Diamond City
January the 2nd, 2289
23:11

Diamond City.

Once Fenway Park, once a place she had meant to take her son to see a friendly few games of baseball.

For once, it did not matter the stadium had since become a bustling city. It was there. Real. Tangible.

And a hell of a lot nicer than any shelter they had needed to take in the depths of what had once, itself, been a thriving metropolis.

It was over. She had what she needed to know.

Nora let out a long sigh of relief when she stepped through the gates of Diamond City. Just a few more minutes, and she would be able to step out of the power armour and, she hoped, never have to step into a suit of it again. Yet it was also good enough, for now, to have been able to put on softer, comfortable clothes on underneath it instead of the hazard suit. Everything felt better. Lighter. Airier. Far less unpredictable. There were answers, now, about where to go and how. What was necessary to get there. Annoyance slipping into her mind when she remembered she would have to speak to the former Courser – 'Glory' – again, Nora shoved aside the snappish thought of wanting to take a Courser chip from her. Step after step. Closer and closer to the known. Reaching the top of the first set of stairs into the city, Nora paused to take a look around, relieved to find it was still the same as it had been when she had left. Nick took a moment to stop and stare, too, just as happy to be in the city he called home again. The bubbling and smiling face of his secretary coming to mind, he could not help but smile himself. When he started down the stairs with Nora, he waved at and tipped his hat politely at the city guards and people – few of them as they were at the late hour and in the cold winter night – who greeted him. He laughed a little when Natalie Wright began shouting when she saw him, all but chasing after him and Nora towards the Dugout Inn after sliding down the roof after climbing through the window on the second floor of her sister's office upon seeing them.

The farther down the streets they went, and the closer they got to the Dugout Inn, the more excited their surprise, sudden companion became. Nick eyed her strangely when he realised she wasn't wearing shoes but barely had time to think on it before she had ran past him. Nora nearly walked into a streetlamp post when the teenager darted in between her and Nick. She laughed a little when Nat leapt over the steps towards the entrance into the Dugout Inn, even more so when the teenager all but ripped the first door inside off its hinges to hold it open for her and Nick. Nearly the second the former lawyer and the detective were through the door, Nat ran past them again to get the second, shouting into the bar when she opened it. Vadim came running over himself, cheering and clapping, grabbing Nora's left arm the second she was in reach and had taken off the helmet of her power armour, unable to see well through it in the low light of the bar. Holding her arm up and shouting in, first, his native Ukrainian, Vadim waved his brother towards the bar with his free hand. Yefim grimaced but took the hint and began nervously manning the bar. Nick slipped past Nora, Vadim, and Nat to go and help the uneasy (and somewhat unwilling) bartender, smiling when he saw Nat dart over towards her sister, who had turned around to see the commotion and was laughing a bit at the sight of Vadim parading Nora around the bar.

"This woman!" Vadim declared. "Went into the Glowing Sea! And look at her! Not a scratch on her, and she definitely is not now a ghoul!"

"We had to be careful to do everything to avoid radiation exposure," Nora reminded him. "The suit may not be flattering, but neither is radiation sickness."

"You got the fire suit!" Vadim excitedly said. "From Rowdy and her Cats, no? They are a hoot – is what I've heard them say – and it suits you! No person without fire goes into the Glowing Sea, much less for weeks and weeks!"

"We didn't have a choice but to wait out several bad storms, Vadim," Nora shook her head. "It's a good thing Nick knew some…eccentric people who live out there and were willing to…let us stay with them. Deep underground. Away from the radiation."

"The Children Of Atom," Nick said when they got closer. "And, Vadim, if you don't let her go, even in the damn suit, you're going to break her arm, holding it up like that."

"Sorry, sorry," He said, letting Nora go and dusting off his hands. "I forget I have a strong grip."

Nora laughed. "It's alright, Vadim. Just glad to be back…and to never have to go back there again."

"Glad to see the suit held up," A calm voice said from behind her, smiling when she turned around. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"We did," Nora said, smiling when she shook his hand. "Thanks again, Derek. For helping with getting the suit fixed up. Though I hope no one minds if I want to never have to wear one again."

"If you don't want it, lassie, I'll take it. Just promise me you'll douse it in your perfume first."

Nora jumped a little when a pair of hands began playfully messing with her hair, only to relax and begin laughing again when she saw it was Cait. When the former cage fighter took a few steps back, and making sure no one was too close around her, Nora closed her eyes for a moment before finally stepping out of the suit of power armour she had been all but confined to for over a month. Her body feeling immensely lighter, and happy to be in nothing but her own, comfortable, and, more importantly, soft clothes again, Nora shook herself out before, tightly hugging Cait, who had been standing close beside her. Letting out a light squeak of excitement, Cait latched onto her even more tightly. When she let her go, the former cage fighter winked and then, sure it was alright, hopped into the power armour herself, picking up the helmet from where Nora had haphazardly dropped on the floor, too happy to be able to get out of the suit to have noticed she dropped anything. With a flourish, Cait spun around to show off, grinning and sashaying over to where Piper was sat with Lissy, Hadley, and Ada, leaning back against the bar next to them with a smirk.

"Think the Cats are onto something with these," Cait said, winking at Nora when she came to sit down on Piper's right, Lissy already on her left. "No wonder they have problems with the neighbours trying to steal their suits. I feel more powerful just standing around in this."

"Can I test its strength by shooting at you?" Ada said, her eyes wide only to pout when her mother pointedly elbowed her. "I won't shoot her with anything actually dangerous! Just some…reinforced BBs. And maybe some paintballs."

"The Cats play paintball in their suits all the time," Piper remarked, laughing when her sister in law hopped down from the barstool to run over to Nat. "They're going to come up with terrible plans," She whispered to her wife. "I think our little sisters could level the whole town if they were given enough of a chance to."

"Just don't let them get their hands on fireworks," Lissy said, snickering. "Pretty sure they would cause enough mayhem to last most people a lifetime."

Hadley raised an eyebrow, primly adjusting her glasses.

"Like when you, May, Lucy, and Mack set Arthur Maxson's hair on fire when you and Mack were sixteen, Lucy was seventeen May was a newly minted eighteen year old, and Arthur was fourteen?"

Lissy grinned. "It was a mistake with firecrackers," She said innocently. "We weren't trying to set his hair on fire. It just sort of happened."

Nora chuckled. "How does one accidentally set someone's hair on fire?"

"Precisely the same question I had for them," Hadley said, standing up to embrace the former lawyer. "It's good to see you back safe."

"I'm just glad it's over," Nora tiredly replied. "We have…" She lowered her voice. "Some things your colleagues might be interested in."

Hadley nodded. "Do you want me to take a look at them first? To help you…decide what we should tell them? About what you learnt, that is."

"I'd definitely feel a lot better about it doing that," Nora said with a sigh. "It's all so damn complicated. I don't even know where to begin."

"And there's no shame in that," Hadley reassured her. "For now, you have a chance to relax. If you want anything, let me know. You've certainly earnt a free dinner and drinks."

"I feel like I haven't eaten real food in ages," Nora admitted, smiling when Vadim came over to them when she sat down at the bar with the older woman. "Do you have anything…well. Noodles in peanut oil? And maybe some water and…a bottle of wine?"

Vadim winked. "Coming right up, lapochka. Want some fries with that too?"

"Am I a tired and very hungry American?" Nora half jokingly replied, smiling when he nodded. "Thanks."

"First thing he did when we got back was ask me if I was hungry too," Another voice said, and Nora raised an eyebrow when she saw it was Preston. "Got back from Far Harbour about…two or three days ago. Been trying to relax a little ever since. It was…stressful, to say the least."

"Going up that far north with things they way they are…I believe you," Nora said, laughing when Cait started playing with her hair again. "You find the missing girl?"

"Found her, even got to talk to her, but…" Preston shook his head. "We came back because we're going to need to consult with Nick. Kasumi's in probably the strangest place I've ever been and, while it's safe, her parents desperately need her to come home. Seeing them worry…it was hard to stomach, especially when we had to tell them we weren't able to get her to go back."

"She doesn't want to go home? Why wouldn't she?" Lissy said, going unusually quiet. "I always did, every time we had to leave somewhere to..."

"Lisanna –" Hadley worriedly began when her daughter suddenly stood up.

"I just miss them," Lissy said, her glasses fogging up when she started blinking back tears. "All of them, the friends I had when I was little, and…"

"It's alright," Piper said, tightly wrapping an arm around her. "Shh…it's alright, Lis. I know."

Nora stared in shock when the writer, the pink haired twenty three year old, and Hadley all quickly left.

"She's crashing into another low," Preston quietly told her. "Hate to say it, but I'm not surprised. She's been way up there for so long, it's almost crazy it didn't happen sooner."

Nora sighed. "I knew someone like her," She said softly, reaching for the locket under her shirt. "But she didn't make it."

"Dead friends…" Cait said quietly, stepping out of the power armour to sit down beside Nora and loosely wrap an arm around her. "Hard not to miss them every damn day."

"Remembering the people who didn't make it is…" Preston shook his head. "It's hell. But…enough sad talk. I'm glad to see you back. I've been thinking about a big undertaking I thought you might be interested in, if you've got time."

"What is it?" Nora said, surprised. "Something else happen while you were up north?"

"A lot happened while we were up north," Preston said, laughing a bit. "But no, it's not about that, other than we just aren't sure what to do to get the girl to go home. What I'm talking about is there's an old, pre-War military fort by the coast we always called the Castle. Since things have been looking up for us in the Minutemen so much lately, Derek, Sturges and I have been considering trying to take it back."

"Really?" Nora smiled. "You know what?" She said, sharing a long look with Cait. "Sounds brilliant."

The Prydwen
January the 8th, 2289
14:13

Being forced to wear a Brotherhood Of Steel uniform would have been uncomfortable enough on its own for Jacqueline Rose Spencer, but, with the one they gave her first being two sizes too small, it was also anxiety inducing, even after a woman in a power armour frame came by her room to give her one in the correct size.

Knowing she was there with no choice in the matter only made the discomfort and anxiety worse.

The woman in the power armour frame – whose name, she had since learnt, was Mischelle Ingram – walked a few paces ahead of her, Dr. Madison Li by the side of her unlikely protégé, something becoming all the more common. Behind them to ensure they did not try anything off colour was a man who spent a great deal of time, it seemed, managing the weapons, ammunition, and caps flow aboard the airship the seventeen year old had come to know was called the Prydwen. Another day, another round of being presented with the same dilemmas. It was the other thing making her feel sick. When they were walked into what had once been an aeroplane hangar in the former airport, Jacqueline swallowed hard, looking at Madison who, having gotten the 'privilege to' after yet another argument with the Brotherhood's leaders, was smoothing down her blouse and skirt. A few inches of snow outside, the internal heating of the hangar was a welcome reprieve and, as such, a blessing and a curse for the head of Institute Advanced Systems and her protégé. Closely watching Ingram punch in the codes to enter the sealed parts of the hangar, Jacqueline tried to memorise the number sequences and patterns, hoping, somehow, there would be an opportunity to escape, an opportunity facilitated by knowing the codes in and out.

She tried not to ruminate on what Dr. Li had warned her about, and certainly not what her mentor had warned her about after a contentious meeting with the East Coast Brotherhood's Supreme Commander himself, Arthur Jonathan Maxson.

"Now things have gotten better organised, you should be able to get a better look at it," Ingram said, watching the doors to the hangar's sealed sections raise open. "We were a bit haphazard in getting everything in here and out of sight as quickly as possible because of how classified this project is. We may be building a giant gantry on part of the old tarmac, but it could be for anything, parts of the Prydwen, fill in whatever you can think of, and it could probably fit. Which is what we want them to think. Hope you're both adjusting easier now you've gotten into a decent working state."

Teagan frowned when Madison did not say anything and did not do anything other than set a calm hand to one of Jacqueline's shoulders and scowl at him and Ingram.

"What? Do you not want us here to help catch you up to speed on the progress we've made over the last two weeks?"

"What I want, in this case, is largely irrelevant," Madison coldly replied. "Arthur gave his orders, and you just have to carry them out."

Ingram shook her head. "You've never had much respect for how leadership works in the Brotherhood, have you Dr. Li?"

"We use your title," Teagan irritably added. "You could at least show us the same courtesy."

"Attitude or not," Ingram said when Madison did not respond. "Maxson and Kells have great expectations for the both of you with this project. You did incredible work before, Dr. Li. We're sure you'll be able to do so again."

"So, what the hell is this?" Jacqueline said, crossing her arms. "A big missile launcher for the Prydwen?"

Teagan laughed. "No, child. The Prydwen might be quite the large beast, but she's not built for fighting. This project, however, has nothing to do with the Prydwen."

"Proctor Teagan is correct," Ingram said, giving the teenager a smile. "This is the most advanced robot the Brotherhood has ever had at its disposal, and your mentor was integral in getting it into fighting shape once before. The Brotherhood used it in the Capital Wasteland as a weapon against the Enclave, who were the tyrannical remains of the pre-War United States government."

"Liberty Prime was necessary," Madison shortly agreed. "The Enclave were despicable, and the Brotherhood doing away with them was precisely how, after years and years of fighting for them, you won the trust of the people of the former Capital. You have not earnt the trust of the Commonwealth."

Teagan's eyes narrowed. "The people of the Commonwealth don't know how good they have it with us here. We are the ones risking our lives for the greater good. They'd be lining up to help every damn day if they realised what we do for them but, instead, we get them being a nuisance or actively trying to interfere with our operations for no reason other than spite."

"Just keep telling yourself that," Madison replied, scowling at him. "I'll bet it helps you sleep at night."

"Madison," Teagan said, patience growing thin. "Should I teach you some manners?"

"That's not necessary," Ingram said, stepping between them. "I've dealt with worse, Keith. Either way, she isn't going to be much good to us if she's laying in a hospital bed."

"Don't worry, I know," He said, laughing a little. "I only came down at Kells behest. He doesn't trust her. Certainly not after what she said to Elder Maxson about his wife."

"It was uncalled for," Ingram shook her head. "Check to make sure the Initiates aren't completely fucking up work on the gantry. Quinlan just about lost it when he realised one of them hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings long enough for a Squire to get his hands on and start playing with the silicone putty."

"Your orders," He said with a nod, warily looking at Madison and Jacqueline one last time. "Good luck with them."

Ingram rolled her eyes, albeit with half a smile, quickly and almost dismissively waving him off. When she turned back to Madison and Jacqueline, she paused, surprised to see how nervous Jacqueline looked. Giving them a second in the relative silence, she then began up the stairs to the second level of the warehouse, looking back only to make sure they were tight on her heels. They were, however grudgingly. Jacqueline kept close to and almost hid behind her mentor. Madison made no attempt to stop her heels from clicking harshly against the steel stairs and walkways. It was all too familiar. I can't believe you of all people, Mischelle, were confused as to why I am so reluctant to work on Prime. She startled when, seemingly out of the blue, Jacqueline grabbed her hand and held onto it almost the same way a child holds onto their mother's hand when they're frightened. When they stopped in front of Prime's head, seeing her reflexion in it for the first time in almost a decade made her understand why her protégé was so anxious. Madison frowned at her reflexion in the half cleaned silver, letting out a tired sigh when she glanced at Jacqueline. Responsibility lands squarely on my shoulders, again. I can't fail at it this time. Feeling a little sick at the thought, it was almost a relief when Ingram began down the stairs to the floor of the warehouse again and, so, they went quickly behind her. Ingram smiled when they were on the ground floor again, only to take a small step back when all Madison gave her in return was a dark, wary look.

"As much as I hate to say it, Prime's power systems are out of my league," Ingram said, continuing when neither of them said anything. "The first problem is his CPU. It's fragile, and every time we try to feed power to it, it blows itself out. I do all the maintenance on the Prydwen, so you'd think it'd be a snap, but Liberty Prime has a highly complex power system, a great deal of which was damaged when he exploded. I've spent the better part of the last few years piecing him back together, and, if you think that's easy, try rebuilding a Protectron while you're blindfolded."

"Don't worry, I'll fix your damn robot," Madison bitterly replied. "Now get the hell away from me."

"I'll be back in an hour or so to check in on how things are going," Ingram said, heading out. "Good luck."

Silence. The second she had disappeared out of the hangar, there was silence.

"Listen to me very carefully, Jacq," Madison said, her voice low. "Follow what I do. We're going to subtly…interfere with this experiment."

Jacqueline eyed her strangely. "How so?"

Madison smirked. "You know how you and Quentin 'play' with Dr. Holdren's synth bees? Well, what would you do if you wanted to sink the Synth Zoological Initiative?"

"What?" Jacqueline said, her eyes the widening in understanding. "So," She said, keeping her voice as quiet. "We set them up to fail. But also…how do you know about –"

"Clayton may be a brilliant scientist in his own right, but he's also the same man who has watched too many films and wanted to name the…synth version of Roger Warwick 'R2-D2,'" Madison said, smiling a little when the seventeen year old giggled. "Father said no but let him get close enough with R2-32 instead. As for knowing about your and Quentin's hobby? It doesn't matter, just know your secret is safe with me. Now. Focus on getting through this alive."

Jacqueline nodded. "We don't really have a choice," She said, her voice shaking. "And…and they'll deserve what they're going to get when this fails."

"Yes, they will," Madison said, her voice unusually soft. "To think I thought they couldn't get any worse."

Railroad Headquarters
January the 13th, 2289
16:08

"Well, if anyone could manage to survive out in the Glowing Sea for years, it would be an Institute scientist. I have to say, I'm impressed. Not only by him, but with you for managing to find and convince him to help you."

Sat around the centre table in the former crypt, Nora uncomfortably looked around her. To her left sat Nick, who was as calm and thoughtful as ever. To her right sat Hadley, who kept reaching into her purse only to stop, occasionally stare at a half smoked pack of cigarettes, and then try to resist the urge to have one, struggling but managing to hide her anxiety. Next to the mother of four sat the strange man in sunglasses who called himself Deacon. Every time their eyes met Nora felt a bit of nervousness begin to twist in her chest. Something about him is…off. And is Deacon even his real name? Beside Deacon sat the former Courser, who glared every time her and Nora's gazes crossed each other. The feeling mutual, Nora scowled at her, her lips pressed into a thin line. The former Courser kept one hand on the knee of the woman sat next to her, the 'leader' of the Railroad. Desdemona. Her second in command next to her and looking about as cheerful as he ever did, Dr. Stanley Carrington sent Desdemona an irritable, dark look while she continued to look over the files of information Nora and Nick had brought for them and laid down on the table, atop the large map of the Commonwealth. In a much lighter mood beside him was the man in the large, eccentric headgear, who seemed to be flirting back and forth with the man who called himself Deacon from across the table. Tom, she was pretty sure his name was, and, finally, in between Tom and Nick, was a young man positively possessed with anxiety who called himself, almost amusingly so far as Nora was concerned, Drummer Boy.

"Remarkable as all of this is, who's to say the Institute won't see this coming?" The irritable doctor said, staring at Desdemona. "He may have fled to the Glowing Sea to escape the Institute, but they seem to be almost a step ahead of everything. They found the Switchboard after decades of our working there. How have they not found their own scientist?"

"Why waste resources on a guy who's probably going to kill himself in the Glowing Sea?" Deacon said with a shrug. "They probably initially sent a Courser after him or something but gave up when they realised he was probably going there to take the long walk into the light and not the kind you'll start giving off if you get exposed to too many rads and somehow don't die."

"Thank you for your helpful insights as always, Deacon," He said, frowning. "But this is a serious matter. Attempting to enter the Institute is a near suicidal act, and will absolutely be if they catch onto these plans."

"Which is why we won't let them," Desdemona said, raising a hand to silence him. "We don't even have the understanding of how to interpret all of this yet. Some of it is almost unbelievable."

"What more do you want?" Nora said, crossing her arms. Thank God Hadley thought to have photocopies of all the information Virgil gave us made before coming here. Better they have the photocopies and not the originals. I might need them later. "An actual, honest to God, former Institute scientist drew and wrote up those plans. Ambitious as they are, they're what will get me into the Institute, but I can't do something so…immense on my own."

"Which is why you've got us," Deacon said, kicking his feet up onto the table. "Only question I've got is about the code you need access to. Where the hell are you getting it?"

"Well, see, Coursers have a chip in their heads," Nora said, darkly glancing to Glory. "Which lets them connect to the Relay in and out of the Institute. The signal interceptor needs the code to be able to send me in the place of a Courser."

Glory snorted. "So, you've got to kill a Courser. How are you going to do that?"

"Virgil gave us a few starting points on how to do so," Nick said quickly, sending Nora a pointed look before she could say anything in response. "Apparently the Institute is below what used to be the Commonwealth Institute Of Technology. When they send Coursers out, it's usually from that general area. The kicker is the Coursers cause a disturbance to the EM frequency spectrum."

"If we can catch a Courser's signal on a radio," Nora said, surprised when she caught a glimpse of Hadley's Pip-Boy within the woman's purse. "Then we can follow it to wherever the hell the thing is, track it down, kill it, take the chip out of its head, and decode it so it'll be compatible with the device that'll send me instead of the Courser to the Institute."

Tom pulled up all the accessories on his headgear excitedly.

"It's been ages since we've gotten a Courser chip in here!" He exclaimed. "I can't wait to get started on it, once you've got your hands on it and the dead Courser, anyways."

"Doesn't sound like something you should do alone," Glory said, smirking a little at Nora. "A Courser working for the Institute won't hesitate to try and kill you the second it decides you're a threat."

"Then how about we start now?" Nora acidly replied. "Think I couldn't pop off your head?"

"Nora, what the…" Nick said, turning to her, shocked. "I know things have been stressful and dragging you thin but Jesus, I –"

"So much as we want to get a first hand account of what the Institute is and isn't, we can't just take you and what you got from this…Virgil and run with it," Desdemona said, her eyes a bit narrow. "If you want our help, you're going to have to help us first."

Hadley frowned. "She went into the Glowing Sea, met with an Institute scientist who left because he couldn't take it there anymore, and came back with all the information one needs to find a way to get into the Institute. What more do you want?"

"An apology, for one," Glory said darkly.

"We lost a lot in the Switchboard disaster, Hadley, you know it as well as anyone," Desdemona said, shaking her head. "Including an important project of Carrington's. If the Institute have gotten their hands on it, then so be it, but it's better we try to recover it than leave it for them or – worse – the Brotherhood to potentially discover."

"Shit, almost forgot about the prototype, Des," Deacon said, swearing under his breath. "Yeah, we really need it back. It's been…almost two years now since we lost Switchboard, right? Two years this summer, anyways."

"The point is, my prototype has the capacity to do us a great deal of good," Carrington said a bit pompously. "We have tried to retrieve it a few times but have had to call the operations off due to signs of Institute activity. And Glory's objections to participating."

"Just look at him, Carrington," Glory snapped, waving a hand towards Nick. "Look me and him in the eyes and tell me the first and second generation synths aren't worth saving, too."

"Until they got to synths like you, pretty much all the Institute's synths were dumb as rocks," Nick said calmly, sighing when she glowered at him. "I'm the only synth like me I've ever met. The rest of 'em, the ones closer to looking like me, aren't sentient, which is what I mean when I say they're dumb as rocks. It may be grizzly, especially knowing they were also created by the Institute and were the precursors to synths like us, but it sounds like what you're refusing to shoot down are glorified Protectrons."

"Now, you've heard it from someone else," Carrington said, giving Nick a grateful look. "And someone who is also a synth. You're holding up a necessary operation – have been holding up a necessary operation – for long enough, Glory. If you won't do it –"

"Make her do it, then," Glory said, giving Nora a furious glance. "Her, Nick, and Deacon can handle getting your prototype back, don't you think? Because I, for one, won't be sacrificing my morals over your prototype. It's important, but it's not more important than them."

"Your anger at nearly everything and everyone other than Desdemona, these days, is getting tiresome, Glory," Carrington coldly told her. "I think Amari made the right decision, refusing to perform any further 'memory recovery' procedures on you. Some things – including your previous life as a Courser – are best left forgotten."

"Yes," Hadley quietly put in. "Yes, they are."

Silence.

"Well," Deacon said, taking his sunglasses off and setting them atop his head. "Guess it's settled. I'll be retrieving your prototype with Nick and Nora, and you, Tom, Des, and Glory can try to make heads and tails out of the crazy egghead's plans."

"What is this prototype for?" Nora said, sceptically looking between him, Desdemona, and Carrington. "If I'm going to be risking my neck to get it, I want to know what I'm risking my neck for."

"So, I'll be straight with you," Deacon shook his head. "Although you're not going to like it, I have no idea what the prototype does. I'm pretty sure not even Carrington knows what it does."

"I do," Carrington said pointedly. "But you've walked away every time I have tried to explain it."

"Because you try to explain it in boring talk," Deacon said, dismissively waving his hands. "But, look," He said, turning back to Nora. "We take promises seriously around here. Help us with this, and we'll make sure you get into the Institute, even if it takes a while to figure all this…well, all this shit out."

Nora sighed. "As long as I eventually get into the Institute, fine," She said, warily looking at Desdemona. "But I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me I'm not going to regret this, relying on you to get me in."

Desdemona frowned but eventually nodded.

"You won't regret this. How ever long it takes, we'll get you in there and, with any luck, to your son."

The Commonwealth
January the 21st, 2289
11:31

"You guys have done a lot for us over the years, and I know it was a lot to ask for you to kick the Brotherhood off our property, but this is…it's despicable. I don't even care if the Brotherhood thinks there's a reason for it. Kidnapping a woman and her daughter for no reason is wrong."

"No kidding. Those rags don't know where to stop, do they?"

Rarely a fearful man and once a rather belligerent man, seeing genuine fear and worry all over Roger Warwick's face and in his posture were more than enough for even Rowdy and Bluejay to feel on edge and unnerved. Duke walked across the farm and towards the other side of the property all the while scowling at the Brotherhood's airship in the distance. Unusually focused, Zeke continued to furiously take notes while Roger talked, each bit of information a hair more disturbing than the last. Johnny D, the only one of them sceptical, had begun to change his tune the longer Roger talked, slowly becoming convinced – even if he were wrong on some of the details – whatever happened was wrong and could not go unanswered for. Beside Zeke, a hand on each of her guns, Roxy read what he was writing from over his shoulders, almost as quickly as he could write it. Every so often, Roger would go quiet and look around to ensure work on the farm was still going on behind him. The Brotherhood had not returned, but their airship looming in the distance was a fearsome enough warning in and of itself. Out of the corners of his eyes, Zeke briefly smiled when he saw June playing with nine year old Wally while Janey, ever the responsible eldest child, was actively working with the foreman – Bill, he was pretty sure was the man's name – and one of the farmhands, who he was pretty sure to be called Cedric. When Roger began speaking again, however, the smile left him, and he turned to scowl at the Brotherhood's airship through his rather large sunglasses.

"You know us, we're always happy to have guests here," Roger said, setting his shovel aside. "But the Brotherhood threatening us was a line too far. We don't even have all that much to give them. Not if we want to be able to survive off this land, anyways."

"We're just glad to have gotten here in time to scare them off," Roxy shook her head. "June did the best job of it, though. The Brotherhood Knight she nearly shot looked like he had seen a ghost with how fast he ran back to their little helicopter things."

"June's a real tough cookie, and I love her for it," Roger happily replied. "No one's going to bother us anymore. But, yeah," He said, his voice falling serious. "I don't know her or her girl particularly well, but Dia and Jackie are two of the smartest people I've ever come across, even fixed some of the issues we were having with the pump systems a little ways back. The Brotherhood taking them all because they think they should be using their brains for them is messed up. I wouldn't usually ask you to put yourselves on the line, but they need it. I can't even imagine what the Brotherhood are making them do for them."

"Probably treating them poorly," Zeke said, snapping the notepad and pen shut. "Don't think people who resort to kidnapping to get what they want are the 'we'll treat you all well and good' types."

"But they're definitely assholes," Roxy shook her head, looking to Roger. "Anything we should know about Dia and Jackie? Don't want to scare them more, you know."

"Also want to make sure we get the right people out of there," Zeke added. "Letting the Brotherhood chase us with one of their own wouldn't help nobody."

"Really wouldn't," Roger solemnly agreed. "Dia's full name is Madison Li, but pretty much everyone calls her Dia. Call her that if you need to convince her you know me. She's a tiny woman, almost sixty, dark hair, medium dark skin, you get the picture. Jackie, her daughter, is actually a little bit shorter than her mother, but has the same dark hair and slightly lighter skin. She's also a lot more soft and round than her mother. Two of them will probably be together or close to each other, but…who knows what the Brotherhood have done to try and make them do their bidding?"

"Guess we're going to find out," Zeke said, slipping his notepad and pen into his jacket pockets. "But I don't think we can do just Cats. You going to be upset if we seek help from a few other people, too?"

"What other people?" Roger said, curious. "I thought you guys were pretty self isolated and self sufficient and all."

"Being far out as we are, in some ways, yes," Roxy shrugged. "But Duke and Bluejay go out the most of any of us, other than Rowdy, and one of the Minutemen – his name's Sturges and he's handy as hell in every kind of shop – is good friends with them, though I don't think they've seen much of each other the last few months."

"Time really blurs sometimes, doesn't it?" Roger said before nodding. "I'd forgotten the Minutemen were getting back on their feet. Good to know they ain't all dead. We might end up needing them if the Brotherhood decide to keep dicking around."

"Someone's got to be willing to tell the Brotherhood they ain't wanted," Zeke agreed, taking off his sunglasses with a flourish. "I'd probably be alright with the Institute being the ones to do so. People around here might even start to like them if they give the Brotherhood a serious wakeup call."

Roger uncomfortably laughed. "Best not to tempt fate, right?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Roxy said, waving Rowdy over from where she had been throwing rocks into the water with Bluejay. "Why not take a few chances? Have you ever gambled? Think of it like that, but betting on who's going to win – the Institute or the Brotherhood?"

"You mean in a hand to hand?" Rowdy said, skipping over. "Or with guns?" She said, taking her .44 pistol out of the holster and twirling it in her hands. "Because I'd say the Brotherhood might have more muscle than Institute scientists in hand to hand, but the Institute have got the brains and all the shit to make some guns we'd ogle over for days."

"You…are very well armed people," Roger said, giving her a half smile. "Taught the Brotherhood a good lesson. Though you did have me worried with how you were swinging around your…what is it? The big one, kind scary…"

"ArmaLite-18," Rowdy replied with a wink. "I found a box full of 'em a few years back and love to play with them in target practise. If it weren't for the box, I wouldn't have known what they're really called, but I like to mess with people who don't know shit about guns and tell them the 'AR' stands for 'assault rifle,' and I bet a lot of those Brotherhood nosebleeds don't know about its actual name. They didn't get to play with the boxes."

"The Cats' cats play with all the empty boxes in the fort," Zeke said with a laugh. "Every time we empty out a new box or crate, they go crazy. It's fucking adorable."

"But, anyways, what are we going to be getting up to?" Rowdy said, wrapping her free arm over Roxy's shoulders and waving the other, gun in hand, at Roger. "Since you said the Brotherhood are up to no good again. A kidnapping, wasn't it?"

"Of a woman and her daughter, yes," Roger said, awkwardly rubbing at his arms. It was really smart of Dr. Karlin to let me know what I needed to do by sending the Courser disguised as a trader! And hopefully he and Dr. Holdren will be happy with the recent soil samples! "The Brotherhood took them to do…well, whatever it is, I don't think it's good or they would have probably agreed to it and not needed to be forcibly taken."

"The mom's name is Madison Li, but the Warwick family calls her Dia, so there's our 'code word' of sorts to let her know we're on her side," Zeke told her, slickly sliding his sunglasses back on his face. "Her daughter's name is Jackie but, since the Brotherhood nosebleeds are the ones who took 'em, we're going to see if some of Duke and Bluejay's friends can help."

"The handyman and mechanic guy or the guy who just cooks chems and tells everyone it's not a bunch of drugs?" Rowdy said, grinning when he mimed fixing the nearest fence to them. "I like that guy. Sturges, right? Cool man, really chill."

"But also has the backup we'll need to rescue these two," Zeke turned back to Roger to shake his hand. "Don't worry too hard about your friends. The Cats won't let you down."

Goodneighbour
January the 30th, 2289
21:48

"Hancock?" MacCready worriedly repeated, shaken when Daisy nodded. "He was…please tell me you're pulling my leg. He didn't even mention…"

"You know our mayor," Daisy said, putting away her cleaning supplies. "He was probably high on daytripper – it's his new favourite these days – and too giddy about hearing how you managed to get your hands on his brother's personal files for him. But, no, Bobby, I ain't pulling your leg. About half an hour ago, he showed up here with Duncan half asleep in his arms and mumbling about how Annette told him to hide somewhere safe."

His landlord tight on his heels, running up the stairs to his apartment with him, Robert Joseph MacCready nearly broke the key off in the door trying to open it. The second he succeeded, he didn't bother to take the key out and instead dropped his gun to the floor and haphazardly threw his hat onto the couch. He let out a heavy, gasping sigh of relief when he entered his son's room to find the little boy curled up under his blankets and sleeping peacefully. Paranoia still seizing him, he quietly walked over to and knelt down beside him to check his breathing. Hearing his little boy's calm and steady breaths, he lightly pressed a hand to his son's forehead to ensure he wasn't working up a fever before shakily checking his pulse. Not wanting to wake him, the former gunner slowly stood up. Hearing footsteps pause in the doorway, he turned around, expecting to see Annette, annoyance grabbing him with questions whispering at him about how she had let Duncan out of her sight long enough for him to end up in the Old State House. He felt sick when he saw it was only Daisy, who had carefully removed his key from the front door and handed it to him when he began to leave the room before quietly telling him she would stay with Duncan while he looked for Annette. Closing the door behind the woman who had become an unexpected, motherly figure in his life, Robert Joseph MacCready hesitated before quietly calling out for Annette, feeling more annoyed when he heard nothing in reply. Assuming she must have left, he tiredly ran his hands through his hair and headed back to his bedroom, exhausted.

He screamed when he turned on the lights.

Any and all annoyance abruptly left his body. Her long hair tangled and matted around her face, one arm reaching for something, laid Dr. Annette Christine Davis on the hardwood floors. It was seeing the blood pooling around her, the gash in the sleeves of her dress going all the way the back of her right arm, and the unnatural bent of her legs which slammed panic down into him. Running over to her and almost falling over when he grabbed her to try and wake her up, MacCready screamed again when he could not and, shaking badly, turned her over to check her pulse, only to feel sick when he saw a dark stain and a few more gashes in her dress from her top of her left ribs down to her hip. It was when he found her pulse, however, when he also realised he was crying. His entire body shaking, after a few minutes of struggle and terrified he would hurt her more than she already was, he managed to lift her up into his arms. Holding her tightly against his chest, briefly unsteady on his feet, he didn't notice Daisy had stepped out of Duncan's room upon hearing his screams. He ran. Into the corridor, down the stairs. Out the door of Daisy's store. His breathing hard, ragged, and increasingly unsteady, he kept running. Turned a corner. Then another. Feeling sick, he struggled to keep Annette securely in his arms when he reached the doors to the infamous 'Memory Den,' pulling her closer still to him once he got them open and burst inside, taking off down the halls to the lobby.

Commotion usually a byproduct of rambunctious members of the establishment's clientele, Irma Goodwin stood up from where she had been sat in her chaise lounge, flirting with customers while they waited to be called upstairs. She lost all light heartedness in her demeanour when she saw, an unconscious woman in his arms, the panicked face of Robert Joseph MacCready. Lifting up her skirt, the forty five year old proprietor rushed over to them and quickly began to guide him through the lobby and down the stairs towards her business partner's laboratory, shouting for her the entire way down. Never a fan of loud noise or distractions, Dr. Rebecca Madeline Amari snapped at Irma when she pulled open the doors to her laboratory, only to go completely silent when she saw who she was with. Calmly, her voice low, she rolled one of the memory lounges to the side and went into the large storage closet before pulling out a refurbished hospital bed, ordering Irma to bring out all of her medical supplies and equipment. Doing so after shutting the doors to the laboratory again, Irma gave MacCready an unusually soft and sympathetic look when he shakily laid Annette down. Quickly and professionally as ever, the second they were in reach, Amari turned on her machines and began to take readings of Annette's vitals, her face falling upon seeing them beginning to waver. Wasting no time, she cut open the unconscious woman's already torn dress to assess the damage, her stomach sinking. Pricking the woman's finger, she put it on a small card Irma handed her, ordering her to examine it when she gave it back to her.

It was only when he sat down on one of the chairs in the laboratory he realised his clothes and hands were stained with blood.

"Do you know what happened to her?" Amari said, looking over at him before beginning to examine, clean, and prepare to stitch Annette's wounds shut. "This is –"

"Blood type is B Positive, Amari!" Irma called over to her, running over and into to a small, temperature controlled closet and removing several bags of blood. "For once, having significant amounts of your blood in storage is useful, being a B Positive bitch yourself."

"This is no time for joking, Irma," Amari sharply told her when she came back over and started to prepare the blood for transfusion. "You can see how much blood she's already lost just by looking at her, do not –"

"Don't let her die!" MacCready realised he had shouted when he broke down sobbing. "She can't, she –"

"There's a reason we're working as quickly as we can, Mister MacCready, but panic isn't going to do you any good," She said, closely monitoring Irma before allowing her to come around the other side of her and start a transfusion while she worked as quickly as she could precisely on closing the deepest of Annette's wounds. "Whomever it was did this wanted her to suffer," She quietly observed. "Far too deep for her to have done it so…neatly herself."

"Must have happened within about an hour or an hour and a half or so ago, I'm guessing," Irma added, keeping her voice low. "Half an hour to an hour or more later, and she'd probably be dead or just about there, and this already doesn't look good."

"Workable, but terrible," Amari replied in hushed tones while she continued to work. "Last time I saw damage this bad was on you after you drunkenly fell through a window and broke the glass."

"Couldn't have been an accident. This looks too precise," Irma said, shaking her head when she slowly inserted the IV into Annette's left arm. "And I agree whomever it was did this wanted her to suffer. Looks like a knife or something similar was used. Poor thing must have been conscious during at least part of it."

"Most likely. I'll have to do some scans once we've got her vitals stable again," Amari said with a worried sigh. "Her still having a pulse and breath – albeit shallow – is a good sign. She'd also be much more colourless and…dying if her brain activity had flatlined. Losing consciousness for a short time, even a few days, is often a self preservation response, lets the body focus on keeping the vital organs fully alive."

"Whatever's happening, I don't care as long as she's going to be able to survive and recover from this," MacCready said, his voice much quieter and weaker. "Can I…Daisy is with my son but I…can I stay with Annette? Please? Until she…until she's conscious again?"

Amari hesitated, still focusing on closing Annette's wounds.

"I wouldn't usually allow it, but…this is a dire case," She said, briefly looking over at him. "So, yes. If not for your sake, then for hers. If I were alone when I woke up after something so…well, I would panic, and, in truth? Anyone would."