Chapter Text
The war against the Gunners was over. The Commonwealth could finally adapt to the many changes in peace. No one remembered it being this safe before. Not only were there dozens of prospering settlements. Not only had the raider gangs and legendary beasts been eradicated, along with the majority of ferals and mutants. Not only was the Institute; the Commonwealth's boogeyman; the mysterious life-long persecutor, defeated.
The Gunners, the mercenary group that threatened to take over and make it their empire. Not only were they defeated once, but twice. The latter being the biggest battle; the war for the Commonwealth. The settlers had the numbers, firepower, leadership, and tactics to stay confident, but many knew they might die for their freedom. And some did.
The General of the Minutemen, Ilene Ward, stayed loyal to her people throughout the war, protecting as many as she could. While she normally didn't enjoy using power armor, it was the best way to protect the wounded. And just when she thought her luck was about to run out, the suit saved her from the enemy's last deadly attack.
Some days later, when it was all over and the people of the Commonwealth were busy recovering, Ilene had just recovered from surgery. She had lost half of her left leg and was in line for a prosthetic, a group of grateful engineers dedicated to the project.
This particular evening, she was in the studio when a prototype was finished and she insisted to try it on. Strapping it on and walking around a bit, it seemed fine until it suddenly hurt and she stumbled forward. Jake caught her and helped her sit back down on a table, Curie removing the prosthetic to examine the stump for any possible damage.
"Thought so, it hasn't healed enough yet," Jake commented, "Anyway, those few steps seemed to be well balanced."
"Good, I got the right height then," an engineer sighed in relief.
"The sutures appear to be intact, I detect no severe damage," Curie reported as she wrapped the stump up again, "But no more testing prosthetics for a few days."
"Don't worry, I won't, just got a little too excited. Thanks, Curie," Ilene looked at her friend's handiwork, a little ashamed.
"It pains me to see you like this, madame," Curie sighed, "I hope we will someday be able to grow a synthetic leg for you. ...not that I have any doubt in the engineers! I am sure they are capable of constructing an excellent prosthetic, it's just..."
"No prosthetic is better than the flesh and blood human limb," the engineer finished for her, "It's okay, miss Curie, I think so too. The closest thing I can get is probably a gen 2 synth leg, make it look and act like the real deal. And - not saying I doubt the doctors and scientists but - it might take so long to develop, I doubt miss Ward will get much use out of a good synthetic leg."
Curie looked at the engineer, puzzled, "Uhm... I am not sure what you mean, monsieur."
"He means I'll be old and crippled by the time you manage to grow a synthetic leg for me," Ilene explained.
"Oh, well, on the contrary, it is more likely to only take-" she was interrupted by a signal coming from the PA system, the voice reminding all doctors about a meeting that was about to start. "Oh, already? I must bid you farewell, my friends."
"Hmm, yeah, and I must go too. This talk about synthetic legs gave me an idea... I'm going back to the drawing board!" the engineer declared excitedly and left the room.
Now alone in the old newsroom, Jake and Ilene felt somewhat relieved. It had been a while since they were alone like this. While Jake tried to act casual by getting another cup of coffee, Ilene couldn't do much from where she sat, taking that moment of silence to study her partner. He seemed distracted, even nervous - like he didn't like the awkward silence. Well, that had to be fixed.
"Got a lot on your mind, huh?" she asked with a friendly smile.
Looking at her, he glanced back at the table to put down his cup, "Y-yeah, eh... heh, still can't believe I finally got Laura back... seeing her and Shaun tinker on that giddyup buttercup is quite the sight," he chuckled.
"Yeah... I wonder if they will repair it or make something else with the parts," she chuckled, "Either way, it's great to see them get along."
Glancing around the room, she saw the Comm Array and the consoles surrounding it, the desks, the somewhat clean floors. She could hear the bustling sounds of HQ on the other side of the closed doors. She looked back at the history of this place, the weeks they spent rebuilding, the repairs. The conversations she's had in this room.
Looking back at him, she noticed how he seemed a bit upset, taking deep breaths to fight tears. "What's wrong?"
Rubbing his eyes and clearing his throat, "It's nothing, just... I'm still a bit shook up about the fact that... we almost lost you. I don't know what I would've done, had you not survived..."
"...yeah, it was pretty foolish of me to keep fighting," she tried lightening up the mood while making sure to sound empathetic. It was a scary thought to her too. She was rather exhausted by the end of the battle, but couldn't leave her soldiers on the battlefield. Such is the curse of having such a bleeding heart. "But it's okay, Jake, just take a deep breath and focus on the present. I'm here. Alive and safe. And I'm done fighting for quite some time now, heh. I can finally take it easy," she chuckled, feeling tears building up.
Jake stepped forward to wrap his arms around her, holding tight to be comforted by her presence and beating heart. Hugging him back, she repeated, "I can finally take it easy..."
Holding each other for a moment, Ilene remembered the conversation they had in this room some weeks ago, about what could happen when things had calmed down a bit. Thinking about their kids, how they were already like a happy family. She felt so happy. So safe in his arms. They only hugged once before, and she would love to hug him more. To be with him and to have fun together. Maybe take him and the kids to Starlight Drive-In and see a few shows at the theater, buy some comics and space artifacts, watch something on the big screen. Or maybe...
Giggling at the idea, she pulled away to ask, "So how about we take some time off and check out Nuka-World? They say it's an unforgettable vacation experience..."
Amused, he shook his head and placed his hands down on the table, "Darlin', not sure how you did it back in your day, but nowadays, taking it easy means to stay put. Not travel to someplace new."
"Yeah, you're right..." smiling warmly at him, she closed her eyes and leaned forward till their foreheads met, her right hand finding its way to his cheek. "And there's no place I'd rather be than here. With you, partner." She felt how he held his breath and his cheek warmed up. Opening her eyes again, she met his looking back at her, "So... you free this evening?"
Breathing out a chuckle, his right hand went up to her back and pulled her closer, taking her by surprise, "I'm free right now."
"Oh..." she reacted with a smile.
Closing the gap, they shared their first kiss. Being so happy to finally love someone again, they had no shame in making it long and passionate. Jake pushed her back a bit and Ilene played a little with his hair, then wrap her arms around his neck to be even closer to him. It was only when they ended up a little breathless that they pulled away a little.
After a few breaths, Ilene decided to say the words she had waited a long time to say, "I love you, Jake."
Leaning back a bit for balance, he wrapped his other arm around her, "I love you too, Ilene. ...my darlin'."
With a little chuckle, they shared another sweet kiss but were suddenly interrupted when they heard the door glide open and two young ones loudly gasped. Turning to the door, they saw Shaun and Laura looking at them with shocked expressions.
"Oh... hey kids! ...already done with your project, huh?" Jake nervously asked, hoping their reactions wouldn't be bad.
"Mom, is Jake my dad now?" Shaun asked, amazed.
"Does this mean Shaun is now my brother?" Laura asked, excited.
Ilene giggled and leaned back, "Maybe... What do you think, Hun?"
Relieved and happy, he chuckled and turned to the kids again, "Yeah, we're one big happy family."
Since you seemed to like it enough to read this far, here's a sketch of the kiss scene. :3
