Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been almost a week since the vault girl had been kidnapped by a Courser. The whole event happened so quick, yet Nick continued to curse himself for not being faster. All he had, now, was the schematics for the teleportation machine, which she had thrown just before the Courser took her away. She knew Nick would grab them, and she trusted him to save her.

He had no intention of letting her down.

Nick tracked down her Minutemen friends in Sanctuary, who already knew a lot about what was going on. Preston pointed him to Sturges, who seemed ready to help get their friend back.

Days of building had passed by, and there it was. It stood tall and a little unsteady, but it was the best chance they had. With the okay from Sturges, Nick stepped onto the platform, standing as still as he could manage.

With a few moments and a flash of bright light, he found himself somewhere totally different yet slightly familiar. Yes, he had returned to the Institute. Vague memories of his days living there came back to him, but he pushed them down. All he was worried about was finding that woman.

Apparently, that task was much easier than he thought. He walked through a couple of doors, and there she was, trapped behind glass and sitting against the wall with her face in her knees. Her head snapped up when he called her name.

“You came!” she cried, coming to her feet and stepping close to the glass. “The door, there’s a terminal somewhere for it, I think. One of the doctors or robots used it.”

That…was a red flag. While it could have easily just been a going of phrase, or even just her being anxious, she had never before referred to synths as robots.

Nick made short work of hacking the terminal, and, with the sound of air pressure releasing, the door to her little prison was open. He was almost thrown back by how strongly she hugged him. Was she always so strong?

“I knew you’d come,” she said. The detective placed his hand on her back, the other holding her by the back of her neck. His synthetic heart almost dropped at his findings.

The hand on her head slowly moved back toward his pocket. She tried to move away, but he kept his arm around her firmly. As strong as she may have suddenly become, he was stronger.

“What’s going on?” she asked, trying to shake out of his grasp. When her eyes fell on the gun he was holding, she struggled even harder. “What the Hell, man?! I thought…I thought you loved me!”

“That’s the worst lie you’ve tried yet,” the gruff detective spoke. “You can’t fool me, Institue bastard. You don’t have a heartbeat.” The girl in his arms went stiff as the barrel of the gun pressed to her head. “Besides…” Nick pulled back the hammer of the pistol with his thumb. “…I haven’t told her I love her, yet.”

A trigger, a bang, and a dead synth. Sparks shot out of the hole in her head. Lifeless eyes stared at him, and he threw the body away from him.

It was fake. It was a synth trick.

Why did he have to shoot someone that looked just like her?

Why did it scare him so much?

His little skirmish gave him new energy to find her. Somehow, he plowed his way through the building, shooting anyone and anything that got in his way. Doctors who tried to fight him with guns. Synths attacking with whatever batons they had, some even using their fists. All were shot down on his way to rescue her.

He couldn’t reach the holding cells soon enough. They were a familiar place for him. Aside from the new, futuristic design, the layout was all the same as before.

Cell by cell, he checked every room, but he hadn’t found her when he reached the end of the hall. Where would the Institute be keeping a live human?

Surgery rooms.

He remembered how they treasured finding people that weren’t affected by the radiation. In fact, he had seen many humans get dragged, kicking and screaming, into the surgery rooms, before never seeing them again. All Hell would surely break loose if he found out they had done anything to her.

The first few rooms were empty, as was the next hallway. Finally, he found an occupied room.

Pistol loaded, he opened the door to the room. The first thing to catch his eye was the girl cowering in the corner, the same as the girl before. The next thing he saw was a grey-haired doctor and a synth dead on the floor. There was a scalpel in the doctor’s neck, and another one in the synth’s head. He knew it had to be her doing.

She jumped at the sound of her name, picking up another scalpel and pointing it at him. “Don’t move,” she demanded. He complied, stopping in place and letting his pistol arm relax. It was definitely her. “How…How do I know it’s you? What’s your codeword, Nick?”

He took a step closer, but she waved her scalpel a little. “The word, Nick!” Her voice wavered.

“Duck,” he replied, putting his gun away. “And you?”

Her arm dropped to her side, scalpel hitting the ground with a soft cling. “Duckling.”

The detective took a few steps closer, before falling to his knees right in front of her. He put his hands on her cheeks, fingers falling slightly onto her neck.

There was a pulse.

“You worried me sick,” he said, and she placed her hands over his. “I knew you could handle yoursf against these bastards, but…”

He stopped at that, eyes frantically scanning her for injuries. Faintly, he heard her calling his name a few times, but it didn’t register. He was too preoccupied checking her for wounds.

“Nick, look at me!” She grabbed his cold face, turning him to meet her eyes. Before anything else could be said, she swiftly leaned forward and captured his lips softly. Her warmth was so inviting that the synth almost malfunctioned.

When she pulled back to breathe, he just blurted out, “I love you.”

As quickly as she had been trying to breathe, she seemed to stop for a second. It picked up momentarily. “You mean that?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

The hands on his face trembled a little. “I love you, too.” One of them dropped to his shoulder. “I love you, too, Nick.”

He found her lips again, pulling her flush against him. It felt so right. Her hands on his body, her lips against his, her warmth bringing an inviting, enticing light into his world. It was all so right.

For once, something in his life felt right.

Chapter Text

“Bottlecap for your thoughts?” the detective spoke in his gruff voice. The woman in the vault suit smiled and held out a hand, to which they both chuckled for a moment.

“Just wishing I could fix up a camera,” she spoke, leaning against the railing. “Dirty as the Commonwealth may be, it can be real…picturesque, sometimes.”

“I’m sure we could rig a camera if we tried,” Nick offered. He came to stand next to her, peering over the edge of the building, then looking to her. “No harm done in testing it out.”

“Unless it blows up,” she joked. They both laughed again, but she grew solemn and quiet afterward.

“Somethin’ the matter?”

The former vault-dweller let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. “I’m just…still adjusting, that’s all.” She gave the detective a half-hearted smile. “I mean, I spent over two hundred years frozen in a tube, then watched my husband get murdered and my son kidnapped, and, suddenly, the world has become what we see today.”

“I think I know what you mean.” She didn’t have to ask for an explanation. The story of the old Nick had been told some time ago.

“I’m not gonna stay like this forever, though,” she said. “One day, hopefully soon, I will find Shaun, and it’ll all be okay.” A little side-eye was sent to the synth, along with a smile. “Thank you for doing all that you’ve done for me. I can’t say I would have made it without you.”

“I’m sure you would have handled yourself,” Nick chimed. “Anyway, I should be thanking you. You’ve led me along one Hell of an adventure, and it’s not over, yet.” He shot her a little wink. “I’ll stick with ya’ ‘til the end.”

The girl leaned on the railing with her elbows, returning to staring out at the wasteland their world had become. Nick approached slowly, coming to stand next to her. He was half startled to feel her hand grab his, but was immediate in returning the gesture.

“Really, Nick,” she said, looking over with a smile, “thank you, so much.”

A million ideas and scenarios whirred through both minds as the detective gently tugged her close. Her backside pushed against the railing, and his hands held them firmly in place. Softly, the girl’s hand came up to the synth’s face, feeling the cool metal on her fingers.

When their lips connected, her first thoughts were on how cold he was. Of course, it was to be expected, but she didn’t really mind much. Likewise, the detective found himself reveling in the warmth of her touch, gears turning faster as he pressed himself ever closer to her.

The girl shivered as she buried her face in the detective’s shoulder. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, his other hand continuing to steady him on the railing as her warmth continued to spread across his body. He almost felt his systems try to shut down when she pressed a kiss to his metallic collarbone.

“Nick,” she spoke softly. The man was acutely aware of her hot breath against him. She took in a breath, like she was going to speak again, but she didn’t get the words out.

“What’s wrong?” The hand on the railing came up to slowly rub up and down her back as they stood up straight.

“I just want to know…I mean…” She trailed off, a frustrated sigh escaping her. “I’m not really sure if you know, but you do sorta have this reputation as something of a lady’s man.”

He had to bite back a scoff to that, mostly because he knew a lot of people believed that. Of course, now and then, there was a woman or two, but probably not as often as most people seemed to speculate.

“I want to make sure I’m not a fling,” she admitted. “God, I feel like a child, but it’s true. I have genuine feelings for you, Nick, and I want to know if you do, too.”

“I aboslutely do,” he responded quickly. “Sweetheart, I’ve been dying to hear those words for some time, now.” He squeezed her for a moment, leaving a short kiss on the top of her head. “You’re not a fling. If you’d let me, I’d love to become something more with you.”

She bit her lip to hold back a goofy smile. “I’d like that.”

The hand on her back moved to her face, pulling her back softly so the detective could kiss her. Their eyes closed as they pushed themselves closer together, basking in the feeling of their joy as the picturesque wasteland continued to change.