Chapter Text
“Here we are, vaultie.” Cooper muttered.
He had brought their little group to a new settlement, so new that the sign out near the entrance still had that fresh paint smell.
FILLY TOO
‘They’re not very imaginative with their town names, are they?’ Lucy remarked upon reading the sign. ‘And also they spelled Two wrong.’
“Less yapping, more walking,” Cooper snarled, pushing through the crowd of people.
‘Sorry, jeez. Guess he’s still mad at us for attacking him earlier, huh girl?’ Lucy asked her companion as they followed the wroth ghoul.
“Hi!” Dogmeat yipped, panting happily and grinning goofily at all the new faces and friends available to her. It did not matter that everyone was giving her bewildered stares, and were scrambling to get out of her way as if she carried some infectious disease that would have them smiling like idiots too.
Dogmeat was really just happy to be here.
Cooper finally stomped up to what he was looking for. A bounty board, with dozens of crudely drawn posters scattered all over the surface. He looked over then, one by one, scrutinizing them carefully until he found the one he was looking for.
Ripping it off the board, he crouched down and showed it to Lucy. There was a rough sketch of an older, nervous looking man with glasses. Probably about 50-60 years old. Below the portrait, were the details of his bounty:
Name: Dr. Mathew Scott
Wanted: dead or alive
Bounty: 2000 caps
Crime: Escaped Enclave
‘Escaped the enclave? Like Wilzig?’ Lucy asked, puzzled. ‘Do you think this man would have some answers?’
“Listen, there is no way in hell I’d ever take you to the actual enclave,” Cooper muttered, carefully folding the poster to place into his saddle bag. “But if we can find this guy, tie him up and put the fear o’ god into him, then perhaps he’ll tell us how to fix this goddamn mess.”
He said it so matter of factly. Like kidnapping and torturing people for information was just another Tuesday for him. And perhaps it was, because Lucy remembered her time being dragged at the end of his rope very well.
She bristled, uneasy. No matter how much she desperately wanted to return to her body, she didn’t want to hurt anyone else to do so.
“Oh no. Don’t fucking tell me you’ve got second thoughts now,” Cooper snapped, noticing her demeanor. “This was your fucking idea vaultie, not mine.”
‘I know that. It’s just…’ Lucy hesitated, wanting to make sure he understood her perfectly. She scratched into the dirt with her paws, carefully and deliberately, making sure every letter was legible.
N O H U R T
“Oh that’s rich,” Cooper sneered upon reading what she wrote. “Ya’ll bitches can take all the chunks you want outta me, but some random fucking enclave goon is too precious to hurt?”
Lucy bristled, but was adamant in what she wanted. She tapped the words a few more times for emphasis, whining insistently at Cooper.
“For fucks sake vaultie. Do you know what a fucking hassle it is to bring in a bounty that’s still alive?” Cooper asked her, crossing his arms.
‘Bounty?’ Lucy cocked her head at him, confused. ‘I thought we were just gonna question him?’
“Oh? Did you think we were just gonna let him go after having a little chat with him?” Cooper laughed. “In case you forgot, we need caps to survive, sweetheart. Unless you want to keep eating ass jerky, we need to buy you some proper food. I need to buy more vials. Or would you like me to eventually go feral?”
A vision of Dogmeat struggling to breath in Cooper’s body flashed in Lucy’s mind. The way the ghoul gasped and wheezed for air. His arms and legs flailing, reaching, desperately grabbing on to nothing at all…
Lucy gulped. Was this random enclave citizen really more important than Cooper? More important than her friend?
She drooped her ears forlornly, beaten, and reluctantly scratched away the words till not a single letter was legible in the dirt.
“Atta girl,” Cooper drawled, and was about to get back up, when something in Lucy’s demeanor made him pause. He studied her, furrowing his brows and working his jaw back and forth, trying to figure her out. Lucy remained obviously cheerless, not looking forward to the dirty job that they were about to undertake.
Then, in a move that took her by complete surprise, Cooper reached out his hand to her.
She instinctively flinched, cringing into herself, expecting Cooper to roughly knock the compassion out of her. But instead of smacking her, or grabbing her by the nape of the neck, Cooper tenderly scratched her between the ears.
For a moment, Lucy was too startled to even think. Never, in all of their travels together, had the ghoul even been a fraction of this soft to her. Briefly she wondered if this was some kind of trick to get her to comply, but then his fingers found a certain spot below the ears, and all rational thought flew out of her head.
Oh dear sweet good golly. Lucy’s eyes rolled back into her skull. It was inconceivable just how good it felt to be scratched between the ears. No wonder dogs go crazy over this, she thinks. This feels almost as good as sex.
Cooper’s fingers went lower, scratching down the side of her neck, till…
Holy moly!
Lucy didn’t even know what was happening. She wasn’t even on planet earth anymore. She was vaguely aware of herself leaning into Cooper’s touch, trying to get as much of the good feeling scritches as possible. There was an annoying thumping noise off to her side, but it was insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
The enclave bounty didn’t matter.
Vault-tec didn’t matter.
Her father didn’t matter.
Absolutely nothing in the world mattered, except for Cooper’s wonderful fingers.
Cooper chuckled from a million miles away, suddenly bringing her back to the present. As it turned out, that annoying thumping that Lucy was hearing was actually her own hind leg, working itself uncontrollably.
“Listen, darlin’,” Cooper spoke gently, withdrawing his hand away. “I wasn’t lying when I said it’s a real fucking hassle trying to bring in a bounty alive. However, in the spirit of our little partnership here, I’m willing to give it a go.”
Lucy’s ears perked up so high, they nearly detached from her head. ‘Really Cooper? You mean it?’ She whimpered, uncontrollably wiggling in place.
“No promises though,” Cooper warned her. “If he won’t come quietly, I’ll shoot him. If he starts bragging about all the fucked up shit he got up to in the enclave, I’ll shoot him. And if he refuses to talk, I’ll shoot him. Understood?”
Lucy nodded frantically. ‘Yes, of course! Thank you Cooper!’ She reared up on her hind legs and gratefully kissed him, much to his utter horror.
“What the fuck?!” Cooper sputtered and jerked his head around, trying to avoid her sticky dog tongue on his face. “Down! Down girl! Goddamn it, stop! Stop licking me!” He snarled, finally shoving her off him, but not before Lucy managed to plant some well placed slobbery licks.
Cooper took out a filthy bandana from his saddlebags and wiped his face in disgust. “I am quickly coming to regret waking up today,” he muttered, loudly blowing his nose hole to get rid of the stray dog saliva.
“Perhaps I could be of some assistance?”
Startled, the trio turned towards the unknown speaker. A greasy, middle aged man smiled at them, dressed in an absolutely filthy outfit and an even filthier hat. His skin was as sallow as curdled milk, except for the crusty red rings around his eyes. He held a ratty briefcase in one hand, and his horrid stench nearly knocked Lucy unconscious.
Even Cooper, who had no nose at all, appeared to be stifling a gag.
“Good evening, dear folks,” the greasy man said, tipping his hat at them and giving them an eyeful of matted hair and well-fed lice.
“Howdy,” Cooper muttered.
‘Hello,’ Lucy said politely.
“Pervert,” Dogmeat stated.
Everyone turned towards her, absolutely stunned. “Pardon me?” Asked the greasy man, his smile not faltering for even a second.
“Hi!” Dogmeat yipped, as innocent as the day she was born.
Cooper cleared his throat. “Ignore her,” he muttered. “She’s got a dog’s brain.”
“Ah yes,” the greasy man nodded sympathetically. “I’ve seen this condition before.”
‘You have?’ Lucy asked, puzzled.
“Oh yes,” he said somberly. “A sometimes fatal condition.”
‘Really?’ Lucy trembled, alarmed.
“Oh for fucks sake,” Cooper sneered, hocking a wad of spit on the ground.
“Indeed! But luckily for you folks, I have just the thing!” The greasy man exclaimed triumphantly. He set down his briefcase and opened it up, digging through it for a few seconds before producing a small vial of thick, orange liquid.
“This right here, is my very own invention. An elixir, of complex scientific properties. One sip of this, and you’ll be sent back into your own body faster than you can say, ‘that’ll be 500 caps please.’”
“500 caps?!?” Cooper sputtered, eyes bulging out from rage. “You want 500 caps for what is very clearly a vial of your own piss?!?!”
“How dare you sir! I am a man of science!” The greasy man huffed indignantly. “And for you to insinuate that I’d bottle up my own piss and sell it to sucker- I mean, customers, well that I simply cannot abide by. Good day to you sir!”
With that, the greasy man picked up his briefcase and turned his back on the trio. Immediately he honed in on a potential customer, and ran off towards him.
“You sir! With the arrow through the knee! I have just the thing…” his voice died down as he got father away.
‘You know, you should really see a doctor!’ Lucy called after him. ‘Pee isn’t supposed to be that color, sir!’
“Sidetracking bullshit, every goddamn time,” Cooper muttered to himself, shaking his head.
“Listen vaultie,” he said, looking down at Lucy. “I’m gonna head into that shop over there. Gonna get you some proper food, and maybe ask around for information on our bounty. Stay here and watch Dogmeat, got it?” He ordered.
‘Sir yes sir!’ Lucy yapped, wagging her tail and sitting down. Cooper just shook his head again and reluctantly stalked off, leaving Lucy alone with her aloof companion.
She took a moment to look around, taking in her surroundings. The town was remarkably similar to the original Filly. The only thing missing were the various crashed airplane chunks.
I wonder if Ma June and Barv settled down here? She wondered. It would have been nice to see a familiar face. Even if Ma June was even more ornery than the ghoul himself.
“Hi there, pretty miss.”
Lucy had been so distracted, that she didn’t notice the young man walk up to them. He was handsome, in a rugged sort of way. He grinned at Dogmeat, looking down at Lucy while he asked, “is that your dog?”
“Friend!” Dogmeat yipped happily.
“Friendly, is she? Good. I like a friendly dog.” He leaned down, getting to Lucy’s eye level. She felt her heart do a little flutter. His eyes were much more handsome up close.
“Yeah, I can tell you’re a real good girl, ain’t ya?” He smiled, reaching out to scratch Lucy underneath her chin. She rolled her eyes back, tilting her head back as far as possible, giving him more surface area to scratch.
“Awe, does that feel good, girl?” He chuckled, bringing in his spare hand to help scratch both sides of her neck.
‘Yes,’ Lucy whimpered. ‘Gosh, please don’t stop!’ Her leg thumped uncontrollably, blissfully...
Unfortunately for her, nothing good lasts long in the company of the ghoul.
She heard him somewhere above her when he roughly clear his throat, startling her so bad that she immediately jumped away from the young man.
Cooper was seething, his eyes ablaze as they darted between Lucy and the offending stranger. “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something?” He snarled.
“Hi there!” The young man was completely unperturbed as he greeted the enraged ghoul. “Is this your dog? She sure is friendly,” he said, giving Lucy another pat on the head.
“Yeah, she sure is,” Cooper sneered, his eyes narrowing on to Lucy. “A little too friendly, if you ask me.” His teeth made an audible noise as he ground his jaw together.
Lucy cringed. If looks could kill, she would have already been dead.
“Well, if you don’t want her, I’ll buy her off ya,” the young man said. He stood up, taking out a sack full of caps. “I’m on the lookout for a good dog. I’ll give ya 200 caps for her. Deal?” He shook the sack, jingling the caps within enticingly.
“No deal,” Cooper snarled. “She ain’t for sale. She’s mine, you hear me?” He took a menacing step towards the younger man, who immediately threw his hands up in surrender.
“Alright, alright, take it easy,” he smirked uneasily, trying and failing to hide his fear. “I was only asking. I can see you care a lot about her, so I’ll just be on my way now.” The young man turned on his heel and sped walked off. Only when he had a good head start did he sprint for his life, running clear out of Filly Too and possibly clear out of the entire Mojave by the time he eventually stopped running.
With the interloper taken care of, Cooper turned his attention down to Lucy. “I turn my back for 5 minutes, and you’re already palling up to the first pretty boy who makes googly eyes at ya?” His voice was dripping with venom, and Lucy took a hesitant step back, lest some splash on her.
‘Are you… Cooper, are you jealous of him?’ She asked, genuinely curious. Though she probably didn’t need to ask. It was obvious from the smell of absolute murderous rage currently emanating from him.
Thinking quickly on how to appease him, Lucy made herself look as cute and as pathetic as possible. She tucked her tail in and trembled, wiggling herself underneath his clenched fist. She nosed into it, begging for pets the way she had seen Dogmeat do so many times before.
Slowly but surely, that clenched fist relaxed, opening up and exposing his palm. Lucy nuzzled into it, using every trick in the book to get into the ghouls good graces.
Success. Cooper let out a long, tired sigh. “Why? Why me? Out of all the goddamn fools in the wasteland, why did I have to be the one to get stuck with you, vaultie?” He muttered, begrudgingly giving her some head scratches.
“Friend?” Dogmeat asked, leaning in to snuggle her head against the ghoul's chest. He hesitated, freezing in place for a moment, before hesitantly giving Dogmeat some head scratches with his free hand.
Cooper found himself trapped between his two female companions again. But this time, the moment was far less painful, and much more tender. He held his two girls close, gently petting them with his gloved hands.
“Darlin’?” He asked, breaking the silence. “The sun’s about to set, and from what I’ve found out, our bounty is holed up in a location that’s hours away. We ain’t getting to him tonight.”
Lucy’s heart dropped. She knew what he was trying to say. She was gonna have to sleep the night away in Dogmeat’s body, and hope that nothing worse happened overnight.
“There’s some rooms for rent here, and they allow dogs,” Cooper continued, still holding on tightly to his girls. “Let’s rent one for the night, and turn in. Who knows? This mess might fix itself while we sleep. Whaddya say?”
Lucy wanted to cry, except dogs were not biologically capable of producing tears. ‘Ok Cooper,’ she whimpered, nodding her head.
“Good girl,” Cooper said, before he caught himself. “I mean, good. Good vaultie,” he quickly corrected, carefully disentangling himself from his female companions. “C’mon then, let’s go get some shut-eye,” he said, leading the way to the makeshift motel.
After a bit of haggling with the owner, the trio were settled down in a modestly sized room with one king sized bed in the center. “It ain’t ideal, I know,” Cooper muttered, opening up a can of cram. “But it’s all we can afford right now. We’ll sleep and eat better once we find and turn in that bounty.”
He scooped out the entire cram loaf and broke it in half, giving each of his girls half a piece. Lucy was ravenous, and she greedily swallowed it down so fast she barely tasted it. Dogmeat did the same, and Cooper had to wrestle the empty can of cram away from her blunt human teeth.
“Knock it off girl,” he chided her. “I ain’t paying for a new set of pearly whites.”
The fatigue of the day had fully set in, and Lucy yawned. Cooper had already claimed the center of the bed for himself. “I paid for the goddamn thing, after all,” was his only excuse. Lucy thought that was perfectly fair, so she allowed him to have it.
Still though, she didn’t want to sleep alone, banished to some corner.
So she crept close and lay her head down on his thigh. He immediately tensed up, and eyed her suspiciously. Lucy just wanted to sleep though, and she gave a tiny whine, not moving from her chosen sleeping location.
Satisfied that she wasn’t trying to pull any funny business, Cooper relaxed. He lay back and was about to close his eyes, when Dogmeat decided that she too didn’t want to sleep alone in the corner. She lay her head on his chest, causing him to almost flinch right out of his irradiated hide.
He gaped at her, but Dogmeat was completely unperturbed by his staring. “Friend,” she stated sleepily, and yawned before closing her eyes. Cooper stared uncertainly at her for a good minute, then decided it wasn’t worth the hassle of moving her.
“Ya’ll are gonna be the death of me,” he muttered, not completely unkindly. Giving Dogmeat and Lucy one last pat each, he turned in for the night, placing his hat over his face. Pretty soon, the small room was filled with the sound of steady snoring.
Lucy was the last to fall asleep. She was still worried about what the next day would bring. What if I wake up and I’m still in Dogmeat’s body? She wondered. I don’t think I can handle that two days in a row.
But she had no other choice. The sun had already set, her companions were already asleep, and she could feel her eyelids getting heavier and heavier.
Once again, she found herself offering up a prayer to whoever might be listening.
Please get me out of this dog body. Please fix my friend. Please…
***
She woke up in complete darkness.
Lucy blinked, wondering if it was still night out.
No, that can’t be right. She heard people trading and walking around outside, so it had to be morning. Then why?…
She felt a peculiar weight lift off her chest. Is that Dogmeat?
“Oh for fucks sake,” uttered a voice, muffled but still extremely familiar.
Was that my voice?
Suddenly, her vision returned. Lucy blinked a few more times, her surroundings slowly coming into focus. What she saw made her wish she had stayed asleep.
Her own face, angrily staring back at her, holding Cooper’s hat. “We got a problem, vaultie,” she muttered, a strange accent muddying up her words. An accent not unlike Cooper’s southern accent.
Oh no. Does that mean?…
Lucy didn’t want to look. She wanted to shut her eyes and go back to sleep, and wake up from this nightmare. But something in the pit of her stomach told her that this wasn’t a nightmare, this was very real.
She reluctantly held up her hand. Cooper’s glove rose up where her hand should have been.
Please god no…
Lucy touched her face, and her worst fears were realized.
A hole, where her nose should have been.
“Oh no,” she whined, her voice coming out deep and raspy.
“‘Fraid so sweetheart,” Cooper responded in Lucy's voice, Lucy’s body.
Her voice! Her body!
Oh dear, Lucy thinks to herself, groaning. Perhaps staying in Dogmeat’s body wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world.