait shook her head. "Don't wake her. I might need to leave." She whispered.
"What's going on out there?" Piper watched Cait lift a beer in question and Piper nodded. Cait brought both over and took the lighter Piper offered her to open them. Piper climbed out from under Nat and got up walking over to the chairs with Cait next to the fireplace. Cait tapped her pockets with a grumble, "Do you have any fags?"
Piper fished her pack out of her pocket, "Yeah here."
"Cheers, love." She lit the cigarette and handed it to Piper, then lit one for herself. "I put people all over the city. Haven't seen another Gunner, but I sent a runner to Hangman to get people to Oberland Station and Graygarden. Preston should be somewhere near there on his way here." She took a long drag and a drink before continuing, "We're watchin' the house too. I want you to be able to sleep tonight." She gave Piper a small smile, but Piper didn't return it.
"Jesus, Cait. That's not funny." Piper tried to look away, but Cait cupped her chin and pulled her back around. "She's goin' pull through, Piper."
Piper took a deep breath and nodded. Taking a hit from her cigarette she closed her eyes. She really didn't feel like crying anymore. "How long have they been in there?"
"Almost three hours." Cait let her hand drop, but Piper caught it. She inspected Cait's scared hands while she held them. "You ok?" Piper asked her quietly.
Cait chortled, "Rather be killin' pints at the Dugout with the both of you than sittin' here wonderin' if one of me best friends is dyin' while watchin' the other fall apart."
Piper felt the tear fall and saw it hit Cait's hand. Cait tightened her grip on Piper's hand. "We'll get through this, love."
Piper couldn't help the tears anymore. She needed a good cry, "She just came home…" Cait pulled Piper out of the chair she was sitting in and onto her lap. She held Piper as she cried into the crook of Cait's neck. "They haven't come out yet and they're still with her. We just need to give 'em a bit of time." Piper could only manage to nod into her neck.
Cait silently comforted Piper as they sat together. One hand rubbed Piper's back encouraging her to get her emotions out, the other gently brushed over her head, carefully keeping her close. Every tear she shed was captured in Cait's t-shirt. Eventually, Piper did finally run out of tears, instead of crying, she held onto her friend taking consolation from the silence of the room.
It felt like years had passed since she ran her fingers through Alex's hair trying to comfort her on the floor. It was even longer since they lay in bed together, their bodies wrapped together as they shared their embrace. As Piper sat huddled against Cait, she stared at the books in the case. Their torn bindings and covers stood in stark contrast against the dark aged wood shelves. Some held clues at what their passages held; others were small mysteries waiting to be solved. Sitting together in the quiet, Piper thought about the other room and the people working in it. It had been hours since Cait shut that door, sealing away Alex and the doctors together. The lack of any sound gave her a quiet hope that they worked to save her life.
Piper let her eyes drift shut as she thought back almost four years ago years to the moment she and Alex had met. She had been desperate to get back into the city. Cutoff from Nat, the paper, and her home she had been furious. Alex had played along to help her get her back into the city. She had charmed Mayor McDonough with a grand speech about freedom of the press. Piper felt the smile tug at her as she remembered Alex's wink and smile when McDonough walked away. Piper tightened her grip on Cait ever so slightly thinking back. The butterflies in Piper's stomach threatened to carry her way, they were the same butterflies she had this morning in the basement.
The sound of water running through pipes forced Piper's eyes open. She wiped her face, sitting up, her arm still wrapped around Cait's neck. "Did you hear that?"
"Think they may be comin'. Might want to wake Junior now."
When she looked at Cait, she saw the tears that had stained her cheeks. Piper used her tee to dry Cait's cheeks, then she gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you."
Cait gave her a small smile, "For?"
"Showing your heart when it's important. I appreciate those rare occasions when you're considerate and show who you really are." Piper gave her a hug, then stood.
Cait spun her around and pulled her into a tight hug, "I never stop carin', Piper."
She gave Cait a kiss on the cheek, "Stop being lovable for five minutes. I need to wake Nat."
"Right, one arsehole comin' up," Cait gave Piper her customary cheeky grin. "Can't be lettin' you think I'm all heart like the Amazon Woman; it'll ruin me reputation."
Piper cherished her humor; it was one of the best things about her. Right now, she needed a little bit of brightness because her world was terribly dark. "Could've fooled me." She pushed away from Cait and went to the couch where Nat was sleeping deeply. She sat down next to her and gave Nat a small shake, "Hey, sleepy head…"
The door between the two halves of the house opened. Doctor Garrett quickly and quietly entered and closed the door. Cait and Piper shared a quick look and Cait joined Piper, who quickly stood.
The doctor had removed her white lab coat. She was only wearing her white, high-collared shirt with the red cross on the short sleeve. Her black pants from earlier had been changed to green ones. "Please have a seat, ladies."
Piper sat with a feeling of mounting dread. Next to her, Nat was stirring. "I need you to wake up." She stroked her back, then gave her a slight shake. "The doctor wants to talk to us now."
Nat sat up rubbing her eyes. "Is Blue ok?"
Doctor Garrett walked over to the club chairs and pulled one to sit in front of them. "I'll open with Alex is out of surgery and she is heavily sedated. We're confident we have repaired the damage from her stab wounds." Piper breathed a heavy sigh of relief listening. "Right now, Curie and Joanna are preparing her to be moved someplace more comfortable. I need to know where we can place her where she will be happy and where we can monitor her. It will be critical that Alex is not moved while she's recovering."
Piper pointed up the stairs, "That's our room up there. I'll stay with her too and help."
"I'd like Curie and Joanna to remain here until we can confirm Alex isn't going to decline."
Piper nodded quickly, "Absolutely. Whatever she needs."
Doctor Garrett held up her hand, "Which brings me to the next point. Alex has considerable blunt force trauma to her head, neck, and chest." Piper heard Cait mutter a curse under her breath. "Outside of contusions and lacerations, she has a broken cheekbone, nose, damage to her orbital bones, and her lower jaw is fractured. With the extent of her injuries, she may convulse, have seizures, or possibly have amnesia." Piper put her hand on Cait's back to reassure her. "There are other possible issues, but these are things we'll need help watching for. The rest we'll be vigilant about while she recovers which is why she needs to be accessible." Piper felt Nat's hand in hers.
"Now, there are questions I have before I tell you more details because we are missing crucial information that you three may know." Doctor Garrett studied each of them as she spoke. "Has Alex been exposed to high levels of radiation since coming from the Institute?"
Piper thought about the question. "Yes," she looked at Cait. "When the Institute was destroyed, she was near the blast zone to detonate the charges. She said she could feel the rads, but her Pip-Boy didn't register any rad sickness." Doctor Garrett wore a look of surprise, but Piper continued with her thoughts. "She also went to the Glowing Sea, and her hazmat suit was damaged. But she said nothing happened and that Doctor Virgil helped her."
Doctor Garrett sat up straight in her chair, "Doctor Brian Virgil?"
"Yes, you know him?" Piper's curiosity peaked.
"Yes of course I do. He became our foremost expert on the Forced Evolutionary Virus. Why was he in the Glowing Sea?"
"He was a super mutant when he escaped the Institute. Blue convinced him to work with the Railroad and the Minutemen. He's at the Robotics Pioneer Park working now on some sort of changes to the cure he developed. No one will talk about it though."
"I see," Doctor Garrett cleared her throat. "When was she exposed to the radiation in the Glowing Sea precisely?"
Piper was trying to pull the connections together from her questions. "Before she went to the Institute. She asked Preston to have Nick return a serum to Doctor Virgil for her. Preston said it was part of his research."
Garrett nodded thinking, "Do any of you know when she stopped menstruating?"
Cait and Nat just shook their heads. Piper shook her head as well. "After she went to the Institute, I didn't see her for seven months. She hasn't mentioned it since she's been back. Why is this important?"
"Biologically, Alex is a thirty-four-year-old woman. With cryostasis, her ability to have children would not be affected." Doctor Garrett scratched her chin in thought, "I have Alex's medical records from pre-war times, Vault-Tech, and the Institute. At some juncture after my exam at the Institute, Alex has undergone significate changes biologically. I'm just not sure how…" Doctor Garrett paused. The quiet only lasted for a few short seconds. "The Glowing Sea would provide the radiation needed…" She tapped her chin, deep in thought. "How long before she came to the Institute was Alex exposed?"
"Maybe a month at most?" Piper still wasn't getting where she was going with her questions. "I wasn't with her when she went. She wouldn't let anyone come with her, not even Nick."
"I don't doubt she did it to protect her friends. The Glowing Sea would be a nearly instant death sentence for humans. I also can't imagine what lives it is very friendly to humans or synths." Doctor Garrett sat back in the chair thinking. She crossed her legs and ran her finger over her lower lip. "Has Alex shown any changes to her diet or lifestyle since her visit to the Glowing Sea?"
Cait laughed anxiously, "Where to start?"
Doctor Garrett looked at her curiously, "What do you mean? What have you observed?"
"Gosh, there've been a few changes." Piper gave Cait a knowing look. "She only ate fruit and vegetables when I met her, when she got back from the Institute, she was eating rare meat and pre-war food. Said she couldn't help herself. She was really specific about the kind of meat too. She won't eat anything other than brahmin or radstag and it's practically raw when she eats it."
"She gets strange cravin's. Can't tell you how many times I had to take boxed dirty water out of her hands." Cait's amusement made her brogue more lyrical. "Then there is the more disgustin' shite like Nuka Quantum. Don't know how she drinks the stuff. Thank god they're rare."
"Why are you asking all these questions?" Nat asked quietly.
Doctor Garrett smiled at her, "I promise to explain, I just have one more question."
Piper gave her sister's hand a squeeze. "Shoot, Doc."
"How many stims has Alex used since she was shot?"
Piper and Cait looked at each other, then at the doctor. "I honestly have no idea. I know she used about four last night." Piper answered. "She said they were helping, but it really didn't seem like it."
"Were they all this type?" Doctor Garrett pulled a used stimpak from her pocket and held it out to Piper.
"Yes, that's also the one I used on her when Cait brought her in."
Doctor Garrett put the used stim back in her pocket. "I counted fourteen injection sites on her shoulder and thigh. With that many injections from this particular type of stimpak, Alex should be dead."
"What?!" Piper asked worriedly.
"The fuck?" Cait asked at the same time as Piper.
"These stims build on the upgraded med-paks that Curie created. We added histamine and two types of pain inhibitors. The essential component of this stim is the integration of an adrenaline booster. With that many injections, Alex should have gone into cardiac arrest." Doctor Garrett held up her hand seeing them about to ask questions. "Stimpaks no longer work in Alex's body and probably haven't worked in her body in a long time. What she would have considered helpful were the pain inhibitors."
Cait and Piper waited for her to continue, but Nat was getting agitated. "Is Blue sick?"
"Nat, let her talk please," Piper whispered to her.
Doctor Garrett cleared her throat, "I'm sorry. I guess I should have been clear from the beginning. When Alex was at the Starlight, we thought she had a disease from the yao guai. Saying we were wrong is an understatement I cannot even begin to apologize for. Our linear thinking didn't allow for possibilities that existed because of changes in her physiology. We simply didn't understand what was going on with her because she doesn't exhibit the…"
Cait threw her hands up. "Slow down, Doc. You're losin' me with all those fancy words. Just tell us what's wrong with her."
Doctor Garrett opened her pocket and took out a packet of cigarettes. She quietly unwrapped them and lean forward, "Would any of you care for one?" All three of them took a cigarette and Piper lit them.
She waited for them to exhale the smoke before continuing. "Alex is… for lack of a better definition… a ghoul." She took a long drag of her own cigarette watching her words have their impact.
Cait was the first to speak, "Is that your way of fuckin' with us?"
Doctor Garrett gave her a stern look, "No, Cait. It's not. I'm sorry but there's not a better way to describe it. She has undergone the ghoulification process." Cait plucked the whisky bottle up and pulled the top off taking a long drink then passed it to Piper. "It's why our medical treatments weren't working at Starlight." Doctor Garrett shifted uncomfortably, "That's also why she declined so rapidly. We were treating a human being, not a ghoul. We removed everything her body needed to heal."
Piper took a long drink from the bottle and passed it back to Cait. "She doesn't…"
"Look like a ghoul? Yes, I know. However, we've tested her and physically seen her internal organs. She has most definitely undergone the ghoulification process or a form of it." She took another drag of her cigarette while Cait passed the bottle back to Piper.
"Will she, um," Piper took a drink not knowing how to ask her question.
"If you're wondering if her outward appearance will change, my best guess is no. Alex has been a ghoul for a while if the cause was her going to the Glowing Sea or the nuclear blast at the Institute. The process would have been completed over a year ago now. If her appearance were going to change, she would have by now. Which is why the stims didn't kill her and probably also why she didn't catch a disease from the yao guai that attacked her."
Doctor Garrett took one last hit from her cigarette before crushing it out in the ashtray. "When we treated Alex at Starlight, we placed her into the environmentally controlled railcar. They're lead lined for insulation. We sealed Alex away from the radiation that she relies on to heal. In doing so, we inadvertently made it nearly impossible for her to heal by continuously introducing radiation-removing chemicals to clean her blood. Mercifully, we were using red light to help her, so we didn't actually kill her ourselves. It wasn't until we tested her tissue under UV light did we think of what it could possibly mean. Once we put her under UV lights, her body responded but it was far too slow. So, we tested her tissue with ionizing radiation, and found it responded incredibly well." Doctor Garrett gave them a small smile, "However, once she woke up, she was very adamant she was determined to come home. We didn't have the serum completed to administer to her there. Nor did we tell her what we found. That's why we left to follow her with Cait's detachment as quickly as possible once we had the serum ready."
Nat leaned against Piper, putting her cigarette out. "Ghouls aren't allowed to be in Diamond City." She pulled on Piper's hand, "Does that mean we can't live together now?"
Piper took a deep breath trying not to panic. Today just kept getting worse in her mind.
Doctor Garrett got up out of the club chair and tapped her hand on the back of it. "I am aware that you three are Alex's only living family. I'm also aware of Diamond City's ridiculous rules regarding ghouls and the fact all of you have made this your home. Who Alex tells outside of you three and our medical staff is Alex's business. However, Curie, Joanna, and I have not told anyone about Alex's diagnosis nor will we." She tapped her fingers on the chair again. "What Diamond City doesn't know isn't going to affect your family."
Nat gave her a big smile. "That's a good point." Piper, however, was worried. There was too much going on to add another thing to the pile.
"Alex doesn't know?" Cait asked, "You didn't tell her?" Cait got up and walked to the fridge. She pulled it open and fished four beers out. "This is fucked," she mumbled.
"We didn't tell her due to the stress she was already under." Doctor Garrett tapped the chair with her words. "Nor was she… in the head space to hear anything we were trying to do for her, Cait." Doctor Garrett cleared her throat quietly. "I know you weren't there yet, but her anxiety of being separated from Piper was considerable. It wasn't in her best interest to tell her at that moment." She stood up and smoothed her shirt down subconsciously. "She even refused to wait for you, which, we both know is uncharacteristic of Alex." She studied Cait with her pause.
"Still, it's shite, she needs to know."
"Cait, I know you have her best interest at heart. But she was terribly upset finding out she was placed into a coma for months. You must understand what this must have been like for her. Once more separated from her family and the world around her without control over her situation." Doctor Garrett looked between the three of them, "There are very real ramifications for Alex and her mental well-being, and let's face it. She was angry. She wanted control of her life."
Piper looked at Cait and Cait looked away. Piper thought about the morning before when Alex was on her doorstep. Her hesitation and disappointment left Piper feeling raw. She understood why Alex was upset and said she'd leave for disturbing her. The threads of the morning came together with the doctor's acknowledgment of Alex's apprehension. Piper couldn't imagine the stress Alex had walked to Diamond City under.
Doctor Garrett looked directly at Piper, "I know you probably will have questions, either now or over the next several days as Alex recovers."
Cait gave her an annoyed look, "Questions? You fuckin' kiddin' me? Me only question is she goin' to live or not?" Cait handed Doctor Garrett a beer and walked back to the couch, giving Piper and Nat one too.
"She'll live, in fact, I do expect her to make a full recovery. And thank you for the beer." Doctor Garrett took a drink.
"Was she still sick yesterday?" Piper needed to know.
Doctor Garrett appraised Piper before answering her, "Alex's body has been severely stressed, unfortunately. Mentally and physically, the trip to Diamond City would have been exhausting in her condition. The fact she was shot and still came to Diamond City was an act of sheer will." More delicately she added, "It's also a testament to her commitment to you and Natalie."
Nat's hand found hers once more and Piper looked at her sister. "I told you."
Behind Doctor Garrett, the door opened, and Joanna entered through the smallest opening she could manage. Piper noticed she too had changed her clothes. The woman's brunette hair was swept back into a long ponytail. Her bangs were swept to the right and hung low across her cheekbones exposing her light-brown, freckled face. The sides had long strands that had freed themselves from the confines of the elastic framing her pretty, triangular face. Her white medical shirt was unbuttoned down the front to the top of her cleavage. She saw from her peripheral vision she saw Nat sit forward on the couch.
"Who is that?" Nat whispered to Piper.
"Ah, hello. I'm Joanna. I'm one of the doctors, we haven't met yet."
Piper gave the synth a surprised look, Nat hadn't spoken very loudly.
"Uh, hi," Nat answered a little surprised as well, "I'm, uh, Natalie."
Piper threaded her brows together and looked at her sister. Nat never introduced herself by her full name. Next to her, Cait chuckled. Piper looked between the smiling synth and her blushing sister. "Shit," she cursed quietly to herself realizing her sister was flirting, and Cait chuckled harder.
"Doctor, I need to set up a recovery area for the General. Where do you wish to have her convalesce?" Joanna only looked at the doctor long enough to ask the question before looking over at Nat and flashing her a toothy grin again.
Piper shook her head and glanced at Nat's blushing face.
"Piper wants us to place her upstairs. She'll be with her to help as needed so please keep our equipment centralized so that we aren't impairing her ability to be in her own home."
She turned away from Nat and looked back at the doctor, "It's really not a problem, Doctor Garrett. Whatever we need to do for Blue is fine with me."
"Call me Edna, please, Doctor is entirely too formal at this point." She looked back at Joanna, "When everything is ready, we'll bring Alex in and take her upstairs."
"Yes, Doctor." Joanna's smile didn't fade when she turned and went back into the other room. Edna followed her, closing the door. A moment later Joanna emerged with an armload of equipment.
"Want some help?" Nat offered.
Joanna shook her head with a smile, "No. Thank you for asking though." She quickly disappeared into the loft.
Cait leaned around Piper with a smirk, "Slick, McNugget."
"Thanks." Nat looked between Cait and Piper, "What are you looking at, Piper?"
Piper shook her head, she wasn't ready for a dating teenager, "Trouble. A whole lot of it."
"Can't really blame her, can you?" Cait finished her beer, "She is hot. You know she's a synth?"
Nat looked at the stairs and back at Cait, "Really?"
Cait waggled her eyebrows at her, "Not like it matters, all the bits are the same."
Nat narrowed her brows in question, "Um, and you know that how…?" Cait gave her a knowing smile. "Wait, you didn't with her, did you?" Nat asked impatiently, making Cait laugh.
Cait rubbed her chin playfully, "Not her, no. Though, I wouldn't mind."
"Ugh," Piper rolled her eyes, "Well, that was enlightening, thanks Cait." Cait laughed again.
"Yeah, I don't want to know." Nat leaned against the armrest, rolling the beer bottle in her hand irritated.
Joanna came down the stairs, she grinned at Nat, and slipped into the other room.
Cait gave Nat a playful push, "Think she likes you."
Piper finished her beer and set the bottle on the table. Joanna reappeared with another armload of equipment and was gone up the stairs in a blink.
Piper watched Nat who was looking at the stairs. "You should talk to her and get to know her while she's here."
"And shag her if you get the chance," Cait added.
"Smooth, Cait. Eloquent too." Piper threw her a dismissive glare. "You gonna dazzle us with that silver tongue of yours next?"
Cait gave her wicked grin, "Already did, Piper."
"That was dazzling? Huh," Piper just looked at Nat, "Well at least I can say I've experienced soul-crushing disappointment." Cait didn't say anything else.
Nat finished her beer, "This has been really educational, but I think I'd rather not live through this experience ever again."
Joanna came down the stairs, she didn't stop but she smiled at Nat on her way through. Piper watched Nat smile back and the synth blushed. She needed something stronger than beer.
The door opened again. "Joanna, go first, and set up the bags and bed for Curie." Joanna came through the door with a green box and a clear bag of saline. She went directly up the stairs. Behind her, Curie entered the room, carrying Alex. Piper's heart almost stopped seeing her tightly wrapped from her feet to her neck in a blue blanket. Alex's hair was damp from where they cleaned the blood from it. Curie had Alex pulled into her chest, holding her carefully. When they turned to go up the stairs, Piper could see the brown disinfectant they used to clean the wounds still on her face. The contrast between the disinfectant and her pale skin was sickening. The bile rose so quickly, Piper didn't have the chance to fight it. She ran to the sink and threw up into it.