Chapter Text
Tension filled the air as Arcade and Rory realized, at once, that in the chaos surrounding their last meeting, they had never gotten the woman’s name--so, now, they had nothing to greet her by.
“...Ma’am,” Arcade finally offered, ever the diplomat. “What can I call you?”
The woman smiled, though her eyes did not quite match her mouth. “Niobe,” she answered softly. “You can call me Ni if that’s too hard to remember.”
“No, I’ve got it!” Arcade insisted. “‘Fern’. Greek. Right?”
She nodded. “That’s right. Ah--yeah. Well. Come in, come in. I’m--yes,” she stammered, obviously unprepared for the Followers’ arrival. She gestured through the door, and Rory and Arcade crossed the threshold.
The house’s interior was dingy and dim, with only the natural light of the setting sun illuminating it through the cracked windows. A few mostly-intact pieces of furniture were scattered about. Electricity was a precious resource in the wasteland, and so artificial lighting was a luxury--if a house was lucky enough to have power, it was used to run the refrigerator and little else.
Rory and Arcade sat side by side on an aging sofa, and Niobe took an armchair across from them. Glancing at Atticus in Rory’s arms, an indescribable look crossed her face. “You two’ve had a baby,” she said, a mixture of surprise and sadness in her voice.
“Oh--” Rory choked. Before she could say anything else, Arcade intervened to give the backstory.
“Actually, the baby was Rory’s girlfriend’s,” he clarified, “She, unfortunately, passed away in childbirth. We’ve been taking care of him since.”
“Sparrow,” Rory said quietly, looking away from Arcade and Niobe.
Arcade nodded. “Her name was Sparrow. The baby’s mother, I mean. And the baby’s name is Atticus, by the way.”
“Well, hello, baby Atticus,” Niobe smiled and leaned in towards the infant. “It’s nice to meet you.”
After a pause, Arcade continued. “Atticus is sort of why we’re here.”
“Yes, I’ve been wondering,” Niobe interrupted, “What does bring you here? I didn’t think...I never thought I would get a chance to…apologize.”
Rory was taken aback, but tried not to show it on her face. Glancing at her best friend over her glasses, she could see he was as shocked as she was.
“Apologize?” Arcade coughed. “What--why? I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be rude. But…”
"I think you’ve caught us both off guard, here,” Rory finished.
“Oh,” sighed Niobe. “My husband and I were so hard on you that day. You...you did your best. To save Oliver. I see that now. Adam helped me see that...we were just insane, you know? With the grief. But he was sorry. I just...he was very sorry. He always wanted you to know that. Now, I’m sorry too.”
“Was?” Rory asked, “Your husband passed, too?” Her heart broke for the woman.
“Not long after,” Niobe nodded. “Maybe a few weeks. A month or two? I don’t know. It’s hard to keep track. But he said...he said, a few times, ‘I wish we could see those Followers again. Let ‘em know it’s not their fault.’”
Arcade steadied his voice before replying, feeling unexpectedly emotional. “That’s--that’s very kind, Niobe. Thank you for telling us.”
“Yes, of course,” Niobe sniffled, “You--you’re good folks. That crazy Straus...if she’d just had the supplies to begin with, we wouldn’t have needed the Followers. It all would have been fine. Oliver would still...”
“Oh…” Rory rubbed her temples, cutting Niobe off. “It’s not really Straus’s fault either.”
“Er...you don’t think?” Arcade raised an eyebrow.
“No,” she shook her head, and held firm. “I don’t. The wasteland...sucks. Novac sucks--if you’ll forgive me, Niobe.” Niobe nodded and gestured for her to continue.
“None of us have any money, none of us are having our basic needs met. So Straus runs a chem racket to meet hers. So she never joined the Followers to get proper medical training when she had the chance. I dunno. She--yeah. Her impact is bad. It’s awful . But I...at this point, I just don’t think I have it in me to blame anyone for the mess we’re in. Except…”
“Except the NCR, the Legion, and House?” Arcade suggested.
“Basically,” Rory agreed. “Nobody’s taking care of us, and maybe we don’t all know how to take care of ourselves. Maybe some of us are better equipped to care for one another than others. Which…” she sighed, bouncing Atticus on her knee, “...brings me back to my original point. Our original point. Um. The baby,” she finished lamely.
“That’s right,” said Niobe, “You were about to tell me something, Doctor Gannon?”
“Arcade is fine, by the way,” Arcade insisted. “Now. Niobe.”
He met Niobe’s eyes, and reached across the gap between them to take her hand between his. She accepted the gesture, though with some visible apprehension.
“I want to make clear, first of all, that no child in the world can replace Oliver. We know that,” he began.
Niobe remained silent, casting a wary eye on the medics.
“...And,” he continued, “We understand that you may not be willing to open your heart to another child right now. But we--we’re about to undertake some stuff. Big stuff. Stuff that it’s, uh--maybe--Rory?” He turned to his friend. “Help me out, here.”
“We’re going to try and bring a bigger Followers presence to Novac,” she assisted, “First and foremost. And then...well, we have some other stuff in the works. But it’s--it’s nothing we can have a baby around for. Which is...” she nervously glanced at Arcade, who nodded encouragingly, “...well? It’s where you come in.”
Niobe struggled to make sure she understood their proposition. After taking a moment to gather her words, she yanked her hand back from Arcade and finally whispered, horrified, “You--you want me to take this baby?”
“Frankly?” Rory raised her voice slightly, to her own surprise. “No. I really, really don’t. I’d--I feel like I would rather die than give him up. But…” she faltered, “Sparrow would want two things. I just know...she would want him to be safe, and she would want me and Arcade to do what we’re about to go and do.”
Arcade nodded, and explained to Niobe further. “Sparrow was a slave. A Legion slave. She never had a shot at education, at freedom, at being cared for--at being loved, even. Until… until she met Rory.”
Rory buried her face in her hands, unable to keep up her confident airs any longer.
“Oh...oh, Rory, I’m sorry,” Arcade apologized, patting her leg. “Don’t--don’t cry.” He felt himself getting close to joining her, but resolved to finish the conversation with Niobe. He put his arm around Rory while she collected herself, and spoke to the other woman once more.
“I wish I could tell you more about our plans, but I can’t. It isn’t safe...I’m sure you understand. But it’s for--it’s for the people the Mojave forgot about. Including the town of Novac, and children like Oliver, and women like Sparrow.”
Sniffling, Rory chimed in. “We’re going to start with improving the Followers’ presence here, though, like we said. But what we’re asking you--Niobe--is please. Please take Atticus. And...and keep him safe, so he’ll--so he’ll be around to see the world we build for him.”
Niobe shook her head back and forth, her voice unsteady. “I--I can’t do it. I don’t trust myself...with another baby...not without Adam…I can’t. I won’t!” Raising her voice hysterically, she cried, “Why? Why did you come here? I don’t understand. Why me ?!”
Tense silence filled the air as Rory and Arcade contemplated how to answer her. Just as Arcade was preparing a speech, though, Rory spoke up unexpectedly.
“Because you are the only other person on earth that I trust has felt the same sense of loss that I have,” she said quietly, “and the only other person I trust to use it...to protect every life you come across with all of your own. Niobe…” She searched for her words. “You know...you know loss, and you know guilt. Just like me. But I can’t keep Atticus, where I’m going...and you can.”
“But I’ve never forgiven myself,” Niobe wept.
“You forgave us,” Arcade offered softly. “Don’t you think you deserve a chance, too?”
“No-- no! ” cried Niobe, “I don’t deserve--I don’t deserve anything !”
Rory rose from the couch and picked up Atticus, her heart pounding. Against every impulse she had to take him and make a break for the door, she crossed the room and offered the smiling infant to Niobe. The woman only stared at him, red-faced and sniffling, but glanced back up at Rory to let her speak.
“I know how you feel,” Rory continued, “I do. I’ve--I’ve had more sleepless nights over Oliver, and over Sparrow, than I could possibly count. But--it’s nobody’s fault. Like I said...like I said before.”
“About the Mojave?” Niobe sniffed.
Rory nodded. “That’s right. The Mojave killed these people...no one person can be blamed. And so…” she once again offered Niobe the baby, “If--if you won’t do this for yourself...will you help us? Will you help Atticus? Because it’s--”
“It’s going to take all of us,” Arcade helped, “All of us, to try and make things right. And it can start with you, Niobe...if you want to be a part of it.”
Nobody spoke for a long time. Rory’s heart felt like it might explode, and Arcade nervously cleaned his glasses, as the pair awaited Niobe’s answer.
Finally, she took the infant from Rory’s arms, gently cradling him in her own. Rory was overcome with a mixture of relief and despair upon feeling his familiar weight leave her grip, but steeled herself.
Niobe wiggled her fingers over the baby, who giggled and grabbed for them.
“If you two really think you can make things better,” she finally said, “I won’t stand in your way. I’ll--I’ll take Atticus. He’ll be safe...that much, I can promise.”
Rory smiled through her tears. “We promise, too. We promise...we’ll make sure he’s safe, with all we can do on our end. We’ll make sure you’re safe.”
“Thank you,” Niobe whispered, “For giving me this chance. For forgiving me.”
“You’ve done nothing wrong, Niobe,” Arcade assured her, “But you’re helping us make a lot of things right.”
“Please,” she insisted, “Will you--you’ll visit, won’t you? When you’re done with--with whatever you’re doing?”
“You won’t be able to keep me away,” Rory sniffled, “That, I can promise.”
“Would you--um--do you want to say goodbye?” Niobe offered hesitantly, gesturing to Atticus.
After a moment’s pause, Rory said, “No. No, I don’t think I do. Because it’s not goodbye.”
“That’s right,” Arcade agreed, “That’s right. You’ll be back. We will be back.”
Nonetheless, Rory crossed the room and planted a kiss on Atticus’s forehead. “I love you,” she whispered to the baby. “I’ll be back.”
Seeing Rory turn her back to him as she left the room, Atticus began to fuss. Knowing he might soon start to wail, and unable to handle the thought, Arcade took Rory’s hand. “We should go, Rory,” he whispered. “We have some ground to cover.”
“Yeah. Come on.”
After a final goodbye to Niobe, the two stepped out the door of the crumbling house, and stood, for a moment, in silence, taking in the beautiful, blood-red sunset that washed over the desert. Upon the battered picket fence perched a small bird--a rarity, in a desert which was largely devoid of threatless creatures--who whistled in greeting to the two friends.
“What kind of bird is that?” Arcade squinted at the creature, but before he could answer himself, Rory cut him off.
“That’s a sparrow,” she whispered, breaking out in a wide grin despite her tears. A sense of peace washed over her: she had finally received the sign from above she had begged for on their way to Niobe’s home. Silently, she thanked the bird, and gazed up at the orange sky above to thank her lover, too.
“So it is,” Arcade smiled, and took Rory’s hand.
“Hey. Are you--”
“--She’s right there, Arcade,” Rory said, gesturing to the auspicious songbird. “She’s--she’s right there. She just...we’re doing the right thing. Okay? I know that, now.”
“So you’re alright?” Arcade furrowed his brow. “I don’t mean to bother. I’m just...that was a lot .”
“It was. And...who knows how long I’ll feel okay? But...I feel okay about it, for now. I know...I know we’re on the right path.”
The sparrow had not yet flown from the fencepost, seeming, instead, to be waiting for them to finish their conversation and go on their way.
“Speaking of the right path,” Arcade sighed, putting his hands in his pockets, “We’d better find somewhere to call in that NCR caravan.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Rory worried.
“Caravan’s GPS tracked; I can tell you that right now,” he said darkly. “It’s better to call it in and explain ourselves than ditch it and pay the price later.”
Rory nodded towards the Dino Dee-Lite Motel to the west, which was clearly hallmarked by its iconic, massive dinosaur sculpture. “We’d better use the motel phone, then. I’m sure there’s a nearby camp we can call and let them know what’s up.”
“A room and some proper sleep, too,” Arcade nodded. “I think we both need it.”
Rory waved goodbye to the sparrow on the post, who chirped once more before flying away at last, and to Niobe’s home, where Atticus, presumably, rested safely inside with his new mother.
Side by side, as always, the pair of friends made their way towards the distant motel, eager to finally get some sleep before they attempted to solve the Mojave’s innumerable troubles. Perhaps two wasteland medics, drawn to one another by twist after twist of fate, could not save the world by themselves--but Aurora Wood and Arcade Gannon would sleep peacefully that evening, knowing they had only gotten started.
THE END.