Nate opened his eyes, immediately feeling the hangover slam into his temples. Groaning in pain for a moment, he looked around blearily, finding himself in his room at the Dugout Inn. The last thing he remembered was dancing with Piper—she had almost dragged him onto the dance floor with both hands while he tried desperately to get away. Dancing had never really been his thing; he had only ever done it because Nora had wanted to go out, and he liked being out with her.

Abruptly, he noticed a folded piece of paper on the pillow next to him with a scribbled message hurriedly scrawled on it in blunt pencil.

Nate,

I need time to think. Please don't come looking for me at home. I won't be there, and neither will Nat. I need to get away from Diamond City for a while. I need to get away from you. What we did last night can't ever happen again, for both our sakes. I'm sorry.

– Piper

Nate put the note back down on the pillow, feeling confused and bewildered. What could he and Piper possibly have done that would make her do this?

It was only then that he realised he was completely naked.

Shit.

No wonder she had left—he probably would have done the same if he had been in her position. He could not even imagine what she thought of him at this moment.

Sombrely, he wiped down his bruised body with water from the room's basin before he dressed himself in his Vault-suit and armour. The suit he had worn the night before smelled like it had been dunked in stale beer and rolled through a field of ashtrays, so he stuffed it into the room's closet after picking it up off the floor, resolving to wash it later before selling it back to Becky Fallon. There wasn't much point in hanging onto it, after all, and if he could make a few caps from throwing it out, so much the better.

Hitching his pack and rifle over his shoulder he walked out of his room, finding Vadim already tending bar even at this early hour."Ah, Mister Dawson! Good to see you!" Vadim exclaimed cheerfully. "Did you sleep well? You and Miss Piper were very tired, so Yefim and I put you up in your room. Miss Piper have no caps for a room of her own so I figure she can share yours for one night and pay her tab later."

"Yeah, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for that," Nate said, holding up the note she had left him. "Seems like she's not coming back here, at least not for a while." He paused. "I don't blame her, after what happened last night."

Vadim frowned. "Why? You are both adults. You both agree to what you do last night. Everyone have big laugh. What is problem?"

"The problem is I may have just lost my only friend in this entire fucked-up world over a stupid mistake," Nate snapped, before he realised what Vadim had said. "Wait," he began, "what do you mean 'everyone have big laugh'?"

"You do not remember?" Vadim asked. "You and Miss Piper drink many, many shots of Bobrov's Best – Yefim thought you would both die from poison! Then you start making bets about what you can do. Miss Piper suggests you run bases in city square in race, so you take shoes and jacket off and run. Everyone watch you fall over many, many times! Then you agree you should do it again, but only if you take more clothes off if you lose. Eventually you are both without anything on because you have run so much, and you are both tired and drunk and falling asleep on your feet, and you will not let us help you put clothes back on, so Yefim and I help you into room and turn out lights so you can lie down and sleep it off. We are not babysitters, so then we leave you to it."

Nate could not believe what he was hearing. "You mean we didn't sleep together?"

"You sleep in same bed," Vadim said with a shrug. "Is that not sleeping together?"

"You know what I mean," Nate replied. "Piper thinks we had sex."

Vadim burst out laughing. "My friend, you and Miss Piper could not even keep eyes open after drinking so much Bobrov's Best. It would have been miracle if you had been able to do anything else."

"And you didn't think it might have been a good idea to tell Piper that?" Nate asked, incredulous.

"I try, but Miss Piper is too fast – she is out of door before I get a chance to talk to her. I think you will have to do this yourself, but if you need backup, I will be here."

"If I can get her back here at all, I'll be sure to let you know if I need your help," Nate replied sourly. "Any idea where she might have gone?"

"I am thinking Goodneighbor," Vadim said after a moment of deliberation. "Miss Piper is always going there to chase story, you know?"

"That would be a good place to start if we both were still allowed in there," Nate said. "Long story – I'll fill you in another time," he continued before Vadim could question him, waving his hand dismissively. "Any other ideas?"

Vadim looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. "She has mentioned Covenant before because she thinks they may have information about runaway synths. Maybe she has gone there?"

"Covenant? Never heard of it," Nate said, raising an eyebrow. "Where is it?"

"Northeast of Lexington," Vadim replied. "You will know it when you see it. Big sign – very friendly man on door, so they say. Surely they will let you in because you are searching for someone."

"I'll bear that in mind," Nate said thoughtfully. "Thanks, Vadim."

"You are welcome, friend," Vadim replied. "I know you will find Miss Piper somehow. She is very noticeable—she is pretty girl with big voice. They are not common out in wasteland so I am thinking she will be easy to follow." He winked. "And I am also thinking she will be happy to see you, no matter what she says in letter. She is very fond of you, I can tell."

"Yeah, so people keep telling me," Nate said. "I'm not so sure."

Vadim laughed. "My friend, everyone in this town can see how she feels about you." He paused. "And how you feel about her."

"Oh my God," Nate sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips. "How many times do I need to say this, Vadim? Piper and I are just friends."

"You are spending too much time together to be 'just friends'," Vadim said. "Polly comes here every night to tell me how you always buy best cuts of meat to teach Miss Piper how to cook, and Solomon comes here to tell me how you buy her medicine and herbal remedies to make her feel better when she is sick with concussion. Even Yefim sees how eager you are to go see her in morning and how you always have spring in your step when you come back in evening." He picked up a glass and started wiping it clean with a cloth. "This does not sound to me like a man who is 'just friends' with a girl. This sound to me like a man who is in love with a girl."

Nate scowled. "No, that's me taking care of a friend who was in trouble. Can we drop it, please?"

"Okay, okay," Vadim said, holding his hands up. "If that is what you wish."

"It is. I'll see you later, Vadim," Nate said before he cracked his knuckles, adjusted his pack and headed out into the town square. The bright light of the mid-morning sun made him squint, the throb behind his eyes worsening for a moment until his vision adjusted. As he walked toward the gate of the city he heard scattered giggles and catcalls, and wondered how long it would take for people to go back to ignoring him.

A sharp slap to his backside jolted him awake, and he turned angrily on his heel only to find Polly standing behind him with her arms folded and a huge smirk on her face. "Hey, Casanova," she said. "Still going to tell me there's nothing going on between you and your reporter girl? Pretty hard to deny it after last night."

"I don't have time for this," Nate replied abruptly, turning back towards the city gate. "Nothing happened except that stupid racing."

"Vadim told you about that, huh?" Polly said, laughing. "You two looked like you were having the time of your lives out there. You sure you didn't… you know… take the party indoors?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Vadim said we were both virtually unconscious when he and Yefim put us into that bed – but now Piper's skipped town because she thinks something happened between us."

"She's gone?" Polly said, shocked. "Any idea where she might have gone to?"

"No. She left me a note to tell me she was leaving but she didn't say where she was headed. Vadim thought she might have headed out to Covenant, but he wasn't sure." He sighed. "Wherever she's gone, I need to find her and bring her back here so I can fix things between us."

"Oh, God." Polly reached out and put her hand on Nate's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, kid. Tell you what – Trashcan Carla is dropping off my regular delivery of meat later today, so I'll ask her to keep an eye out. Traders like her know other people who can help, too." She paused. "I guess you could try Nick Valentine's office – see if he's come back from wherever he went a couple weeks ago."

"Piper mentioned she had a friend called Nick once," Nate said, a flash of memory sparking in his mind. "Is he who you're talking about?" Nate asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, that's him – Nicky and Piper go back quite the way," Polly said. "He's one of the best in the business – if anyone can help it'd be him." She smiled briefly. "We'll have Piper back here sooner than you can blink, you'll see."

"Thanks, Polly," Nate replied, genuinely touched by her concern. "That means a lot."

"No problem," Polly said. "Promise me one thing, though?"

"I can try."

"When you see her again, don't let her go. If I had a girl like that in love with me, I'd be over the moon." Nate began to protest but she shushed him quickly. "Don't argue with me, kid – I know what a girl looks like when she's in love, and she is definitely in love." She patted him on the cheek, her fingers cold against his skin. "Waste that and I swear I'll kick your ass so hard your grandkids will feel it."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Nate said, rubbing at his face to get some warmth back into it. "Where's this detective's office?"

"Just follow the signs," Polly said, gesturing to an alleyway leading off from the main square. "Can't blame you for not knowing, though – you did have someone more important to deal with." She winked. "Good luck, Nate. Get your girl and I'll give you a box of my best cuts for free."

Nate laughed despite the situation in which he had found himself. "Well, how can I say no to that? See you around, Polly."

It took him only a few minutes to locate the detective's office, several crimson-shaded neon signs guiding him there swiftly and efficiently. He pushed the office door open, hearing a little bell go off as he did so. A woman poked her head around a wooden partition. "Can I help you?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"I hope so," Nate said. "Is Nick Valentine here?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm afraid not – I haven't seen or heard from him since he took off on his latest case two weeks ago."

"Did he say where he was going before he left?" Nate asked, feeling frustration bubbling at the back of his mind again.

"I don't know if he's still there," the woman began, "but Nick said he was going to College Square to see if he could pick up a trail. Apparently some rich girl got herself kidnapped by some mobster called Skinny Malone, and her dad wanted him to find her and bring her home. I'd have gone to chase him up myself but somebody has to keep this office running while he's away, and I don't trust any of the yahoos in this town to do it for me."

"Fair enough," Nate said, raising his eyebrows for a moment. "Guess I've got a mystery to solve…"