Work Text:
A gift of guilt
Sitting in her favorite spot on the semi-new couch that faces the front door, Nat anxiously awaits for Nora and Piper's return. The young reporter takes a deep calming breath to try and relax her nerves when her thoughts focus on the duo and what they are currently doing. They left to go after the Institute a few hours ago, and since that time she has been trying to keep her mind off of what their latest mission entailed. Her nervousness isn't only due to the fear she has over the dangers that come with this new mission, but she was also promised an interview as soon as the two heroes of the Commonwealth came back, so her excitement grows with each passing moment. Not only will this be her first serious interview ever, but it will give the young reporter a chance to ask about their future without having to worry about the Institute interfering. Together they will have to figure out what to do next with their lives since they will finally be free from the Commonwealth's boogeymen, and it is all thanks to Blue and the nervous twelve years old’s sister. They set off together in order to make the Commonwealth a better place to live in not too long ago and have so far been successful. So much has happened since meeting the pre-war relic and Nat remembers the first day she met the lone vault survivor vividly. She is the same woman who looked scared as could be, and completely out of place when she first arrived, but Piper was there for her even though she was more interested in a story than helping her. That all changed after Piper got to know her and the two have been inseparable ever since.
Everything has gone by in such a blur but Nat is proud of the fact that she knows Nora and it brings a smile to the young reporters face when she thinks about how jealous all of her friends at school are that Nora is apart of her life. She is the same person who came out of nowhere and created settlements for people to live in. Places that they can call home, but now she is trying to make the Commonwealth safe for everyone, and with the stir that is happening outside, Nat figures that they were successful on this mission as well.
It has only a been a short time since the most recent event has taken place, but those living in the Commonwealth have noticed a change happening all around them. The young reporter's smile grows while she looks over her questions that she personally knows who the people are that are responsible for piquing everyone's interest, and she gets the exclusive interview that will tell first-hand, what happened. It began after an explosion occurred at the CIT ruins a few hours ago which shook the ground, rattled the old stadium walls, and sent some of the Diamond City citizens into a panic. This panic continues on even now, but the tension in the air is slowly lessening with each passing moment as confirmation of the destruction of the Institute continues to be reported. The rumors began immediately after the ground violently shook and a mushroom cloud appeared over the old Commonwealth Institute of Technology building, and more talk of what might have happened took Diamond City by storm in the following moments. Nat's eyes grew wide while she had been watching from the upper levels of Diamond City that overlooked the Commonwealth, for a sign that Blue and Piper had been successful. Once she saw and felt the explosion that nearly knocked her off of the bleacher, she quickly grabbed her stuff and raced back to their home.
The C.I.T. building had always been thought to be a cover for the Institute since there were constant sittings of synths roaming the grounds. It forced most people to stay away, but not Nora and Piper, no not those two, they’ve spent the last few months trying to find a way in. Nat makes a face and rolls her eyes while she thinks about how stubborn they can be. They go headlong into the bullets while everyone else runs the opposite way, but it's what makes them special compared to everyone else. Now that there are reports of the Institute being destroyed, most of the people in the Commonwealth are doing what they do best; wait for the dust to settle after something big happens, just so they can say they were there. Some knew what Piper and Nora were doing and came to see them off before they headed to the Castle, but didn't offer any help. Now they have the courage to travel out to the old school to investigate and get a glimpse of themselves which causes Nat to purse her lips and shake her head in annoyance.
Everyone from the Mayor's assistant to the preacher has left the protective walls of Diamond City to see what had happened and look on in amazement; with an armed escort of course. All of them filled with hope that the Commonwealth's boogeymen are finally gone. Moe, Arturo, and even Myrna all left their stock unguarded to see if the reports were true, although Nat is sure that there is some sort of trap for any would-be looters. It quickly turned into a ghost town in the old ballpark while its citizens went off to see what had happened while Travis Miles reports the story. The excitable young radio jockey has been repeating it every five minutes instead of playing his normal list of songs, and after the tenth time of hearing him scream that the Institute was destroyed, Nat decided that sitting in silence was a better choice. Everyone is consumed with what he has been saying, except for one person; Nat Wright, who has now made her way to the bathroom of their home, while focusing on herself in the semi-clean mirror and another group of sentences to say to the duo when they return home.
"Fam-glia..." Nat tries to pronounce the new word she just learned but is finding it difficult.
"No that's not it. You have to focus Nat." She groans to herself in frustration. Her face scrunches up and an annoyed look stares back at her. Shaking her head she looks from the mirror to the weathered dictionary and tries to say the word again while letting out a slow sigh.
"Fa-mi-gi-lia." Nora gave her this book just before they left to go after the Institute. Nat’s eyes went wide when it was presented to her and listened patiently to the story of where the book had come from before taking it from its original owner. It had been Blues book from when she was a little girl and had her lessons from that time that her grandmother would teach to her. It stayed intact for the past two hundred years in Blues old home and Nora had brought it back to give to Nat after their last supply run to Sanctuary Hills. Nat had to hold back her emotions while listening to what Blue was saying to her while explained how valuable the book was to her, and how important it was that Nat took care of it. The young reporter realized in an instant what the significance was of the Pre War relic giving her this book. She had promised to teach her how to speak in her native language and Nora said that she could not think of a better book to give to the younger Wright sister as long as she took care of it. They both nearly fell over when Nat threw her arms around Blue and thanked her profusely, and that she’d take care of it forever. And other than her questions for this most recent interview- looking at this dictionary is all that Nat has been doing in order to impress the lone Vault 111 survivor, and she really wants to get this word right but is having issues.
"Fa-gl-imia...Oh, come on!" She is getting frustrated and slams the book closed but winces when she remembers how fragile Nora had said the old book was. Her hand hovers over the cover- afraid that the slightest touch will destroy the book, while she prays that she did not ruin the gift.
"Merda!" A slap can be heard when she quickly covers her mouth, eyes go wide after the curse word slips out.
"Oh, sure I can say that with no problem." She chastises herself and sighs in disappointment.
Moving from the fully functioning bathroom that Blue had built in their home-plate home, to her original spot facing the door. With her pencil, pad, and cherished book in hand, she falls back on the couch with a thump that causes a bit of dust to fly around her. Nat chews on her eraser, and pets Dogmeat behind his ears as she looks over the phrase that she has been practicing as well as the questions that she plans to ask. Nora, Nick, and her sister will all be apart of history when they return, and it is just a matter of time before they do. Upon hearing something outside, her eyes move to the door as footsteps get closer, but return to her treasured book on her lap as the fading chatter from the crowd of people that are outside moves past her door.
To look at the young reporter you would never know what her true feelings are. That if it wasn’t for the book she is reading that she’d be pacing nervously around the room. Nat hasn't been this excited since Blue sat down with the young reporter to give her the lessons in how to speak Italian. She remembers that day fondly as she is currently repeating her actions of that day.
Her nerves growing as her leg bounces up and down on the ball of her feet while gnawing on her eraser, watching the front door of their new home, waiting for it to swing open to reveal the two most important people in the world to her. Her face lighting up when they finally did return home that day and how she patiently waited for Blue to put all of her weapons and new found junk away before falling onto the couch next to her. Oh, how it killed her when Blue closed her eyes and looked to have fallen asleep. Nat didn’t want to be rude and knew Nora was tired but she promised. She was about to shake her awake when she heard a low chuckle from Blue, followed by a reminder from Piper, and a smile appears that always seemed to put Nat at ease. She listened so intently to Blue speak to her for the first time in this foreign language. Initially, it sounded like she was making it all up and the younger Wright sister was waiting for Piper and Blue to start laughing at her at any moment but it never happened.
"Ciao, Natalia. Come’ Va?" Nora had said to her and watched as a kind smile appeared on Nora while Nat's expression was only one of amazed confusion. Nora had always had an easy voice to listen to which seems to draw everyone's attention when she spoke, but somehow it became prettier the more she said these new words.
"Ciao, means Hello…” Nora went on to explain. "and Come’ Va, means how are you?” The words just flowed from her mouth with little effort and the two Wright woman were left a little speechless at first.
"Oh, uh, I am very good." Nat hadn't had a lesson yet and could only stumble through her own language while wondering if she had missed a homework assignment somewhere as Piper fanned herself and asked: "if it was getting hot in here".
Nat was a little embarrassed that she didn't know what to say but once again Blue put her mind at ease with just one look. It was a look that she had seen before from the lone vault survivor and it made her feel better about everything, no matter what was happening in Nat's life. The young reporter didn't really know why it made her feel this way until Piper explained that they were becoming closer and it may be Blues motherly instinct kicking in. That she wanted to protect them both no matter what, and that look that she gives her is just to reaffirm them both that she will always be there for them, and they will get through any problem together. What her sister had told her had caused her to feel closer to Nora and understand why Piper had fallen in love with Blue; she was special.
"If you are very well then you say, Molto bene." Blue had told her while they sat on the roof of the Publik Occurrences building. Since they watched the sunset all those months ago and it became their spot to go to whenever they were doing their lessons, or just needed to get away and think.
"Molto...bene." Nat is, and always will be amazed at how animated you have to be with your hands when speaking this new-to-her language. She practiced that phrase and the hand gestures that went along with it for about a week and after she nearly hit Piper a few times and knocked some things off of her shelf, it became her favorite saying.
With the exception of Tackahahshi, most people would ask the young Wright sister how she was doing over the course of the day and soon she began to answer them back with her two new favorite words, while her arms flailed about in front of her. It left everyone scratching their heads, while they backed up so not to get hit, all while wondering if Nat had finally lost her mind like her sister. But soon they just accepted her words as gibberish and let the young girl have her fun. That only lasted until she began to learn more and once her teachers got wind of what was being taught at the Wright household is when people took notice and wanted their children to learn it as well. Thankfully, and much to Nat's delight, Nora said it was only for those people that she felt deserved to be taught, and it made Nat feel closer to Blue, so she made it a point to learn a phrase to say to them that was just as special.
"Sono cosi felice che tu sia a casa. Mi sei mancato tanto cosi tanto." Is the phrase she would say to welcome them both and told them just how happy she was to see them.
She vowed to learn a new saying each week to say to them, but always said how happy she was to see the two after each mission. It always put a smile on Nora and seemed to make her feel at home whenever Nat said it. Piper appreciated it, so the young reporter was happy to make her feel that way.
The one thing Blue is always saying to her is how important family is to her and that is true now more than ever. She apparently had a large family growing up and now that there is only Piper, Nat, and Blue- family is even more special. So Nat wants to show the lone vault survivor just how much she means to her by adding the word Familglia or family, with her welcome home phrase. She has been practicing it since she woke up and found it in the book, but is still having a difficult time trying to pronounce it. What's making it all worse now is that she hears footsteps fall outside the door to her home that is getting closer, and she begins to panic as her mind becomes a complete blank. She closes her eyes and tries to focus on relaxing as the handle turns and the door slowly opens to reveal Nora, then Piper, and followed by Nick. The young reporter misses the downtrodden looks on the three people walking into her home and nearly misses the fourth person standing in front of Valentine, but her excitement outshines everything else as she finally remembers what she was going to say and ignores everything else for the moment.
"Sono così felice che la mia famiglia è la casa..." Nat begins, but her words trail off when a dejected Blue walks past her and up the stairs without even looking the young reporter's way. She tries to process what is going on when she turns to look at her upset sister when Piper pauses next to her and watches helplessly as the woman she loves continues to fall apart.
"What happened?" It's such a simple question but seeing the pained expression staring back at her as Piper sighs and shakes her head causes Nat to worry that something went horribly wrong, and she cannot imagine what that could be.
"She'll be okay," Piper says unconvincingly while forcing a smile.
“I hope.” She finishes and then looks toward the door to the new guest.
Following her sister's gaze, Nat sees what looks to be the cause of Nora's troubles. In the doorway, standing in front of Nick Valentine is a young man, no older than Nat herself, who doesn't look like he wants to be here anymore then Nora seems to want him here.
"Hi, I'm Shaun." Three words that cause a sob to come from upstairs, Piper to quickly follow, and gives the younger Wright sister some clarity to her question.
"Hello..." She answers in a slow confused voice as she tries to figure out what is going on. Nat wants to be polite but is not sure what else she should say.
“Nick?” She looks to the synth detective for an answer but a furrowed brow and a concerned expression are all that is staring back at her.
The entire reason for Nora's existence is standing in front of Nat, and the younger Wright sister begins to think back to all of the conversations that she has eavesdropped in on. She tries to process everything that is happening all while the smile begins to fade on this boy who calls himself Shaun. Originally, Nora was looking for an infant, but then it was learned that her son had aged ten years, but soon even that changed. The last thing Nat had heard was that Shaun was an old man who ran the Institute, and she knew that it was going to be difficult to go on this recent mission to stop him. But there was one thing that Nora repeated to Piper before they left...
"That is not my son."
So now there is this young boy who looks to be around Nat's age, calling himself Shaun, seemingly the cause of Blue being upset, standing in her doorway, not really knowing what to say himself. He's looking around the home, acting nervous, as muffled voices come from above that cause Nat to wince a little when what is being said is heard by all, and a sad expression to overtake the boy in front of her.
“I don’t care Piper. That is not my son down there…”
"Did you live in the Institute?" Nat quickly asks. She isn't sure of what to say and asks the first thing that comes to mind even if she knows the answer.
"That was my home until my mom..." Shaun stops himself mid-sentence and looks to where Nora's voice is coming from.
"She said she had to destroy it. That there were bad people living there. I'm just happy that she took me with her even if she doesn't want me." Hearing these sad words and seeing the hurt expression on his face causes Nat's heart to break.
"I'm sure that's not true." The young reporter says and turns her attention to the closed bedroom door while wondering what made Nora not want her son.
It's hard to hear what they are saying with the door to their bedroom being shut, and as much as the young boy has Nat's attention, her curiosity is upstairs. Not wanting to be rude she turns towards the boy in front of her as his lips curl up into a smile, appreciating her sentiment.
"Thanks. I was hoping that we could all be a family but she seems upset about something and I think it’s my fault.” Shaun admits, which saddens him even more.
“What happened down there Nick?” Nat asks the synth in a tone that tells him not to lie to her.
Lighting a cigarette, the Diamond City detective takes a long drag as Nat patiently waits for an answer while a ring of smoke billows out from the cracks in his face, surrounding the aging synths head. It had been a successful mission and the Institute was destroyed, he begins to tell her. Everything was going well and they had only suffered minor casualties considering how tough the fighting was. But it all seemed to change in an instant when Sturgis hesitated to activate the transporter to send them home and motioned to the boy.
Not understanding why any of this would cause Nora to act how she is, and with her investigative nature being piqued to its highest level, Nat does something that she promised never to do- enter their bedroom with the door shut.
“I don’t care what anyone says Piper, that is not my son down there.” Nat hears Nora say while she sees the pre-war relic pacing the room and down a shot of some sort of alcohol. She slowly opens the door and watches her sister sit on the bed seemingly deflated; her attention is solely on her lover and the range of emotions that Blue seems to be going through. Even from behind her sister she can tell that the Diamond City reporter is struggling for words.
“I should have left him down there with the rest of them.” Nat knows that this is an adult conversation but that is uncalled for.
“How can you say that?” Both women are startled to hear Nat's voice coming from the now opened doorway. The annoyed look on the young reporters face is only is emphasized by her words.
“This is not the time Nat…” Piper begins but is interrupted just as quickly as Nat moves fully into the room.
“You're always talking to me about family, and how important it is,” Nat says while moving closer to Blue, who refuses to look at her. “And you've been searching for your son since you woke up and now that you've found him you are sending him back?”
“That...thing.” Nora sneers while trying to talk about the son they replaced with a synth. “Is not my son. It is only a synth that they made believe was Shaun. That they tried to make me believe is Shaun!” Blue explains to Nat who remembers the day when she came back from her first visit to the Institute. Where she met or thought she met her son, but it was all made up and left more questions than answers. Nora had a dejected look about her for a long time after, and even though Nat felt horrible for Blue at that time, this is different now.
“That thing…”Pipers voice has always had a soothing effect on Nora and now is no different. “Thinks it’s a ten-year-old boy, and you’re his mother.”
“But why would he do that?” Nora scoffs. “Why would Shaun- the real Shaun- think that this is okay when I already know the truth?”
“I wish I knew,” Piper says dejectedly. “But maybe he wanted you to get back what was taken away from you.” Piper is grasping at any reason she can but it isn't convincing.
“Maybe he wanted you to have the family that was taken away from you.”
“And we can do this together.” Nat finishes. She sounds as desperate to help her friend as Piper is, and for a moment Nora stops and seems to be contemplating what’s being said to her; for a moment.
“I can’t…” Nora shakes her head and motions towards the bedroom door. “My son is dead and I have to come to grips with that. Not raise a replica of what they wanted me to believe was him.”
Nat finally understands a little more about what happened during their assault on the Institute and isn't happy that they’d do that to her friend. She is at a loss for words, and looks to Piper who doesn't seem to have any answers either, yet is still trying to discuss the issue.
“But if he thinks that he is actually Shaun then think of how traumatized he will be if you send him away.”
“I don’t care Piper!”
Nat sighs as she closes the door and heads back downstairs to try and talk to their guest some more. She knows the smile on her face looks forced but she needs to hide her true feelings.
“I made this for you.” As soon as Nat's footsteps down and she turns the corner, Shaun presents her with a gift. It takes the young girl off guard but soon her smile turns genuine.
“Do you like it?” Shaun asks a little unsure.
“This is beautiful...thank you,” Nat says after she realizes that she was asked a question. Seeing Shaun gaze upon her, she can feel her cheeks warm and knows she is now two shades darker as she takes her gift.
“How?” Her eyes look over the flower, or what she thought was a flower in disbelief. She hasn't been out of the Commonwealth often but knows that there isn't anything growing that is this shade of yellow, blue, red, and green.
“I made it from some of the stuff Mom, or Nora has lying around.”
“It’s amazing.” She shakes her head in disbelief after looking around and only seeing scraps of wire, metal piping, and what used to be a chair. Blue had been impressive when she was able to make incredible creations from pretty much nothing but none of what she built looked this nice. She is about to ask him how he actually did it when the door to the bedroom swings open and Nora quickly moves down the steps followed by Piper.
“Where are you going?” Piper asks as they both walk down the steps and over to a chest that holds ammo and weapons. She places a duffle bag on top of a large desk, unzips it, and begins to pack.
“I need to leave. Nick has a case up in a place called Far Harbor and he needs my help.”
“I think we need to discuss this a little further, Blue.” Nat can tell that Piper is trying to keep a level head but this may be the beginning of her sisters worst fear, and the stress of the Commonwealth has taken its toll.
“There is nothing to discuss.” Blue stops packing her bag for a moment and looks at Piper. The expressions staring back at the reporter causes tears to form in her own eyes as Nora is failing to hold it together. She has been in some horrible situations before and has been strong in order to make it through, but this may be the one thing that she can not face.
“Nick needs my help. You have to write about what happened, and Nat has school.” Nora returns to stuffing her bags full of ammo and stimpaks after wiping away the moisture that has fallen down her cheek.
“I won’t be long.” Turning to see Piper's expression Nat knew that she was thinking the same thing. If Shaun stays, then they may never see her again.
“And what about Shaun?” All of Blues movement stop at the question. She lowers her head, leans on the desk in front of her, and takes a few deep breaths. She looks like she may stop and talk, but after a moment she slams her hands on the desk, grabs a few more provisions, zips up the duffle bag, puts it over her shoulder, and turns back around.
“I will get in touch with Desdemona before we leave, and she can make whatever preparations for him to go somewhere safe.” Nora's jaw is clenched shut tightly after her voice cracks a little. She roughly wipes away the tears that are falling while everyone looks back at her. She looks like she may actually drop her bag and give in when her eyes find Shaun staring back at her, then quickly makes her way to the door.
“We need to leave now Nick.” Pushing past everyone, Nora steps out of her home and tries to head towards the detective's office before anyone can say anymore, but a single word, followed by a simple sentence stops her in her tracks.
“Mom? You're not going to leave me, right?”
Behind everyone, and after seeing Blue turn around and finally face her son, Nat picks up her pencil and paper and begins to write. She begins to tell the story about the woman who saved everyone in the Commonwealth; the woman who isn't done yet. Nat needs to tell this story about the same person who now seems to be accepting this little boy for who he believed himself to be. She is the same pre-war relic that the eldest Wright sister loves dearly who releases a sigh of relief now that Blue admits that Shaun shouldn't worry; that she isn't leaving. And at this moment Nat realizes that what is happening in front of her is her interview, not any of the questions she has written down. It's raw emotions that a mother is now feeling after getting a second chance with her son, and Nat is compelled to write it all down. She writes as fast as she can and does not care if anything is spelled correctly; she will fix it later. Nat writes through tear soaked eyes as she sees Nora fall to her knees and hug her son for the first time. And one word runs through Nat’s mind that she writes down before she drops her paper and moves to join the people she loves the most as they surround mother and son.
“Famiglia.”