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It started inconspicuous enough. One evening while filing case reports Nick's arm started twitching. The pen he held was knocked out of his fingers and clattered to the ground while Nick stared at his arm as if it's uncontrollable movement was a personal slight against him. The actuators were being difficult again, it seemed. It wasn't the first time that a crossed wire caused some minor havoc in his body. It was the equivalent of an organic human's arm falling asleep and while it was annoying it usually stopped of its own. True enough not a minute after it had begun his arm stopped twitching. He ducked under the table to look for his pen, muttering about how a pip-boy, or at least its flashlight, would come in handy right now. The space under his desk was not made for a grown man and didn't give Nick much room for maneuvering. When he spotted the pen, in the shadows of one table leg, he had to hunch his back uncomfortably far to be able to reach it. Something whirred, clicked and locked his spinal axles tight. He couldn't move.
“Come on, really?” he said to no one in particular.
He tried to wriggle around a bit to free his spine but to no avail. The locks were supposed to only shut if two vertebrae threatened to disconnect. Yet sometimes they insisted on shutting all at once, effectively locking him into place. Those situations were the kind that never failed to send a small spike of panic through him. For better or worse he possessed unique hardware. If it failed, there were no spare parts to replace them. He didn't look forward to becoming a brain in a jar. He swallowed and forced himself to take a deep breath. Not that he needed the oxygen, but the gesture worked well to clear his head. If worst came to worse he'd just wait until morning for Ellie to come in and manually disengage the locks. It would mean a night kneeling under his desk, head ducked and neck and knees already starting to ache, as well as his assistant finding him in this embarrassing situation. Nick wriggled again. One of the thoracic locks snapped open. Still no movement and now he had to be careful not to snap his spine in half by making a wrong move. Still, progress was progress. After some more careful motions his spine unlocked one vertebrae after the other until he had his old flexibility back. Wasting no time he got out from under the table and stretched, relieved he didn't have to spend the night down there after all. He sat down again to finish his report. When he made to reach for his pen he realised he'd forgotten to pick it up. It still lay under the table. It seemed to grin at Nick even through the wood.
Skyler was due to pick him up for some adventuring the next day. She was usually late, however, and Nick didn't see any harm in following a quick lead over someone's runaway husband. Vadim knew the guy and chances stood well that he knew where or at least why he ran off.
“Nicky! Here to finally try moonshine? Gets 100% of rust out of anything, promise.”
Nick chuckled. He leaned against the bar, hat tipped back to allow for better eye contact.
“You know, Vadim, the problem is I believe you. Not here for a social call, though. I'm chasing after Oscar, used to live close by, suddenly gone overnight. His husband claims it was the Institute but I'm not so sure. Any idea where he could have gone?”
“Don't know. He has family by Finch Farm, but they don't get along very well. Hey, someone told you your eye's crooked?”
Nick's hand shot up to his eyesocket to feel for his eye. It did lie in there at an angle. Damn. How long had he been running around like this?
“My eye's not your fucking business.” he snapped and recoiled when he became aware of what he just said.
“Sorry, sorry. No offense. You sure you alright, Nicky?”
Nick dragged his hand over his face.
“I … I don't know. I'm sorry, Vadim, didn't mean to be rude.”
“No hard feelings. Go home, though. Take a bottle of moonshine. Cures everything.”
Nick declined the offer but thought the idea of getting some rest had some merit. He didn't sleep, of course, but he could lie down and run some in-depth diagnostics. And fix his eye.
However, when he returned, Skyler was already waiting for him, rifling through some of his open cases, blowing smoke out between her lips. When she noticed his arrival she gave him a curt nod.
“Hey, Valentine.” she said. From anyone else that would have seemed indifferent, cold even but for Skyler a nod was the equivalent of a hug and kiss. Nick didn't mind. He could work with people respecting his personal space.
“Hey there. Look, Skyler, don't mean to be a spoilsport, but I've been having some-”
His jaw clenched shut. The coils tensed painfully, driving water into his eyes. He bent over, cradled his jaw with his flesh hand, breathing through his nose and feeling like it wasn't enough.
“Having some what?” Skyler asked and looked up. Her expression of mild boredom immediately turned focused.
“What's wrong? Are you in pain?”
He nodded, stumbling over to his desk and rummaging for pen and paper, knocking off half the stuff he had piled on there. Finally he found a pencil and, gripping it tight, managed to scrawl a quick message on the back of an old receipt.
Skyler read quickly and then, without a word turned to Nick and made him turn his head up towards the light. The motion made pain shoot through his lower face.
“Sorry.” Skyler muttered. “I see the problem. Stay still, I'm gonna fix it.”
Far from being self-conscious about his looks Nick was more grateful than ever that his ruined skin gave access to some of his inner workings. Someone like Skyler, who had picked up some field repair techniques over time, could reach in easily and twist and tweak until something snapped back into its right place and the pain let up, allowing Nick to move his jaw again. He did just to test if everything was alright and massaged some life back into the coils.
“Thanks. The ol' hardware's been giving me some trouble recently. I'm not sure I'll be of much help to you, but if you insist I'll tag along.”
Skyler waved his offer away.
“Nevermind that. How long has that been going on?”
“It comes up every now and then. Nothing to write home about, just the usual stuff you expect from a body that has seen a few decades go past.”
Skyler looked as if she wanted to object, but didn't. She frowned at him, clearly not buying his weak excuse.
“If it's not serious, you can come with me.” she said, the old hardass again. Nick figured it was his own fault for understating his condition, but he had a hard time evaluating himself. So many malfunctions in such short a time weren't usual but they usually went as fast as they came. It was probably nothing.
Skyler always set a quick pace when they were on the road. The concept of rest seemed foreign to the woman, one reason why Nick only ever tagged along for a few days at a time. Most people couldn't keep up with her. Whether that was part of the drugs she liked to take or because of some inborn energy excess he didn't know. Only that the challenge of not getting dragged behind rose to new heights with an increasingly malfunctioning body. He should have insisted on staying home. A couple of hours on the road his leg started disobeying his orders. He almost fell into a waterfilled hole in the road if it weren't for Skyler catching him mid-air and lifting him up like he was a bunch of roses rather than a ninety pound mass of steel and artificial skin.
Claiming he'd just tripped he waited for Skyler to take point again and limped behind. There was a trick to walking with a wonky leg, Nick had done it often enough after a firefight that caught him in the wrong places, but it wasn't easy and certainly wasn't fast.
“What's the holdup?”
Nick raised his head to look for Skyler who was a decent distance off and already on her way back. He hadn't even noticed she'd gone that far. He remembered listening for her footsteps while he concentrated on getting his own in a decent rhythm. His concentration must have slipped for him not to notice she'd been almost giving him the slip.
“Sorry. Just the leg acting up a little. Don't mind me.”
“You said it wasn't serious.” Skyler said, sounding for lack of a better word, pouty. Nick chuckled but was already weary of answering her questions. He had agreed to come along, hadn't he? She ought to put more trust into what he said he could handle.
“I appreciate your concern, doll, just-”
He stopped mid-sentence.
“You know what?” he started again, getting some of his energy back again. “Fuck you. I don't need your pity so let's just get this show on the road before I lose my temper with you, missy.”
This time it took him longer to realise that his mouth hadn't followed his commands. Unfortunately Skyler wasn't as forgiving as Vadim. He didn't get the chance to apologise. She decked him square in the jaw and watched as he fell over, lights going out.
“... and then I punched him in the face and carried him here. Figured you'd be the best bet finding out whats wrong with him.” Skyler finished her explanation. Hancock stared at her slackjawed. Dr Amari merely shook her head and massaged her temples.
“You punched him? What the hell is wrong with you, sister?”
“He sounded just like Kellogg, okay? I sure as hell wasn't gonna let that asshole ride piggyback in Nick's mind. There's not much damage he could do unconscious.”
“Be that as it may.” Dr Amari interrupted before Hancock could say something to escalate their conversation into a major fight. “I'm afraid there's not much I can do from here. I need to connect him to my terminals and run some diagnostics. And he needs to be awake for that. It is anomalous enough that he went unconscious in the first place. Mechanical models shouldn't be capable of that.”
Skyler suggested a splash of water but was shut down with a stern look from Hancock. Instead he went over and leaned over the memory pod in which Nick lay.
“Hey gorgeous. Wakey wakey. Don't make me kiss ya.”
Nick's eyes fluttered open and he took a disoriented look around, before focusing on Hancock and smiling faintly.
“Look who's here. Finally pay your old friend a visit, huh? I'm surprised the guards let you in.”
Hancock smiled uncertainly. He cast a quick look to Skyler, questionmark in his face.
“Why wouldn't they? It's my city.”
“Last I looked this place was still run by the other McDonough. Wouldn't take offense to you taking charge, though.”
What remnants of a smile Hancock had been able to uphold fell from his face. Again he looked to Skyler for help but she only shrugged helplessly.
“Where do you think we are, Nicky?”
Nick looked around the basement of the memory den, frowning as he took it all in. He lingered on Skyler and Dr Amari, focused on the other memory pod, then went back to Hancock.
“What in blazes are you talking about? We're in my office. Diamond City. Are you feelin' alright?”
Hancock looked crestfallen but did his best to put on a brave face. He reached out to touch Nick's shoulder, to assure him everything would be alright. Before he could, Nick screamed. His whole body spasmed and then began shaking violently, legs and arms thrown around like controlled by a mad outside force. Hancock had to back away or would have been hit by his flailing limbs, bumping against Skyler who put her hands on his shoulders and held him close. They both looked on, shocked, as Nick writhed and screamed, the noise so loud Skyler wanted to put her hands over her ears to drown it out.
“Run your damn diagnostics!” she shouted over at Dr Amari who pulled out her equipment in a hurry. Dark spots appeared on Nick's trousers and coat, coolant or oil leaking from broken pipes. His face was contorted into a mask of agony. Hancock made to reach out but Skyler held him back.
“We have to wait it out.” she said as softly as she could under the agonising shrieks that sounded nothing like Nick, or even a person. Hancock stood rooted to the spot, watching his friend suffer, his shoulders trembling.
After what felt like hours the seizures stopped and Nick came to a rest, limbs hanging off the edges of the pod, Trenchcoat soaked in coolant.
“Can I …?” Hancock asked and stormed forward the second Skyler let go of his shoulders. He dropped on his knees next to Nick, grabbed his hand and searched for a pulse until he realised the futility of his effort. Then he leaned his forehead against Nick's arm. There was no reaction, on indication Nick was even still alive. That was only the second time in her life that Skyler had seen Nick not fully aware and it worried her as much as it did Hancock.
“Nicky? Talk to me.” he asked, brushing his fingers over Nick's wrists.
Dr Amari connected Nick's head with plugs to her terminal, booting up some software diagnostics program Skyler didn't presume to understand. Instead she stepped up to Nick, casting a worried glance over his body and then bending over to free him of his wet clothes.
“What are ya doin'?” Hancock snapped pushing at Skyler to keep her away from Nick.
“Relax. There's spare clothes in my pack. Just figured we'd spare him having to wake up in a pool of his own juices.” she said and pushed Hancock aside with gentle force.
By the time Dr Amari completed her initial diagnostics Nick was dressed in a simple dry shirt and suit pants, feet bare.
“I have some good news and some bad news.” Dr Amari said, staring at the monitor thoughtfully.
“Good news is, he's still alive. As far as I can see his consciousness stopped interacting with the hardware. He can't perceive us and can't communicate. However I can see no lasting damage. He should regain his ability to interact with the outside world soon.”
Skyler scowled.
“If Nick having essentially locked in syndrome was the good news, what the hell are the bad news?”
“His spinal connectors suffered damage during the attack. When he wakes up he won't have control over his legs. I don't know if the damage is reversible or what caused the seizure in the first place.”
Hancock and Skyler looked at Nick. Guilt rolled up in crashing waves against Skyler. Perhaps pushing him to accompany her had been doing him harm.
“Shit.” Hancock said and she found herself agreeing wholeheartedly.
Eventually Dr Amari shooed them off, claiming she needed to do her work without people breathing down her neck and Skyler and Hancock reluctantly went up but not going far. Irma saw their miserable expressions and offered them a side room to stay in until Dr Amari had news. Both listened like hawks for anything to happen downstairs, not knowing whether to dread or welcome any noise from below. Hancock took his hat off and fiddled with it while sitting slumped in an armchair, while Skyler paced up and down the tiny room, anxiety mingling with the crushing realisation that she had no idea how to help Nick. She desperately wanted to go down there, stay by Nick's side, wait for him to wake up or reassure him in case he could somehow hear her. Or rather, she wanted to make Hancock do all these things, her being somewhat of an emotional klutz.
“What do you think is wrong with him?” Hancock asked after a while, both resigning themselves to the fact that they wouldn't get any news soon. Skyler felt reminded of long stays in the hospital, waiting anxiously for Nate to come out of surgery, walking holes in the carpets and driving the nurses crazy. It had almost been better when she was sent back into the field when Nate was laid out, having to focus on something beside the damned uncertainty. She shrugged.
“Don't know. I'd say he caught a bug, but seeing as he can't actually get those …”
“What if its another kind of bug? More like a … a computer bug or something.”
Skyler slowed down.
“Like a virus?” she asked. “Huh. I guess. That wouldn't be too bad, right? I mean, you can delete a virus, right?”
Hancock didn't answer. Neither of them believed it would be that simple.
True to their fears Dr Amari shouted for them to hurry down immediately. They did to find Nick trapped in another seizure, the same as before but deadly silent. It was more unnerving than when he'd been screaming.
“His voice modules haven't rebooted yet. It's only a matter of time, so you need to listen to me. There's something in his system wreaking havoc and I can't get to it from here. It's indistinguishable from his normal processes. The danger of accidentally deleting part of what makes Valentine Valentine is too high. I need-”
At that moment Nick's voice started working again. He must have been screaming the entire time, even unheard. His voice was rough had devolved into heart wrenching sobs and what sounded like Nick begging for mercy or death but turned into a garbled mess halfway through. But worst of all were his eyes. No longer screwed shut but forced open. He stared directly at Hancock, even as a coil in his jaw sprung free and it half dropped onto his chest. Skyler strode forward to grab Hancock and make him turn away, barely able to stand the sight herself. Hancock was close to tears but before Skyler could reach him Dr Amari held her back.
“No time. I need you to go into Nick's consciousness. You did it before with Kellogg's memories and as such you're the least likely to be rejected. I need you to go where I send you and mark the viral code from inside his mind.”
She spoke quickly, pushing Skyler into the other pod even as she explained. Skyler went without argument. All she took from this was that she could do something to help Nick. When the pod closed over her she cast one last look to Nick. The latest seizure had gone and he seemed to be awake. Hancock was by his side, waving his hands in an exaggerated attempt to be casual. His back was turned to her, but she saw he was trying to hold back tears. No wonder. Skyler wasn't much the crying type but even she had to swallow hard to keep her eyes dry. The image of Nick's face, disjointed and torn was what followed her into his mind.
Skyler blinked and found herself in Nick's office, back in Diamond City. The image was hazy but she'd recognise the place anywhere. The desk was littered with case files, and random notes strewn about, scrawled in Nick's messy handwriting. She picked up one of them that fell into her eye. It said: “Onion Funeral Balcony exemption” Skyler raised her eyebrows thinking that maybe this was something that would make sense to Nick. The other notes however consisted of similarily jumbled amalgamation of words. Then she started to notice the other things that didn't add up. Ellie stood in the back, sorting files, but it wasn't Ellie but another girl with dark skin and long hair, dressed in a fashionable summer dress. That was all she could see of her as her face lay in perpetual shadow, no matter from which direction Skyler approached her. The cigarettes too, weren't what they seemed. In fact, they weren't cigarettes at all but little burning stalks of celery. This quickly started to become like one of the weirder dreams Skyler tended to have under the influence of buffout.
“Dr Amari?” she said while looking around some more. The door was locked and the window was closed. Skyler did a double take. She didn't remember the agency to have a window. Casting a look outside she found a pre-war scenery, cars neatly parked in a row, someone buying bagles across the street. A couple in dapper spring outfits walked along the street.
“I used to get my breakfast there every morning.” someone said. Skyler clamped down on her reflexes, forcing herself to remain completely still, all while her skin threatened to crawl off her back. She turned around to stare right into the face of Nick Valentine. Or what she assumed to be Nick Valentine. This one was decidedly organic, with a full head of hair, only slightly beginning to recede at the hairline and intact skin all over. His eyes were a steely blue but the features were all Nick.
“You're the original Nick.” she deduced and got a nod of approval in return.
“That's me. We haven't met before but I can draw from Nick's … the new Nick's memories. He thinks you're a good egg, so you're okay in my book.”
“We did meet, actually.” Skyler said, looking outside again and at the delicious display of bread and cake in the window of the bakery. “You arrested me for being drunk and disorderly when I was fourteen. First night I ever spend in a cell. I never said anything, didn't want Nick to feel like I was hanging around just because of, well, you.”
Nick laughed. His voice was different than the one she'd come to know. It was deeper and smooth as silk. Under other circumstances she'd have thought of him as poncey. Her fourteen year old self certainly had. But under all that grease and nice clothes he was still a lot like the Nick she knew. If anything she could trust him. Hopefully.
“I'll keep it our tiny little secret.” Nick promised. Then he said, more serious in tone: “Something's wrong. I suspect that's why you're here. Nick's body is shutting down, his systems are going haywire. There's rogue data here but I can't even touch it without deleting chunks of myself.”
Skyler gave him a once-over.
“Not much touching going on, then?” she asked. Nick rolled his eyes.
“I could have lived with the virus deleting my left foot. It's my memories that are affected most. World Series 2070, gone. That was one of my favourites, too. But nevermind that. You're here to make that virus' life living hell, so I suggest we get to it. There's some here in the office that I barely managed to keep contained.”
He pointed towards the desk. Skyler followed and found … something growing on one table leg. It was black, gooey and nothing she wanted to touch if at all possible.
“Dr Amari said I had to mark it for deletion or something. Any idea how to do that?”
“Touch it. Should do the trick.”
Skyler sighed.
“Figured. Okay here goes nothing.”
She stretched out her hand and brushed the surface of the thing, shuddering at its organic texture. It pulsed under her fingertips and turned a brackish brown. Other than that nothing happened.
“Why isn't it … I don't know, disappearing or something?” Skyler wondered, casting a look over her shoulder at Nick who'd taken a celery stalk and snuffed out the flame. He chewed on it.
“We have to leave this cell before it goes. Come on. There's more where that came from.”
At Skyler's raised eyebrow he took the celery out of his mouth and shrugged self-consciously.
“I've been trying to quit.” he said. They both stared at the celery stalk that had begun to smolder again. Nick huffed and threw it away, fishing a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.
“Ah, what the hell. Not like lung cancer's something I ought to be worried about.”
To leave the agency they had to climb through the window. Nick helped her all gentlemanly and warned her to mind the weather but Skyler was still caught off-guard when rain poured down from the heavens in bucketfuls, drenching her and Nick instantly.
“What the shit?”
Nick led her along the road towards what looked like a park.
“Scenery changes pretty violently. Used to be a quaint little piece of Nick's mind but the virus is relentless. Come on, it's just over there.”
The park turned out to be a graveyard. They hurried to seek shelter under a tree and the rain stopped instantly. Skyler looked up into the sparse crown and saw the raindrops hitting thin air. Shaking her head she concentrated instead of the scene playing out in front of her. A group of people, all dressed in black stood around an open casket. In front of them, holding white roses to his chest was Nick, her Nick, in his tattered trenchcoat and Fedora.
“That's one of mine.” The old Nick said sadly, referring, Skyler assumed, to the memory. It made sense, considering that burial traditions weren't big in the Commonwealth. She approached the group, to catch a glimpse of who was being buried. It was the same girl she saw in the agency but her features were equally as diffuse as before. Her hands were folded around a crucifix, her feet clad in simple mary janes, her curly hair cropped short.
“That's Jenny. Your fiancé.” Skyler realised.
“Always wore wigs.” Pre-war Nick said, smiling down at the girl in the casket. “She must have had a dozen, it was like a hobby for her. But when we were in private she'd always pull them off to let me play with her real hair. Never got over those sweet little purrs she made when I did.”
Skyler wrinkled her nose.
“Too much information, dude. Cut the romantic crap short and let's look for the virus.”
Nick chuckled but followed her as they went around the graveyard looking for gooey black stuff. Easier said than done when the whole world was tinged in gray. They found a large patch of goo under a park bench, emitting a pungent odor she hadn't noticed before. Holding her nose shut with one hand she touched the virus with the other, watching it turn brighter.
They went on, leaving the park behind and entering an area devoid of … everything. There were no floors and the walls likewise were notably absent. Just an expanse of something that couldn't be called a real colour.
“What's this place, then?” she asked as they went ahead. There was no way to tell in which direction they were going, or if they crossed any distance at all, but even the illusion of going forward kept Skyler grounded.
“Sensory processing centre. Careful, if the virus decides to send another wave of-”
Pain. Blinding stabbing pain washed over Skyler, surrounded her, filled her. She dropped to her knees, would have cried out if not for the fact that her jaw cramped and wouldn't open. All that escaped were whimpers, sounds she was barely aware of making. Then it was over. She dry-heaved, clutched her stomach and used some very creative curses. When she'd gotten back enough strength to stand she saw Nick stand there unperturbed.
“Fuck you.” she said out of pure reflex. Nick's smile was humourless.
“I don't have access to Nick's systems, that's why I don't feel pain. And also why I can't interact with the virus directly. I can just load it up with junk data to slow it down. We should keep going. The seizures are getting more frequent.”
Skyler didn't need to be told twice. They found a large pile of goo just before what she optimistically decided to be close to the exit. Her touch however did nothing. She did it again to no avail. Nick made to suggest an alternative when Skyler punched the goo bag and noted pleased when it changed colour.
“Well, that certainly works.” Nick said. They left the processing centre and into a warm brown sea of something that looked, smelled and felt like something Skyler would rather not think about. It felt like being underwater but despite that breathing came still easily. Not that breathing was something she currently wanted to do.
“This used to be the cooling systems.” Nick said, looking around with a concerned line of his forehead.
“Used to?” Skyler asked, not liking the sound of that in the least.
“The virus got to it. Good news is that when we entered you interacted with it and marked it for deletion. Let's get out of here so Dr Amari can dump this where it belongs.”
There was nothing in the world she wanted more. They left the system and into the next cell. It was there that Dr Amari contacted her.
“-ler. Skyler, do you hear me? Damn it, why won't the communication work. Skyler.”
“I'm here.” Skyler said, raising her brows at Nick who just shrugged. Apparently talking to the outside world wasn't as easy as it had been when she retraced Kellogg's life.
“Oh thank god. You're doing good work in there. I've managed to reduce the virus' severity by 17%. But you have to hurry. There's been … developments.”
Skyler perked up at Dr Amari's anxious tone.
“Developments? What are you talking about?”
Nick slowly overheated. His cooling system had shut down half an hour ago but all his other processes worked overtime. Hancock had threatened and bribed to get everything colder than body temperature into the memory den cellar. Things standing as they did it meant that Nick's body was currently emergency cooled by two dozen bottles of Gwinnett brew. He constantly switched them out for new ones and dabbed a wet cloth over Nick's skin in between. The seizures came almost hourly now and showed no sign of slowing down or growing less severe. More wires and coiles had snapped. Nick was a mess. The worst part was that he'd recently regained consciousness and had front row seats to his own decline.
“Don't yank my chain. I know it has to look bad.” he said tiredly staring at the ceiling for lack of another option. They hurriedly fixed the damage to his jaw with some string and glue. But he couldn't move his eyes anymore.
“Bullshit. You look better than ever. Sure, a few loose wires and all that, but once we get rid of that virus we'll fix you up.”
Nick managed a smile through the pain. He made an effort to remain quiet but every now and then the odd whine made it out past his lips.
“Smoothtalker.” he said. Hancock forced a smile and dabbed at Nick's dry face.
He listened with half an ear to Dr Amari guide Skyler to the biggest chunks of viral infection, more urgently by the minute. They hadn't seen any tangible progress. No one wanted to say it out loud, but Hancock feared they'd come too late. He chased the thought off. Nick would be fine. There was no way he was going to lose him to some stupid virus. He'd just have to keep him alive until Skyler did her thing and saved the day. He just had to make Nick hold out a bit longer.
“How are you feelin'?” he asked, switching out six bottles of Gwinnett around Nick's torso.
“Like you're trying to burn and freeze me alive at the same time.”
“I'll try to do something about the burning part.” Hancock said. Their little chat was interrupted by another seizure. Bottles of beer shattered on the ground as Nick was caught in a new round of convulsions. Hancock balled his hands to fists, forced to listen to his pitiful screams and unable to help him through it. This one didn't last long, but when it stopped Nick wasn't conscious anymore. Hancock cursed, placed more cold bottles around Nick's body, cradled Nick's face in his hands.
“Come on, buddy, don't leave me hangin'. Haven't taken the day off work just so you can give me the cold shoulder.”
But nothing he tried woke Nick up again. For lack of a better option he went back to moisturising his skin, the breeze cooling the water and Nick alike. He was in the middle of one such action when Dr Amari shouted: “Stop cooling him!”
Hancock stopped in his tracks, then threw the wet rag away and tore the beer bottles away with both hands even before Dr Amari could explain her command.
“Skyler must have done something. His cooling system was just bypassed and rebooted. The other systems are slowing down, though. They're shutting off, damn it. His body doesn't have the energy to keep all the primary systems active.”
Hancock stared at her.
“There's something we can do, right?”
The look on her face was answer enough. His shoulders fell as he collapsed against the pod.
“This isn't fair. I worked my ass off to keep him alive. You can't just tell me he's gonna die. Please. There's gotta be something. Anything.”
He hadn't realised he was crying until Dr Amari held out a handkerchief to him. He took it but didn't bother to dry his tears. They fell freely, his whole body shaking with the exertion and the freezing temperatures.
“Say your goodbyes, Mayor Hancock. Mr Valentine can still hear you but not much longer.”
There was nothing he could say. He pulled himself up and into the pod, kneeling over Nick and gripping his hand as tightly as he could. He cried silently so the last thing Nick ever heard wouldn't be his pathetic blubbering.
“Damn it.” he muttered against the crook of Nick's shoulder. “Damn it all. Don't you dare die on me.”
“Hancock? What are you doing in my lap?”
Hancock's eyes snapped open. He tore his head up and almost broke Nick's nose in the progress. Nick jerked back but chuckled. He held Hancock's hat and placed it on his head.
“Hey there.” he said.
“Hey.” Hancock echoed, staring at Nick without blinking as if he feared he'd disappear if he did.
“You're … you're not … you're good?”
“I'm good.” Nick confirmed and then he didn't say anything for a bit because Hancock kissed him hard and long, eyes closed and lips trembling. He moved against Nick, let his hands roam up and down his body, willed him to open his mouth, to let him in, to give him further proof that he was alive, that he didn't die.
Just when Nick kissed back, tentatively pushing back, one hand coming to rest against Hancock's lower back, someone cleared their throat. Hancock had a mind to just ignore the audience but Nick wasn't so appreciative of mild exhibitionism and gently but firmly pushed Hancock away.
“We, uh, could continue this later.” he offered, before turning to Skyler and Dr Amari who stood side by side and for once shared the same expression of having seen decidedly too much of other people's private affairs for one day.
“So. I take it you're feeling better?” Skyler asked. Nick gave himself a short look. He didn't see much on account of Hancock still sitting mostly on top of him.
“Much better. I know you've been needling me about getting some replacement parts from the Institute for ages. Looks like I finally have to take you up on that offer. If I want to do more than lie in bed all day, that is.”
Hancock purred against Nick's ear.
“I wouldn't mind having you in bed all day.” he said, giddy with relief and not caring if he crossed any lines. Nick would be forgiving. And he had practically said he was fine with kissing and making out, if his offer to continue what they started held any merit. As if to prove he meant it Nick's hand snaked around Hancock's waist and pulled him closer.
“Neither would I, but I do like to get some work done again some time in the future. Not much of a sleuth bound to the bed.”
“Hm, don't give me ideas.” Hancock said.
“Okay, finito. If you wanna shag like bunnies, at least wait until we leave the room.” Skyler said. Her distaste was betrayed by the fact that she stepped closer and bowed down to touch Nick's forehead to hers.
“Glad you're still with us, Valentine.” she said and that was as emotional as Skyler ever got. Nick took it, knew that the woman probably had something to do with his survival and that she'd never mention this ever again to prevent him feeling like he owed her. She retreated and left the room, Dr Amari in tow. They weren't completely out of sight yet when Hancock dove back in and reclaimed his lips for another kiss.
“Don't ever do that to me again.” Hancock said after they parted and Nick needed a moment to realise he was talking about the virus rather than his kissing. He wasn't that bad.
“I'd have a hard time repeating this incident. It must have been leftovers from Kellogg's implants. I'm pretty sure Skyler got it all, though.”
“Just to make sure, I'll keep a close eye on you.” Hancock said suggestively and proceeded to do exactly that.