Queen's note: HI! I'M BACK-ISH OVER HERE! From a story about the hell on earth apocalypse, to post-post nuclear apocalypse! …I see a theme with my writing right now… Also I love my two nerds in these.

Welcome to the Wasteland

Chapter Thirty Eight:

Fallon's Playground

"Hey, Lana?" Winston called over to where the woman was getting up from showing one of the other new people the new kinds of plants she had growing on the surface level before leaving.

The young woman looked up and smiled over at him from the garden plot. "Yeah?"

The scared man had an interesting expression, a half smirk, half wondering, "I had a question about one of your mystery plants in here."

Winston motioned inside the half cafetera that Lana was using to help start plants going where they were semi protected. Others were already started in the old bunker, mostly pre-war plants and moss.

"What about them?" Lana looked puzzled, and a little worried, "Is something eating them? I didn't think anything would go after tobacco or cannabis plants, not out this way."

She looked startled at the 'HAH!' from off to the side, Jacky's voice from inside a cabin he was working on, "I called it! I'm not that old to forget what that plant looks like! Winston, you're a senile old wet blanket!"

The former military man facepalmed with a deep sigh, "My god you brat."

Mary came up, looking confused at the fussing, or why some of the other pre-war ghouls were laughing off to the side. "What's going on?"

Lana looked back at Mary, shrugging because she was just as confused before picking up her compound bow. All her chores were already done until that evening. "If nothing is eating or damaging them, I'll show you them later, Winston. Still want to get to Concord, we'll be back soon."

"Go get what you need," Winston sighed, but it was more at Jacky than the girls.

"Sometimes the prewar people are really odd." Mary noted, only once they were well out of the way and almost across the bridge.

"They really are." Lana agreed, making sure her collection bag was empty. It felt odd not taking one of the moose but also nice to just walk along a now safe path. The two subconsciously stayed in Valory's patrol path, but Lily nudged Mary and smiled as she motioned to a game trail that led into Concord proper.

Mary hesitated, looking at her family home in the same semi distance away. She thought about the fussing of her dad and the longer walk, then Mary smiled as she grasped Lana's hand and pulled her onto the trail. "I don't think Mom or dad ever got into the Fallon's store… Do you think there's anything nice left, Lana?"

The other young woman fought the momentary flush as Lana kept pace. Her quiver bumping against Mary's as they headed to the town. "Maybe? It's hard to tell from the outside of buildings. Sometimes they're stripped and still boarded up, other times whole towns are untouched."

"Did you come across anything like that on your way out here?" Mary asked, gently swinging their clasped hands between them, stooping to pick some chamomile flowers without breaking stride.

"A few times, well, twice." Lana started and corrected herself, enjoying the walk. "Valory took me to this place in one of the last snowfalls a month…and a half before we came to the Commonwealth. It was really pretty, and quiet."

"Really?" Mary smiled, she liked hearing these things from Lana. "Why was it untouched?"

Lana ducked her head into her jacket and giggled nervously, "Well, it was isolated for one, but the area is also a deathclaw nursery…"

"You're kidding." Mary gasped as they approached the old town. "Like a real nursery? Like the one you told me about at your home!"

"Yeah, I was really lucky that I was riding on Valory's back at the time, and that one of her older brothers was a part of that pack." Lana waved at those at the museum, making sure they were not going to flag them over. Lana and Mary were not needed and headed up one of Concord's side streets. "I had to be on best Pack Behavior, but that uncle showed us his hatchlings! I got to teach them some words too while we waited out the weather. There was this big pool, hot springs building that we stayed in! It was fun…sometimes a little scary when I couldn't see Valory but fun."

"I've never seen a baby deathclaw," Mary realized as she looked around the old buildings, scanning reflexively for threats. One never knew where a feral or some sort of mutated insect could come from. "Only adults from afar. Or, well, Valory."

"They're really cute," Lana crooned, holding her hands up, including the one that held Mary's. Making a space between her hands and then a slightly bigger one. "Depending, eggs are between nine inches long, and a foot long. So the newly hatched ones aren't that big! Not unlike human babies, or rabbit kittens! They start so small and normally won't leave an inner nursery for a year, or nest for months. A yearling deathclaws are like… thigh high to you and I? About three feet tall, and still like to cuddle."

"Cuddle?" Mary asked, spotting the old Fallon's building up the street to the left hand side, pulling Lana with her to that side of the sidewalk. Pausing to let the other pick some of the edible port top mushrooms, letting go to help as well. Though Mary marked one to not pick until it was larger by using a nail to cut the top.

"Yeah, more so the ones back home, I would never cuddle a wild Deathclaw baby." Lana shook her head, happy with her stack of four mushrooms. Thinking of drying them out now. Or baking them…

Lana paused and her eyes widened, staring at the still bowl shaped caps of the young port tops.

"What are you thinking?" Mary asked with a grin.

"...I have an amazing idea!" Lana looked up, holding the bowl like mushroom caps, "We need noodles, veggies, gravy and some of that venison! We can cook a stew-casserole thing inside the pot tops! Instead of bread bowls! …well bread bowls would be awesome but this just sounds so good right now."

"That… does sound really good." the other young woman agreed, Mary feeling her mouth watering at the thought, even though she had that filling breakfast. "I want to try it, I think the razor grain we have would make a good flower… maybe not to bake with but, to make a nice thick stew."

"We should try soon." Lana smiled, looking ahead at the sun bleached not quite fabric over the Fallon store front. It looked like it was a pale coppery-orange, given the other faded colors it might have been red. "Shall we try a door or window?"

"Let's walk around the building." Mary said, setting the mushrooms down only once they were at the front door. Letting them stay on the cleanest part of the concrete stoop and tried to peek in through any boarded up windows as Lana set her port tops down too.

"Anything?" Lana asked, peering over and then tried to look in a slight gap between the wood as well.

"Just darkness," Mary hummed, shaking her head. Starting around to the other entrance after she and Lana tested the door they were by. It was metal and still solid, if not wielded shut from the inside.

"Even if it's empty inside," Lana noted looking at the exterior of the building, it seemed to be very well made and solid even now. "I think this would be another nice place to live, or grow some stuff out of the rad storms."

"I wonder if there's a generator that works." Mary hummed, swaying a bit happily at the thought of another place to have food stored and possibly even frozen meat in the winter!

The school kitchen that could work again once there was power, and the possibilities of the vault to maybe store food and grow too. Mary liked the idea of several places nearby that had good people and backup plans, not just at the farm and co-op. "...oh! If this building kept out most of the rads, maybe it might be a good fall back spot for radstorms?"

"Good idea!" Lana brightened, enjoying talking about things like this as they rounded another corner of the big building. Glancing over at the old war bank, she and Sturgies talked about in the vault while working on the power systems. Lana paused as she nudged Mary, reaching for her bow, "Look, a board is loose near the shipping doors. Maybe someone tried to get in at some point after all."

"Or winter storms." Mary pointed out, the two unconsciously settling to stay in spot near the loosened board. Catching their breath from the hike and resting before having to be extra alert inside.

Lana crouched beside the loosened board, peering inside, then looking at the board. She paused and eyed a backdoor, before they started anything the young woman checked the door. It shifted and there was a faint rattle-clicking from inside on the other side.

"Sounds like a loose chain, but not a big one." Lana noted, and studied the door itself, settling in her knees to peer at the lock and handles.

"Are you good at picking?" Mary asked, alternating between looking over Lana and scanning for threats out of habit.

"I'm better at the padlocks then door locks." Lana admitted, looking around for something to sit on. Getting up she checked through her black jacket and found the old but still well cared for, little lock pick set. "Uncle Richard gave this to me when I left. I've been trying to practice but it takes forever for me on doors."

"Can I try it?" Mary asked holding her hands out. "I'm a little better with door locks then anything else like a safe or padlock."

Lana nodded, letting Mary take the little soft leather bundle, "Just be careful with it please?"

"Promise," Mary said as she took the small bundle and switched places. Settling at the back door as Lana took the guard position. Fiddling with her bow and a loosely held arrow. Mary had learned now not to worry about that, as Lana's reflexes with her bow were really amazing, more so after the joint effort to clear the school. At least that was what Mary thought.

After a few minutes there was a very satisfying click, Mary sat back with her arms up in the air, and cheered with a soft, "Yay!"

"Yay!" Lana echoed, grinning back and came over. They cleared the area in front of the door before opening it slowly to the sound of the chain inside rattling. It opened about a foot, something they both could slide through, but did not. Using the space to find the padlock instead and move the chain to pull it free.

Also using the chain to try and attract any possible critters or lost ones. But it just smelled like dust, still air and aged wood. It was not too long for Lana to get the lock undone, maybe five or ten minutes at most from the two starting to having the door wide open to let the breeze in to air out as the once store as much as possible.

"Pretty," Mary breathed looking inside but keeping most of her body out of the way of the door. Looking at a painting of shimmering blue sea, but nothing like what she had seen in the area. It had a wide sandy beach, not rocky. But some sort of creatures were diving… out of the water, not into it.

"It's so quiet," Lana hummed, walking forward, looking around and then dared to step in first. Using an arrow to tap rapidly on a metal trash can, making a good amount of sound before pausing, and they both listened intently. Nothing was attracted to them by the sound from the inside, though a ground squirrel peeked up outside from the gras.

Mary walked after, still listening but paused at one of the many racks of this back room. Reflexively scanning for any silk webs, but finding none she started to relax just a bit. Not completely, but enough that she could focus nearby for any insects. Moving in time with Lana as they had learned to do at the school to make sure the department store was clear of any threats.

It was wonderful after it was safe, to find a few windows that they could open, Wave at Preston walking down the street and confusing him a bit. Then getting the front door open as well. A few of Deegan's men came by to check on them, helping to get a few supplies to bring back to the museum where they were mostly set up. Lana had a cart full for the vault, and between them they had a little packages for the farm, the co-op, and a little one to be for Sanctuary.

As Lana and Mary were the first ones in the building they had the first pick of everything really. They resorted to putting what they really wanted on the top floor, as Lana found that door locked, and it was mostly open as some sort of meeting place. Or lounge? It had a bar up there and tables.

"Maybe it was one of those private casino places?" Mary offered an idea of what was on the fourth floor.

"Could be," Lana said as she looked through the clothes, having taken her jacket off to try a few shirts on. Then she gasped and pulled something out of one of the stocking bins in the storage area of this floor.

"What?" Mary popped up from the shelves of under-clothes, hugging a precious bundle before her eyes lit up at seeing the dress that Lana held. "Oh wow, it's… shiny."

"Sea… see… sequins, that's what they're called I think." Lana said as she stared at the beautiful dark green fabric. The sequins were mostly a different shade of a green that were likely hand stitched in, and swirling up the dress and the only other color coming from a butterfly almost at the single shoulder. "...I like this."

It was not a ball gown like in the surviving magazines in the store, or the 'mermaid' dress, but something meant to dance in a show off some figure. There were another two parts in the long bin, a shawl or covering that was made of silk lined fur, and then a part to wrap around the waist to make a somewhat puffy tail to almost look like a ball gown. Something that could be switched between a ball and then evening, or cocktail?

"I really like it too," Mary said, daring to tuck herself up against Lana's right side. Looking at the clothes set aside, smiling at a few dresses, and some other both random decorative and useful things. Mary felt her cheeks heat up, as Lana leaned back into her.

"I found that dark orange dress for you… maybe," Lana looked at the silky, burnt orange cocktail dress, "Maybe we can have an overnight date here since we found the keys to the store. There's enough power to play some music and try to dance in something pretty…?"

Mary flushed fully as she stood up, smiling though as she looked at the other dress it was also really pretty and there were little flowers embroidered into the hems with some kind of shimmering thread that almost blended in if not for a red tint. "I like this idea… maybe we can make a nice dinner and breakfast.? But I think you'd look pretty in some of those necklaces."

"So would you," Lana said, and then hurriedly added, "Not that your grandma's locket isn't pretty! ….you just look really pretty in yellow."

Lana glanced over to where Mary's basket was, and the yellow shirts and scarf in there that Lana had seen her change.

Mary looked around, then pressed against the other young woman, "I think you'd be really pretty in green too, and not just you're a plant lady."

Lana paused, then grabbed Mary and hugged her tight, getting a yip and then a laugh. For more than a few moments, a shared moment where it was safe.

It was noon by the time they closed the store up again together, sitting on the front steps, nibbling on jerky and slices of carrots. Each young woman had two keys, for the building itself now, and that top floor where all the things they liked were stashed to go through again on the now planned date night.

"Hello the building!" A familiar voice called, drawing their attention away from watching the big ground squirrels bouncing around the street. Preston waved to be sure the two saw him again.

Mary lifted her arm to wave back, and blinked as Lana sat up. The other woman focused her eyes before nudging Mary. "What's wrong?"

"Preston looks worried." Lana reached for her jacket and quiver. "Blah… wanted to make stuffed mushrooms… what's wrong Preston?"

"Nothing really wrong," the Minuteman assured, paused as he caught his breath from the quick hike back, "Mary, your father thought you'd want to come back to the farm for a bit. Carlabell is giving birth."

Both young women stared up at him in shock, Preston gave a smile back.

"You're kidding… how small is the calf?" Lana demanded, even as she got up.

Preston helped one, then the other up, holding his fingers apart about a few inches, "I didn't see much, but one of the hoofs I saw was about this big."

"That's so small," Mary worried, making sure she had everything, and so did Lana as they picked up some of the things that were going to the farm as well as the co-op. "Oh, oohh, Lana you think that infection on her utters would have affected her calves?"

"It's not impossible," Lana admitted as she looked around, nothing was left behind as she started to walk with Preston. "I haven't checked it personally the last few days, you're parents and… Jun? They've been keeping a really good eye and have handled it really well."

"Wouldn't hurt for those that know better than me to give her another look." Preston offered to take one of the bags, settling it on his shoulder but was not allowed to take more than that so he could have free hands with a weapon.