The work they got from the settlers turned out to be menial, it was a bunch of raiders camped out not far away.
Once they got the drop on them, it was a cakewalk.
However, as they were telling the farmers about their successful mission. Nate was in a daze, half hearing what they were saying, but he tuned in when they said.
"…so we've decided to join the Minutemen, we're ready to support you with whatever you need, food, soldiers, what ever you need"
"Wow, thanks" Nate said, bewildered.
He didn't know what to do, here was this farmer pledging their work and lives to his cause, he was pleasantly surprised.
Although he wanted to tell Preston before he did anything. They waved their goodbyes to the farmers and set off back to Sanctuary.
Piper talked on the way back, but Nate was oblivious, he kept on thinking about his son and what Mama Murphy said.
Could his son really be alive, he heavily doubted it, but… what has he got to lose?
His thoughts were interrupted by Piper waving her hand in front of his face.
"You awake there Blue?"
"huh, oh yeah, what?" Nate said snapping out of his trance.
"As I was sayin… I think I'm gonna sell this cryo-thingy. I'm a better shot with a pistol and I have no clue were I can get more juice if this thing runs out"
"Sure, just as long as you use some of that money on the booze you owe me"
"Jeez Blue, were you an alcoholic or something before the bombs?" Piper said jokingly.
Nate rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"I just want to make sure you hold up to the end of your bargain" Nate said, half lying.
He did want her to pay him back, but he also wanted to be free of his dead wife's haunting memory for a night. He loved her. Her corpse and the thought of his son badgered Nate's mind, never being able to be free of either of them.
And Piper's attitude towards him didn't make it easier.
He just needed a little distraction from the pain to go further on, he was barely holding together as is.
Further they walked past the Red Rocket and into Sanctuary, Preston waiting for them on the other side of the bridge.
"So, do you guys have some good news for me?" Preston said with a smile.
Nate grinned back. "Yeah, that settlement has thrown their backing behind the Minutemen, seems like they were really thankful"
"That's fantastic. If we get enough settlements on our side, we can bring the Minutemen back proper"
"So you'll handle the specifics right?" Nate asked, not wanting busy work.
"Yeah sure, I'll stay here and organize all the settlements and you can go out and get them on our side. That sounds like a fair division of labor"
"So… Where to next, Garvey?"
"I haven't heard anything as of yet, but I'll be sure to let you know when I do"
Nate nodded to Garvey and proceeded into Sanctuary heading for his house. Piper wanted to go inside but Nate told her to wait outside and, to her dismay, she obliged.
He went inside to get one more thing before he was to go on anymore adventures. He went into his old room and opened a drawer on his bedside table.
Thankfully, a picture of Nate and Nora was still there, a bit faded and torn, but it was mostly intact. He breathed a sigh of relief as he folded the picture and put it in his pocket.
He stayed still for a second, thinking this entire thing over, thinking what a catastrophe the world has become. He didn't dwell on it for long, he might not be able to function properly if he thought about the entire thing.
He walked out of the house, seeming as if he was put together, but nothing was further from the truth. Piper inquired about what he did in the house, to which Nate responded with a shake of the head. Nate wandered out of Sanctuary with Piper in toe.
"Where we headin' now Blue?"
"Diamond City… again" Nate couldn't shake the feeling of his son still being out there. There was hope, dull and small, but it was there. There was something inside him that wanted to see his son again, or at least try.
"That's good, I was gonna ask if we could go there anyways. I need to check on the paper, and I need to publish that interview of yours"
"Do I get any of the profits?" Nate asked with a wry smile.
"Of course not. Your payment was me coming out here to help you remember?"
"Oh yeah"
"And plus, I'm going to pay you well enough at the Dougout Inn, the booze there aint cheap ya know"
"I'm not the one who made that promise now was I?"
Piper waved it off and continued with the conversation. "So what drinks do you want anyways?"
"Piper… at this point I'll take anything over one percent. I really don't care"
"Yeah, I know right? I've never been picky about my booze either, mind you there's normally only a few options, but still"
Walking down the outskirts of Boston was calming for Nate, and although he couldn't bring himself to admit it, he liked the fact that Piper tagged along. Every now and then she would make a flirtatious comment and Nate would have to turn it into a joke in order to shrug it off, since the last thing he wanted to do was say something flirtatious back. Although he couldn't help but think of something nice to say back to her, it was quickly buried by his grieving mind.
It was worrying to Nate that his mind seemed to drift towards Piper in the brief moments of silence on the road, ever since he met her, but he shrugged it off as him being high strung, and all he needed was one night to let go, to free his mind from the shackles of his dead wife's image and his son's possibility of life
To both their surprise, Piper and Nate managed to get to Diamond city without any trouble.
It was sundown by the time they got their and Piper had to put the Cryolator in her house.
Nate waited outside as he didn't want to interfere with Piper and Nat. He sat down on a nearby bench and stared at the ground, thinking.
At this time all the shops were closed and nobody except the security was walking around.
Piper came out after about 5 minutes looking relieved and got Nate's attention.
"Hey, watcha looking at?" She said.
Nate snapped out of his trance and looked up at her, "Oh, nothing"
He got up, and sensing what he was going to say next, Piper said, "The Inn's just this way" pointing at an alley way.
Nate's mind gradually slowed down.
They walked over to a door and went through it, with lines of piping on both of their sides going down a long hallway. The Inn was a lot more busy than the city outside.
Of course, Nate recognized nobody there, in contrast to Piper, who was chatting with everybody.
And after waiting awkwardly for a few minutes, Piper finished with her conversations and walked over to the bartender.
Nate leaned on the bar and looked around, waiting for Piper to finish getting the booze.
He almost laughed when he heard the bartender speak, with a stereotypical, overblown Russian accent.
Piper and the bartender when back and forth for a while, Nate staring into air, trying to avoid the odd looks passer-by's gave him.
Piper eventually paid the man and left he bar with two bottles, one looking a lot different from the other.
They sat down on some couches with a table in-between, Piper on the one and Nate on the other.
"So what is this stuff?" Nate asked as he took the bottle Piper offered him.
"That, I believe, is Vodka. I got myself some of 'Bobrov's Best Moonshine', so it should do the job"
"I'm glad I just get the least foul-tasting booze" Nate said with a smile. Both Nate and Piper took of the bottle caps and smacked the bottles together.
"Cheers" they said in unison.
Nate took a massive gulp of the liquor, feeling the warm feeling going into his stomach, he could already feel a slight wooziness.
Getting ready to forget about his problems, he took another.