Chapter Text
Nick Valentine was a detective and usually that was not a problem, but recently it had been. Stuck as he was working on ‘cold’ cases, he had started looking into the rumors that travelled around Diamond City.
The first one he had followed had lead him to Vault 81, he heard that there had been an incident with an infection of some sort effecting one of the residents. Naturally this had intrigued him, how did a virus get inside a vault where everything was regulated and anyone entering had to go through various checks before they were even allowed to leave the Vaults entrance.
Upon entering the vault and making his way to the medical wing, he had been dragged into an argument between the Doctor and two of the residents, after offering his services Nick had fought his way through a hidden section of the Vault 81 and found various logs that suggested Vault Tec originally intended the Vault to play host to various diseases and experiments were to be conducted on the residents. Eventually he found a Miss Nanny robot that called herself ‘Curie’.
Curie had assisted in the treatment of the boy that was effected and she had also asked Nick is she could accompany him of the surface, and learn more about the world above ground as she had a extraordinarily large amount of Pre-War data in her memory systems, Nick had of course agreed.
Curie however soon realised that as a Miss Nanny she couldn’t effectively develop anything from her databanks that didn’t already exist in her programing. At this point Nick had been approached by the Miss Nanny and asked to assist her in becoming ‘human’. Now Nick knew that was impossible, but he also knew that the Railroad ferried Synths away from the Institute or that was at least what they were rumoured to do, and rumors, as Nick knew were often based on truth, albeit mostly exaggerated. Nick had contacted a friend of his, Dr Amari and had since managed to work with the Railroad to provide a brain dead Synth with a new life and memories that they had desired upon leaving the Institute.
Curie had since assisted him on his cases as she needed help adjusting to her new body and well what better way to learn how to use ones new senses and emotions than undertaking investigation work, it made sense, well it did to Nick.
*****
Piper Wright editor of Public Occurrences had been the source of his current investigation, there were several reports that had made there way to her that suggested there was a Mister Handy in the ruins of an old settlement to the North that told Pre-War stories and provided travellers with Purified Water before they left.
It had appealed to Nick as most of the Pre-War robots that hadn’t been reprogrammed attacked on sight or continued with their assigned duties with no cognitive function and didn’t acknowledge anything or anyone. So naturally he decided to investigate, and possibilities formed in his mind. Had someone reprogrammed it to help? If so who? Or had it simply fallen back on some programming that others failed to do? Or had it developed a personality of its own similar to that of Curie. Curie in question was happy to come, she liked to explore the Commonwealth for ‘Inspiration’ or ‘For Science’.
*****
At the present moment he and Curie were sat around campfire near an old vault door, it was too dark to work on opening it and the fire didn’t provide enough light to work on the controls and given the size of the control room it would probably only achieve setting his clothes on fire, although he admitted there would probably be enough light then.
The campfire was for Curies benefit, she needed to eat and stay warm given that Generation Three Synths were so close to human that they essentially were. Nick watched as the scientist cooked a piece of Brahmin meat, talking to herself as she often did.
They kept the fire itself low so they wouldn’t attract any attention, Nick had spent the last few hours thinking over what the robot, Codsworth, had told them. His owners had fled when the bombs dropped to the vault they sat outside and it had yet to open, Codsworth has said that he made a point to check every day for any sign that it had opened, but for the past two hundred and ten years, three days and twelve minutes there had been change.
There was a rustling noise ahead, Nick looked round his hand finding his revolver, Curies hand fell to the laser rifle at her side the food forgotten.
“Show yourself” Nick said pointing the revolver at the bushes.
“Jeez Nick” the women said as she pushed through the bushes “Jumpy aren’t you?” she added with a chuckle. Nick would have recognised the red coat and press cap anywhere. Nick put his gun away and Curie had waved returning her attention to the makeshift grill.
“I told you to stay in Diamond City” Nick said folding his arms.
“You got a fault in the old subroutines?” Piper said sarcastically “Have you ever know me to miss out on a story?”
“Fine” Nick said knowing it was pointless to argue with the journalist “We try and get the vault open in the morning till then we camp”
Piper nodded and sat down taking out a cigarette, she attempted to light it with an old lighter she had found, after several failed attempts Nick pulled out his and lit it for her, the moment it was lit Piper took a long drag and blew out.
“You should not smoke those Piper, they are hazardous to your health.” Curie said as she flipped the steak.
“More hazardous than Raiders or Muties?” Piper said, chuckling when the scientist thought it over.
“Perhaps not” Curie said her cheeks flushing “This world is so confusing and this body even more so”
“You’ll get used to it Curie, what we need to do is find you a man!” Piper replied.
“A man?” Curie asked brow raised in confusion “I must confess I am confused” Piper realising that she said the last part out loud blushed herself and stammered trying and failing to change the subject.
“Well after you two have eaten perhaps you should rest up, we have a long day tomorrow” Nick said getting Curies attention, she voice her agreement and took a knife to the now fully cooked steak. Piper make eye contact with Nick and mouthed ‘Thank You’ he nodded in response with a smile. Curie then handed Piper half of the steak, they ate in silence and soon turned in, Nick taking Curies rifle and getting ready for a long night watching over his friends as they rested.
*****
Curie was the first to wake, she stretched her stiff muscles, a thing that she really had to get used to. She stood and was about to greet to Nick but instead she gasped. She could see the whole of Boston, it was beautiful against the rising sun even in its ruined state.
“Sometimes its nice to stop for a second and admire the view” came Nicks voice from her side.
“Yes” Curie said “I am unsure what I am feeling” she thought about it “Perhaps it is happiness?”
“Sounds about right” Nick replied “I can’t answer for you, but I know some people who enjoy looking at things such as this, perhaps you are one of them” Curie nodded and smiled at Nick, he had been a great help to her over the past few weeks as she acclimatised to her new body, trying to understand the emotions, he never angered or got annoyed her was just, understanding, even during her first few days when she had mood swings as she adjusted to the wide array of feelings and sensations, when she shouted her looked at her and asked what was wrong, when she was happy he shared memories, to help her understand, Nick was a good friend.
“I managed to get the controls working in that little bunker” Nick said pointing “When Piper wakes up we can probably head down” Curie nodded.
“What do you think we will find, not something dangerous I hope” Curie asked.
“We have no way of knowing” Nick replied.
About an hour later Piper woke up and Curie gave her some of the fruit she had prepared and a can of purified water, while she ate and drank Curie watched her mannerisms, she knew it would probably be weird and Piper might complain, but it was fascinating, every human she had met was different, some ate fast others slow, Piper was somewhere in between whereas Curie was slow, she used her right hand to drink from the can, Curie knew she used her left, it was peculiar when she was a Miss Nanny she did things the same as every other Miss Nanny it was part of their programming, yet as a human she was different from Piper, she couldn’t help but wonder why.
*****
Piper and Curie stood on the vault door as Nick stood in the bunker near the controls, trying to read an old aged book he had found in there about operating the vault, but it was barely more than a few pages the rest was dust.
“Nick I hope this isn’t going to just open and we plummet to our deaths” Piper called, Curie gasped and Nick sent the journalist a stern look and hit the big red button and ran to the vault door as red light above him began flashing, as he neared Piper and Curie began to sink, he dropped down landing a little roughly an the lift, Curie caught him as he stumbled and he thanked her.
“Once more unto the Breach” Nick said as they descended.
“What was that Nick?” Piper asked.
“Oh Monsieur Nick!” Curie said at the same time “You know Shakespeare!” she bounced from foot to foot clearly excited causing Piper to laugh “It is so nice to find someone else who knows pre-war literature!”
They spoke for a few minutes as the lift descended, when it reached the bottom they were greeted with a rusty stairway and a closed vault door.
It took Nick several hours to override the controls to the vault door, Piper had long since decided to nap on the elevator pad, given it was the only dry area down here, and Curie was simply happy to watch Nick work.
Once the door was opening Piper startled awake by the noise alone, Nick and Curie were the first ones in and it was not a pleasant sight given the skeletons on the floor and flickering lighting.
“What happened here?” Curie asked her voice reflecting fear and confusion.
“Time” Nick said as he crouched next to a body “The bones do not seem to be damaged so I cannot think of a way they died but the ground is darker here, perhaps he was shot, its hard to tell with the aging of the clothing and body itself”
Curie wandered over to a door and managed to get it open, they headed that way Piper was taking into a holotape recorder about what she could see and her thoughts.
They found their way into the Overseers office, Nick had managed to force the door open giving himself a rather large shock that had him freeze up for a few minutes.
Curie was sat at the terminal when Nick was able to operate properly again, and she told them about Vault Tecs plan of unaware people being cryogenically frozen. They made their way deeper into the vault and found a room filled with Cyro Pods.
Nick went to the terminal read a few entries and gasped.
“They are all dead” he said “Death by asphyxiation”
“Who would do such a thing” Curie said looking around “These poor people” Nick saw tears in her eyes.
“Come on, we have to check them all” Piper said “There must be someone who is still alive”
They searched every room and when they reached the final room Nick once again went to the final terminal.
“A Sole Survivor” Nick said.
“Which one?” Piper asked.
“Left side, second from the end” Nick said looking at the data “Stephanie Bailey”
“She looks sad” Piper said looking through the glass.
“Piper can you see in the pod behind you?” Nick said, Piper turned.
“Oh my god” she said “He’s been shot”
Nick came down and hit the emergency release opening Nathan Baileys pod, the man didn’t move and there was a bullet wound in his head that looked like Nick himself had done it.
“Shot and refrozen, I don’t see Shaun, the infant that is supposed to be in with him” Nick turned “Stephanie Bailey has lost not only her husband but also her son”
“We have to let her out” Curie said, she was crying “She does not deserve to be locked away like this, it is like my time in Vault 81, she is like me”
Piper took Curies hand “We will get her out Curie don’t worry”
Nick was at the pod, he nodded to Piper who stood near it as it opened. The women fell forward and Piper caught her she looked up fear in her eyes and pushed away.
“Stay Away!” the women said.
“Mrs Bailey” Nick said his hat angled to keep the light off his face and his uncovered hand in his pocket “My name is Nick Valentine, we want to help you”
“That what the man who shot Nate said” She was crying “He said it was over and stole my nephew and shot my brother in law”
“Forgive me” Nick said “But the vault records refer to you as Stephanie Bailey and Nate as your husband” the women shook her head, she looked at the three of them, she was breathing heavily, she looked in the pod, directly at Nate, she gasped and fell, Curie being medically trained knew the signs of someone about to faint and had already stepped forward to catch her.
*****
“Who do you think she is?” Piper asked Nick back on the surface, they had brought the women with them back to the surface and resealed the vault. The women lay on some blankets they had brought up with them, she was ice cold under Curies fingers but her vitals were good, she looked up at her companions.
“She looks exactly like the picture of Stephanie Bailey, but she said nephew not son, I think she is a twin, but how she came to be in her sisters pod is an unknown, an answer lost unless she tells us”
“I feel sorry for her” Piper said “I wanted a story, I mean this is a good one but, this women is out of her time, they were all frozen after the bombs dropped, she’s over two hundred years old, and she doesn’t even know.”
“Nick we can help her, yes?” Curie asked.
“I intend to try Curie, and Piper lay off the questions when she wakes up” Piper nodded somewhat reluctantly.
A few hours later the women came around and Nick was the only one awake, she screamed upon seeing him waking the others.
“Its okay” Nick said “I’m Nick, remember from before you fainted” she nodded but didn’t speak, Piper and Curie came over and sat next to Nick.
“This is Piper, and this is Curie” Nick supplied “What’s your name?”
“Kimberly” she replied.
“Good” Nick said “Its nice to meet you Kimberly, but I have to tell you something and there is no easy way to do it”
“The bombs destroyed everything” Piper blurted out, Nick face palmed and Curie jabbed her side.
“Oh my god” Kimberly said “My sister, she was in hospital, she’s gone” she started to cry.
“I’m sorry” Curie said.
Kimberly wiped her eyes and looked around seeing the ruins of Boston, she didn’t react she simply looked back at her hands and remained still.
“Kimberly” Piper said “How did you end up in your sisters pod?”
“Piper!” Nick scolded.
“Its okay” Kimberly said “Please call me Kimber or Kim” she sighed and looked at them.
“It was Nate, I was helping him look after Shaun since my sister was in hospital, when the sirens went of he grabbed me and said he wasn’t going to leave me to die, he said he couldn’t save her, but he could me, we both hoped that she would be safe but we both knew with the bombs...” Kimber trailed off and started crying “He gave me her pass and we ran to the gates, we were cleared and taken to the vault, they told us were going to be decontaminated and they froze us”
“That’s terrible” Curie said “How could they?”
“Steph should be here, she’s a soldier, she could get her son back” Kimber said ignoring the question “I’m just a lawyer”
“We can help” Curie said straight away “We will help”
“You don’t even know me” Kimber said.
“Things are different now” Nick said “The world is a shell of what you know, very few can survive on their own, please Kimber, let us help you”
Curie offered Kimber her hand, and the women took it with a slight smile.
“Okay, but can you help me bury Nate first he doesn’t deserve to be left down there” she said looking at the vault door.
“Of course” Piper said taking off her coat “Lets get cracking Blue”
“Blue?” Kimber asked.
“Your jumpsuit” she smiled.
“I like Kimber better” Curie said, then blushed “I said that out loud didn’t I?” Kimber laughed “Mon deiu, that was beautiful” Kimber laughed again “I keep speaking out loud, am I malfunctioning?” Piper clasped a hand over her mouth and smiled at her before whispering in her ear.
“I think someone has a crush”