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The air rings silent as the last mutant falls. All thanks to an amazingly placed shot upon the creature's grenade belt. It wasn't so great to have bits of the thing flying right back towards you, but at least I'm the one standing in the end so I can't complain. Didn't mean I couldn't notice the scent that followed though. That of which still stinging my nostrils enough to make me gag, I hold back the rising bile as I place my rifle at the ready once more.
It’s best to check for any more of them while the adrenaline is still coursing through me. I keep it raised as I comb my sights across the streets of Boston, littered with debris and ruin. Some of it being more recent than the rest, having come from this skirmish. Notably, a car I'd been using for the cover was more or less a crater with burnt and still smoking metal at its base. If it weren't for Piper's warning of the impending explosion I surely would have been a goner.
"Pipes! I think the coast's clear!” I called behind me when the air remained still for a few more moments. As she approached I heard rocks shift and topple over each other. Turning as I holstered my rifle, I was able to catch the reporter jogging over to me. I smile her way but she doesn't smile back. She actually looks pissed. “What?”
"That was way too close, Blue," I let out an exhale while I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
"Is this about that car?" Her incredulous laugh was loud enough to make me jump a little.
"No, it is not just about the car. Although that was the worst of it!” Piper placed her hands on her hips and turned towards the smoldering crater just past me. Smoke was still emitting from what little remained of the car. "I mean, Jesus, Blue! Did you just not see that your cover was on fire ?"
"No -" At that she clicked her tongue and shook her head - "Glad as hell you're here to fish me out of danger though Pipes, really." With that she exhales, her arms and shoulders dropping. “But we’re still up and running, as long as we got each other covered we’ll stay like that.” For a moment I think she'll turn to me with some quip and a light shove at my shoulder. Instead, she’s furious, close with her finger right in my face when she spins around to meet me.
"That's the problem, Blue!" She points to the crater. “This is the problem!”
Holy shit . Suddenly I have not a damn clue what to say. I can't remember her ever getting so genuinely angry, not towards me at least. But being put on the spot isn't what knocks me speechless, it's the intensity that comes with that look in her eyes and the tone of her voice. So there I stand helplessly staring into her hazel eyes even though that alone was enough to make me forget to breathe.
"We need to talk about this.” I can imagine this is the way she’s scolded Nat before, it reminds me of my parents when they whenever they got really pissed.
“Well-”
“Not here in the middle of the fucking street…” Despite the anger, I notice her eyes begin to well up. Guilt takes the form of a pit in my stomach. “Right now, let's just get that dead drop and get back to Diamond City before you end up killing yourself." She begins walking to the white railroad symbol I had spotted just before we were ambushed.
"Hey Pipes, I'm sorry." Is what I attempt to say, but when I open my mouth nothing comes out. When the next breath comes, it hits me like a punch I didn't see coming. I damn near hurt like one too as there's suddenly something faint and sharp in my abdomen. It starts feeling more like a cramp rather than anything else, so I just try following Piper after a few more inhales. But I can't move instead clenching my fists as it starts getting worse. Hotter too. So hot that I start removing my coat and then fumbling with the straps of my chest piece. There is another layer of clothes between me and the armor but suddenly having it against me is damn near unbearable. My hand starts shaking so much that I can't get it off. That's when I see it. On my fingers working on the straps there's blood. Fuck .
" Pipes?" I finally manage to shout and try again on the straps. My digits are covered in this warm thick red, I give up and just start pulling at the thing. I can’t stop myself from hyperventilating as I realize my underclothes are soaked and there's this ringing that drowns everything else out of my ears. I scream her name once again, not even able to hear my voice anymore. Trying to see where she was is fruitless as before I even know it, I'm on the ground. Everything pulses and black spots start appearing in my vision. So I don’t keep my eyes open anymore. Piper, I can only assume it was her, lifts my head.
And then there's nothing. For a long time.
When my eyes open again I’m in some room, it’s dark, and I'm laying in a bed with some blanket over me. What little light is in the room is a horrid green emanating from my right. It’s a familiar light, and judging by how my left arm feels so bare, I know it's my Pip-Boy. It hurts to turn my head but I do it anyway just to see the device being used as a lamp upon a nightstand. It's weird not seeing it on me. Hell, sometimes I even forget to take the damn thing off when I sleep.
I tried reaching out for it but a sharp pain from my stomach spreads across my torso and up my spine, so I settled back down. It's hot so I try to delicately try to remove it without moving my abdomen much, my armor's been removed. Oddly enough it makes me feel barer than the fact that I don't have a shirt on anymore. Instead, there's just my bra and extensive bandages over my abdomen. Piper.
I scan the room for her, finally noticing I'm in a hotel room. The windows are boarded up heavily, with my rifle leaning against the wall below it. The wallpaper looks rather worse for wear, a near rotted chair against it, and the bureau is knocked over in the far left corner. Beyond the nightstand to the left is what I can assume is the door out. No sign of her yet though.
"Pipes?" My voice is broken and low, I cough to clear it.
Someone's coming. There are footsteps from the hall getting closer. I tried moving again to get out of the bed this time but I collapse and groan with the pain. I feel the coughs coming and fail to hold them back. I curse in between the coughs. The steps become faster and louder from out the hall right until the door swings open.
"Thank God you’re awake." She rushes to the bedside after throwing down a very large duffle bag, kneeling to match my eye level. Piper removes one of her gloves, placing the back of her hand gently on my forehead. Her hand is cold, and she clicks her tongue. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit." Piper's brow furrows and she frowns as she zips open the duffle. "How bad was it, Pipes?” She pauses for a moment only to shake her head and continue ruffling through her back.
I watch her pull out a pill bottle and a can of water, wishing her hand was back on my forehead. Instead, it opens my hand to place several small pills in the palm of my hand. She cracks open the can of water.
"What's this?" I croak out, turning the meds over with my finger.
"You should be fine soon, but you have a fever. This is for that and it should also help with the pain.” She held up the bottle again to read it out. “Ib-... ib you -"
“Ibuprofen.” Piper glares at me.
“Yes, that.” She extends the water to me.
"Thank you Pipes," I take the water and swallow the pills. I realize how thirsty I am and chug the whole thing down. When I lower the can from my face I see that she's got a stimpak ready. I cringe at the sight of the needle. “I hate this part…. "
"I know, me too, Blue." Her voice is soft and tired as she positions herself over me. She takes my hand in hers as she lines up the stimpak just below my bandages. "Count to five for me." I inhale.
"One, two… three- Fuck!" I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sensation of feeling your muscles and skin come back together and heal that fast. But shit, I swear, these things hurt the shittier state you're in. “You ass….Where did you get these supplies?"
"The dead drop," she kneels beside me again, letting go of my hand.
"You got it without me?!"
"You were a little busy dying." She’s rarely deadpan. I roll my eyes and sigh but it becomes another cough.
“Did you really think I was gonna die? Piper, I was military, I know how to handle myself.” She refuses to meet my eyes when I look up at her. “You know that nothing is gonna take me down."
"Last I checked soldiers died all the time. So no, Blue, I really don't." I feel like I’ve heard this before, I shrug it off as some deja vu.
“I know this,” I gesture to my bandages, “doesn’t prove it, but I had you with me, I’ve always got my back covered.” She shakes her head.
“Not always! I can’t always be out here with you and you insist on throwing yourself into everything under the sun no matter if you’re alone or not!” I've seen her like this before. Long ago, or rather several months ago. Though it feels like an eternity ago when she was so agitated from being kept out of Diamond City. However, it wasn't amusing this time. It was harsh and hurtful. I felt a lump in my throat. Piper stands and begins pacing.
“You’re not Miss ‘Safety First Priority’ yourself, Piper.” I huff out glowering at her. “Before me, you were out here alone, constantly!” She cringes at that comment.
“Not anymore, especially now after I took your advice about it and started spending more time with Nat. Making sure she’s still got a big sister at the end of the day. But apparently, you can't follow your own advice! I never went into the glowing sea alone, started working with those metalheads, or let my cover blow up and shred into me!” I settle back down, she’s got me there. "You know when we had that conversation and I had gone on about moving to Diamond City, and you being pretty much my only friend? It may have sounded nuts, but I wasn't saying it for my own health, Blue."
It was a night spent on the tin roof of Piper's house. We talked for hours telling stories and cracking jokes over a few beers. After coming down from an almost over the top laughing fit induced by my inebriated reaction to the apparent lack of raccoons on the wasteland, that's when she told me this. Maybe it was the alcohol, but for a moment I thought that, or maybe just wished, that she'd explain the way she would stare at me. Confront me about how I tease and flirt with her far too many times to count. Reveal that we'd both started feeling the same about each other.
But instead, her words slowed and she struggled to keep her eyes open. It wasn't long until Piper was knocked out. I thought she was more beautiful than ever. Her face and a blissful rest, illuminated by the warm glow of the streets below, sans her iconic hat. I had never seen her without that cap before.
Even though I had to drag her back into her bed, it was still the best night I've ever had since waking up. Maybe the best night I ever had, period. From that night I knew that no matter what becomes of us, that night cemented that I had a place in this world. And Piper made it feel like home.
I feel my anger fade at the memory.
"I know I can't ask you to just let up on leading the minutemen or helping the railroad or looking for your nephew." Mentioning Shaun always strikes a chord, Piper knows that. "Those are parts of you that are determined and compassionate, the parts I love about you, Blue. But you push and you put yourself on the line where sooner or later you're gonna end up dead!" Her anger breaks as much as her voice does. Her breath hitching as she starts to cry, the tears in a messy stream running down her face.
It's something I haven't seen much of, between us, there have only been moments where tears fall slowly, soft, and quiet. That's what I know of Piper, never something like this however truly hurt and afraid.
"If we lose you…" Piper struggles as her throat tries to sob. "What's gonna happen to them? What will Shaun have left? What will I…. I!-" She buries her head in her hands, unable to hold the sobs at bay. It starts to click what this reminded me of.
I can almost see it as clear as day, hear it too. A family crying, shouting, begging, for their youngest girl to not fight the same war her brothers died in. To stay home, right where they wanted, no needed, her to be. A little boy waving goodbye, unknowing. Then in the face of all that, what did that girl do? She went further and further away, all until it wasn't a problem anymore.
I can't do that again. Not this time.
Most of the pain has subsided now, I firmly plant an open hand on the bed, preparing to push myself up. It’s not as bad as before but still I hiss at the sting it causes. Rising out of the bed I move towards her, I’m glad she’s not really looking because my legs are shaking as if covered in ice. Standing before her now, and a lot more dizzy because of it, I reach out to put a hand on her upper arm. Piper doesn’t move.
“People have tried getting it through my thick skull like you have. People from Before the world ended, just about all died before I could tell them I was wrong.” I shift my eyes to the floor. “You were right, I got responsibilities here, people depend on me, and to put that all at risk....” I look back at her. “It’s not worth it. This is home now, and I want to make it home for Shaun too. I’m sorry Piper.”
Her hands drop and her face is nearly as red as her jacket. Her eyes closed as she faces upwards.
“I know just saying it isn’t enough, but I promise, this won’t keep happening.” I chuckle, “at least not on purpose anymore, I’m not going anywhere, not anytime soon.”
Still, Piper is motionless save for the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders. I pat her shoulder gently before pulling away. I’ve barely done much at all, but just standing with this fever has been rough. Far too sweaty for my liking as well, and I’d rather fall on the bed than the floor if the dizziness gets worse.
There's a tug on my hand, I turn back but I just get squeezed immediately into an embrace. Piper buries her head into my shoulder enough so her hat falls off her head. I catch it before it hits the ground and wrap my arms around her with hat in hand. It’s nice.
“Thank you,” she whispers into my shoulder.
“Thank me when we’re old and gray together, then you’ll know I kept my promise.” I can’t stop myself from smiling. We pull apart but still holding on, she’s smiling too.
“Unless you get sick of my yapping of course.” Piper wipes her eyes.
“Still, there’s no one else I’d rather be around, grow old with.” I smile innocently, and oh boy if her cheeks weren’t red before. Her eyes start moving frantically around.
“I-oh… um, ha ha, that’s very nice! Real, real sweet of you…” Her gaze settles downwards for a moment and she suddenly tenses completely. I look down too, noticing I’m very shirtless. Piper pulls away and swings her arms awkwardly, it’s cute. “You should get back to resting, wait till the uh fever goes down,” looking away from me, “right?”
“Right.” I step back towards her, “but you're missing this.” I swing my arm to place her hat back on her head, securing it with a tug before turning back to the bed.
I gently lower myself down, not wanting the stinging to return. Piper goes to get the blanket I kicked away earlier and hands it back to me. I mutter a thank you as I cover myself with it.
“Goodnight Pipes.”
“G’night, Blue.”
She settles down on the chair against the wall. Taking off her coat and placing it over herself. I groan.
“There aren't any other beds?”
“What?” Her head shoots up and I rub my eyes.
“You’re not sleeping in that chair right?”
“Every other room in this hotel is either busted to hell or missing a full bed that doesn't look hostile.” I start shifting over to the left side of the bed.
“Piper, you hauled then healed my ass up to this bed, we’re sharing it.”
“No.”
“This is a king bed there’ll be miles between us if we share it”
“But-”
“No ‘if’ ‘ands’ nor ‘buts’, now get over here before I drag your ass.”
“Blue…”
“Piper.”
She sighs before giving in as she defeatedly makes her way over to the bed. Practically falling into it face first.
Muffled I think shelaugh says “Holy crap this is a nice bed.” And we as she turns over and faces away.
“G’night Blue.”
“Goodnight Piper…”
I wake before her in what I can only assume is the morning. It doesn't take long for me to remember why I'm waking up in this foreign place. But the arm firmly around my waist and the body soundly asleep is a welcome surprise. I don't even look behind me to see who it is, I know it's her. So I just pretend to go back to sleep.