The steady beep from the Pip-Boy had faded into the background as much as any other loud and obnoxious noise could at one in the morning. Piper lay in the semi-darkness of the cold room staring at the rusty metal ceiling above her. The soft blue glow that illuminated the room cast shadows around them as frozen silhouettes. Her thoughts were drifting between Alex and the conversations she had earlier with Preston and Cait. Running her fingers through her hair, she let her eyes wander the blemished surface of the ceiling with her thoughts.

Piper took a deep, slow breath. Next to her, Alex slept, healing from surgery and the trauma she had endured days ago. They'd kept her under sedation to allow her body time to recover, without her being conscious of the pain.

Piper let her fingers glide over the covers and touch Alex's sleeping form. She was silently thankful, Edna said that Alex was healing well. The wounds and bruising shrank over the days. Her broken bones were healing far faster than Curie had predicted. Her stab wounds were already a healthy pink under the stitches the last time they'd checked. So, they'd removed the stitches since they weren't needed.

Piper took another deep breath trying to relax, but it didn't help. The serum they'd used to boost Alex's natural healing abilities was working wonderfully. Yet Piper couldn't ignore her reservations about the level of radiation they'd pumped into Alex's body. The science of it made no sense to her, but Curie had been confident. The thought lingered, like an itch desperately in need of scratching, in Piper's mind. There were questions she was afraid to ask, knowing the answer might be terrifying. She needed a way to ask them, a means to put her mind at ease, but she couldn't find it. Alex was a ghoul. Would she turn feral because of the radiation? It was a thought she hadn't been able to shake in almost five days.

Footsteps on the stairs pulled her attention from the repaired holes she was blankly staring at in the ceiling. The short, spikey hair that crested the opening of the loft gave away who was coming to check on them. Piper sat up, watching Curie step from the opening to the side of the bed. She set the tray down on the dresser and turned to Alex. "You should be sleeping, mon ami." The lilt of her French accent complimented the sweetness of her quiet voice. "Can you not?"

Piper watched her turn the dial on the white Pip-Boy attached to Alex's arm. "Not even a little bit." She rubbed her face and looked down at Alex. "How is she?"

The blueish light lit most of Curie's face when she looked from the Pip-Boy to Piper. "She is healing quickly, but this you know. It is surprising to me how fast, and there is much less damage to her body now." Curie tabbed through the Pip-Boy to another screen. "Her body is processing the sedative faster than a human. It is difficult to keep her asleep. Soon, we must stop giving it to her or she will become immune to its effects." Curie watched Piper for a moment longer then picked up a syringe from her tray. "But this is not what you mean, no?"

"No, it's not," Piper ran her fingers down Alex's arm to her hand and held it. As Curie gave Alex the first injection, she decided she needed answers no matter what they were. "I'm afraid to ask the question."

Curie gave her a reassuring smile, "No, mon ami, you must ask. You must be at ease with me. Ask anything. I shall answer you to the best of my ability."

"It's making me crazy," Piper looked from Curie's smile to Alex's battered face. "This whole thing about her being a ghoul…"

Curie's delicate brows pinched together, "But she is still Alec. She is still who you confessed your love too many nights ago. Is this not true?"

Piper ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, "She is… and I do love her. I told you this is making me crazy." She watched Curie's expression change to confusion, "Will she… go feral? The radiation that you gave her, will it make her brain deteriorate?"

A small smile formed on Curie's lips understanding the problem, "No, Piper. She is not the same as the others." Curie picked up the next syringe and injected it into the tube in her arm. "She requires more study to understand what has happened to her. But, of this I am confident. Alec will not become feral." She switched the display and turned it toward Piper, "Her brain activity is very high. Feral ghouls do not have this. There are other differences as well, but we are still learning from her. She is healthy and healing. For now, that is enough, yes?"

"Ah, god, Curie, yes. Thank you for dealing with me while I'm crazy." Piper said with a small laugh as she laced her fingers together with Alex's.

Curie picked up the third syringe on the tray and walked to the other side of the bed. "You are only crazy with worry." She sat down next to Piper and hugged her. "I have brought this for you, you are not sleeping, and you must. It has been too long for you and your body must have sleep."

Piper looked at the syringe in her hand and nodded. "How long will I be out for?"

Curie smiled; the soft light made her look angelic. "Only a few hours," She brushed Piper's hair from her face, "But, these few hours will te rajeunir. You will be refreshed."

Piper slipped her hand from Alex's and gave it to Curie. "I'm so worried about her…"

"When Alec wakes, she will need you." She held out her hand, "Please if you will give me your arm." Curie turned her hand over and pulled a small bottle and cloth from her pocket. "You worry, just as she worries for you. She has told me this many times." The strong alcohol smell filled Piper's nose as soon as she uncapped the bottle and poured it into the cloth. Curie cleaned the area of Piper's arm in the crook of her elbow. She injected the contents of the syringe into Piper's vein. "There, you will be asleep in moments. But for your dreams to be beautiful, you must know something."

Piper nestled back into her pillow and Curie covered her with the blanket. "What is it?"

"I know you did not hear her before her surgery. I wish to tell you what she said." The smile Curie wore became a little larger.

Piper could already feel her cheeks warming with the sedative Curie had given her. "Ok." Her ears were starting to vibrate.

"She said, "You and Nat are my world'."

Piper's eyelids were heavy as she blinked. The blue and the black of the room swirled dizzying for a moment. She moved her hand to Curie's, "Thank you."

The next thing Piper knew, she was staring at the rusted ceiling above her. The cool air of the room swirled lazily around in the bluish darkness. The dull light gave no clues for the time of day that it was or how much time had passed. All Piper knew was she felt well-rested, even if her eyes burned a little.

Stretching out her left arm, her hand gently brushed the woman's body she lay in bed next to. Rolling to her left side, she surveyed the other side of the bed and the tall blonde that rested there. Even in the darkness, she could see Alex hadn't moved. She looked at all the tubes and wires. Nothing had changed since she had come to bed. Rolling to her stomach, she lifted herself up to look at Alex. She could see the monitor on the Pip-Boy, but it wasn't making a sound. She figured Curie had silenced it in the night after she went to sleep.

Reaching out, she ran her fingers over Alex's cheek, down to her jaw. The bandages had been removed. The darker stains from the disinfectant lingered over the delicate pink flesh, and Piper closed her eyes, the sight of it was too much for her. Instead, she tried to remember her face without them. Opening her eyes, she was careful not to apply any pressure to Alex's face. The last thing she wanted was to hurt her. Piper pulled her hand away. It made her heart hurt to see Alex unmoving, hooked up to wires and tubes, unsure when she'd wake up.

She pushed the blankets up a little higher on Alex's chest and over her injured shoulder. Curie had bound her left arm so that Alex wouldn't injure it while she recovered. The damage to her pectoral muscle from the gunshot was significant and Edna had told her it would take time for it to heal. They just weren't sure how long. This was uncharted territory for all of them.

She ran her fingers over Alex's right arm, down to her hand. Piper sat up and scooted closer to Alex, pulling her hand into her lap; and holding it between both of hers. How the woman stayed unmoving in sleep was beyond her. After over three years of sharing a space with her, she still marveled at how motionless she could be in her sleep. Piper could hear voices downstairs, not that she wanted to focus on them or think about the fact she needed to get out of bed. She absentmindedly traced Alex's fingers with her own, listening to the people below her. She gave up when she realized she couldn't make out what they were saying.

Piper lifted Alex's hand to her lips and kissed it. She pressed Alex's hand to her cheek and closed her eyes knowing she needed to go downstairs but she didn't want to leave her alone again. She kissed her fingers one last time before putting her arm back down on the bed and under the covers. Slipping out of bed she took off her pajamas and pulled on her jeans. After she finished getting dressed, she made her way down the stairs to find herself in the middle of a heated discussion. She could hear Preston and Cait were arguing.

"I don't give a single fuck what you think, they're stayin' in this house." Cait snapped at Preston. "Or you just lookin' to get me family killed?" She glared at the man standing next to the red door holding a shotgun, "And don't you fuckin' tell me you're sidin' with him, Deac."

"Cait, come on now. I'm on your side here. We all are." Deacon adjusted the shotgun in his hand, "But Piper's going to make her own decisions. We all know that, including you."

Preston held up his hands seeing Piper appear on the stairs. "I guess we'll just ask her ourselves."

Cait shoved Preston against the bookshelf, "I'm warnin' you, Milquetoast, if she gets hurt, I'm goin' to hurt you twice as bad. No one's gonna stop me either."

Piper practically leaped the last couple of stairs, catching Cait by the waist, "Stop it!" Piper pulled hard against her, but Cait was solid like a ton of bricks. When she didn't want to move, nothing was going to move her. "What are you doing?" Piper tried to shove herself between them and Cait relented.

"He's tryin' to get you killed," Cait barked heatedly. Her green eyes blazed furiously; she kept her heated glare fixed on Preston.

"What's going on?" Piper yelled furiously, pushing against Cait, still trying to separate her from Preston.

"Take a breather, Cait." Deacon put his hand on Cait's shoulder, pulling her back away from Piper and Preston. "Mayor Thomas wants a meeting today with the City Council and the Minutemen about the Gunners being in Diamond City now that Preston is here. He's blaming the Minutemen for them being here. He wants Lex out of the city immediately for attracting danger to the citizens." Piper gasped disbelievingly at the revelation. "The Mayor is miffed Lex hasn't responded to his summons, but he can't just toss her out without the council's approval. No one's told him how injured she was only that she home resting. The City Council won't kick her out because of the optics and potential protest over it. Plus, the Gunners are all dead, so the Council doesn't see any danger and they certainly aren't for kicking out the Minutemen."

"Wait, hold on." Piper gaped at Deacon, "He's dead? When did that happen? And why does the Mayor want Blue out of the city? That doesn't make any sense. He's been open to the Minutemen being back in Diamond City. They're heroes in the Commonwealth… Blue especially."

"I'm tellin' you this stinks to high heaven." Cait redirected her anger at Deacon. "Somethin' ain't right here. He's another fair-weather, shite politician only in it for the caps!"

"I agree with you, Cait," Preston added only causing Cait to roll her eyes at him in disgust. "I'm trying to help them just like you are. But we need Piper's help for this, there's no other way."

Deacon smiled at Piper slowly, "The other Gunner died tragically in a lot of gunfire trying to escape last night. Sam shot him a whole bunch of times." The smile on his face was wolfish. "Dreadful really, when you think about it. He's not calling for you or Natalie to be thrown out, just Lex. Which is why this is all fishy as hell."

"It's a ploy to separate all of you," Preston sat on the couch with a weary sigh.

"Somethin's not makin' sense with any of this." Cait snapped, "That's why you can't go. It's a hot fuckin' mess and you gettin' caught up in it is goin' to get you hurt. I won't be havin' it, Piper."

"Breathe, Cait." Deacon put his sunglasses on the collar of his tee and adjusted the guard armor back into place. "Whatever is going on, he's using the fact they were fighting Lex in the market, as leverage to get her out of the city. He's claiming there's a bounty on her and that makes her being in Diamond City dangerous." He looked directly at Cait, "Something bigger is going on here and we need to know what it is."

Preston rubbed his stubbly beard, and it was obvious to Piper he was exhausted. "There've been more raider attacks on all the settlements around Diamond City last night and this morning."

"Wait, there were more attacks? Not just Oberland Station and Hangman's Alley?"

"We've been dealing with it all night, but they're coordinated, way beyond anything raiders are capable of. Last night through this morning, they're hitting and running from the two nearby checkpoints. They come in, shoot up the place and run off. It's pulling us in every direction… and they're doing it every hour."

"They tryin' to fuckin' draw out Alex." Cait's glare hadn't diminished. "They know she's a heavy in our crew and she'll lead the huntin' parties to go after them. They'll be after Piper knowin' she's with her. They get Alex out of the way, snatch Piper, and they'll just sweep Junior out the door."

"All that'll be left is to collect the caps," Deacon took his sunglasses off and rubbed his eyes.

"Wait, wait, wait. Go back to the Mayor." Piper was pissed, she'd liked Roy Thomas so much that she'd canvased for him. If he was selling them out, she wanted to take him down personally. Cait shifted out of Deacon's grip and took a step back, her hand still holding Piper's arm. "Does he think it was Blue they were after, or does he know it was Nat?" Piper studied Deacon, trying to understand everything that they were telling her.

"We're fairly certain he's on the take or he's being blackmailed," Deacon waved his hand in the air to accentuate his point. He looked at the small clock in the room. "Is that the right time?" Piper glanced at the clock, unsure. Cait checked her Pip-Boy, "Yeah, 'tis."

Deacon walked over to the shelf and turned on the radio. "For love came just in time, you found me just in time. And changed my lonely life that lovely day. Just in time." Deacon hummed along with the tune as it was ending. "Just in time. Just in time. Just in time." A slight static noise from the holotape's faded ending and Travis cueing the microphone was the only indication he was about to speak. "And that was Just in Time by Peggy Lee, up next, we have a special email request from Big D out in Boston Proper."

Piper looked at the radio. "Did he just say…" She listened to the first part of the song, then looked over at Deacon.

"Twenty-five miles from home, girl. My feet are hurting mighty bad. Now, I've been walking for three days and two lonely nights. You know that I'm mighty mad, huh." She watched the shrewd smile form on his face and Piper looked back at Cait. "But I got a woman waiting for me. That's gonna make this trip worthwhile. You see she's got the kind of loving and a kissing. A-make a man go stone wild."

Deacon turned with a sly smile, slipping back on his city guard helmet. "Well, I'd love to ask for a dance, but in less than twenty-five minutes the captain of the city guard is going to deliver information that the bounty is actually on the Mayor in front of the City Council," Deacon continued with the smile still firmly in place. "That makes Lex a hero and the Mayor look really stupid for trying to get her tossed out in the first place." Deacon smiled at Piper, "If the press is there asking questions loudly…"

"For fuck sakes, Piper, no!" Cait held Piper firmly in place, "Why is no one listenin'? If the Mayor wants to chuck Alex out, he's been bought. Everyone one knows you two have been together for ages. You go up there, and he'll hand you straight over to them Gunners without battin' an eye. They won't need to go after Alex, she'll go straight after 'em to get you back. It's a bloody setup."

Her reaction was so vehement that it startled Piper. "Cait, calm down." Desdemona had sent the message; the Railroad was protecting Alex. It wasn't a stretch, Alex and Dez were friends and Alex worked together with her and her team all the time. Piper had lost track of how many jobs the Minutemen run with the Railroad. Alex and Cait were two of Dez's best heavies and had been part of every major run they'd done since before the Institute's downfall. "What he's saying makes sense." She looked down at what she was wearing and looked at Preston's tired face, "I need five minutes to be ready."

"Come on, feet, don't fail me now (come on, feet, don't stop). I got ten more miles to go (ten more miles)…"

"Cait." Deacon pulled gently on her, "We know, and we've got her. Our people are already in place to move. There's not a single spot in Diamond City we aren't watching. If we want to protect them then we need to figure this out together."

"We're not going to let anything happen to Piper, Natalie, or the General," Preston added. "We've got thirty people here and outside. I'll be with her the entire time…"

"I got to keep on walking, mm-hmm, hey! I got to walk on, please let me ya, y'all."

Piper put her hands on either side of Cait's face, "I have to go. We need answers, doll. This is what I do. Let me do it."

Cait shook her head defeated, "Fuck sakes, woman. You're killin' me." The cadence of her Irish brogue sang the words miserably to Piper. "Don't come back in pieces." She kissed Cait quickly on the cheek and sprinted up the stairs.

Alex hadn't moved since she had gone downstairs. Piper kissed Alex softly on her scarred lips, her fingers stroking Alex's hair, "I'll be home soon. Promise." Piper grabbed her pistol, press cap, pens, and notebook. She practically jumped down the stairs, then bolted to the other side of the house where Nat sat playing Dominoes with Joanna, Curie, and Edna at the dining table.

Nat looked at Piper's gun on her hip and the notepad in her hands. "Are you… going somewhere?"

"I need you to stay here with Cait and Blue," Piper slipped the notepad into her back pocket. "I'm going to interview the Mayor."

Nat shrugged at her, "Ok." She put her tiles down on the table. When she was done laying the last tile, she put her hand under the table.

Piper gave her a questioning look, surprised she wasn't fighting her. "Um… really? That easy, huh?"

"Yup," Nat looked up at her with a smirk, "I'm staying with Blue. I'm not going to argue with you over that, I want to stay with her. Besides we both know Cait isn't anything close to a responsible adult, so I'm stuck babysitting her." Edna and Curie chuckled at her comment. "Was there anything else?"

Piper watched her carefully looking for her sister's tell. She knew when Nat was up to something. It was the ultimate parenting game and they'd been playing it since Nat was four. Piper prided herself on being better than her sister at it. Joanna put down her tiles and her hand slipped back under the table. Piper looked between her sister and the young doctor sitting right next to her. They weren't looking at each other, but both were smiling like they knew something she didn't.

"Well?" Nat's smile made Piper's investigative journalist instincts kick into overdrive. Piper narrowed her eyes at her sister and was met with Nat's mischievous grin. Nat was confident and she was worried.

Curie put her tiles on the table with a small cheer. "Ha! I am out of the little tiles. This means I win, yes?" In her amusement, her accent sounded just as lyrical as music.

Edna laughed, "It does indeed, Curie! This was a fun break, thank you, Natalie, for teaching us this game. I look forward to the next round!"

"You're welcome, Edna." Nat said, looking away from Piper, "It's one of my favorites. Blue taught us it a while ago during a rad storm."

Piper couldn't figure out what she was up to, and she needed to leave. "I'll be home soon. Keep an eye on things here, ok?"

Nat looked back at her sister and smiled at her brightly, "Just be careful. We'll take care of Blue and Cait while you're gone."

"I will be and thanks, darling," Piper turned and went back into the other room. Deacon had already left, which didn't surprise her at all. Cait and Preston were in a silent standoff, which she could see Preston wasn't interested in participating in.

Cait held out the key for her and Piper took it. "So, what's the plan?" Piper tried to ignore the unhappiness written on Cait's face.

Preston ignored Cait, entirely focusing on Piper, "We'll go up to the Mayor's office and you'll confront him while I play the good guy. We buy time for the guards to get there to deliver the news. Deacon's crew will work his office and other spaces while we're all in the meeting. We'll know soon if he's been bought, or blackmailed, or if he thinks they're after the General. Either way, you'll have your story, and we'll get to the bottom of this." Preston pushed past Cait and grabbed the red door's handle. "You ready? I'll be with you the entire time."

"Yeah, I'm ready, Preston, let's go." Piper walked to the door and looked over at Cait, "Take care of Nat and Blue for me."

Cait just tipped her head up at her. "No worries, love. We'll be here waitin'. Just… stay safe for us." Cait glared at Preston as he pulled the door open and stepped out into the rain. Piper gave Cait one last remorseful look before following him out the door.