Chapter Text
Shaun hitched Duncan higher up on his back as Duncan sniffled and rubbed his eyes. They were at the top of the gate house and could see almost all the way to the Red Rocket across the bridge, but there was no sign of Mom or Mister MacCready coming home. He hadn’t thought that there would be, but he promised Duncan he would go look with him after lunch anyways. It had only been two days since they’d left, but Mister MacCready had promised that he would be back soon. Mom had to go help Uncle Nicky with something and Mister MacCready didn’t want Mom to have to walk all the way there alone. He had told Uncle Preston that the plan was to drop her off by “the shore” and then run the whole way back home. Mister MacCready was nice like that. He would make sure that Mom was safe. Duncan wasn’t handling it so well, though. Shaun remembered the first time Mom had left him at Sanctuary and he couldn’t blame little Duncan for crying, but he had to do something about it.
He set the littler boy down before running down the staircase and into the guard post below. Mom said that she and Mister MacCready had designed the gate to look like an old castle from the story books. Two levels—the guard posts on either side of the bridge, a gate in between, and then a walkway with canons over the gate. It made Sanctuary as safe as a castle, she had said. Shaun sure hoped she was right. The last time raiders had attacked, he and Duncan had been playing in the guard post, and he sure hadn’t felt safe until Mom had scooped him and Duncan up and rushed them into the house. He hadn’t liked being around the gate without Mom since, but Paladin Danse was watching the outpost right now though, so they should be pretty safe.
Shaun took Duncan’s hand. Uncle Preston was helping with some repairs on the new concrete walls around the settlement, but maybe he would have some ideas for cheering the littler boy up. When he saw Shaun and Duncan walking over, he dropped the bag of old tools he’d been rifling through, wiped his hands on his work jeans, and met them halfway across the field.
“Boys!” He tousled Shaun’s hair and pat Duncan’s shoulder. “I see we’ve finished lunch. What are you up to now?”
He crouched down so that he was about eye-level with them. Shaun loved it when he did that. All the grown-ups at the Institute had stood above him and looked down—poking and prodding at him, taking notes. They had been tall and had talked around him a lot—“the subject” this and “the subject” that. Uncle Preston never talked around him.
“We were waiting for Mom and Mister MacCready to come home.”
Uncle Preston frowned slightly—it was really quick, but Shaun saw it—before smiling wide, showing all of his teeth.
“Well I think we should surprise them by doing something nice for when they get home, hmm?”
Duncan perked up a bit at that, curious. “Like what?”
Uncle Preston rocked back onto his heels. “Well, what do you think they’d like?”
The two boys thought for a moment but nothing came to mind. Mom seemed to like it a lot when Shaun made her things, but he had no idea what Mister MacCready liked. Besides, Shaun made her things all the time. It wouldn’t be special if he made her another scope. Duncan kicked at the ground. He didn’t seem to know what his daddy would want either. Mom had said that Mister MacCready and Duncan had been separated for a while too, just like he and Mom had been. Duncan probably wouldn’t know what to get his dad for a present, so it would be up to Shaun to think of something good for the both of them.
Uncle Preston watched him think for a minute before standing back up.
“I think you two should come up with a plan together.” He picked up his bag of tools off the ground. “Think a bit, and when you have an idea, let me know. Sturges and I will help however we can. Isn’t that right, Sturges?”
Sturges waved from the perimeter wall, a pencil in his mouth as he planned out how to lay the next stretch of concrete. Sturges was good at making things too. He had spent some time with Shaun in those first few weeks Shaun had lived at Sanctuary, showing Shaun how to build things. With Sturges and Uncle Preston helping, they could build whatever they needed to.
“C’mon, Duncan.” Shaun tugged Duncan towards the shack Mom and Uncle Preston had built for him and Duncan to play in. The first floor was full of toys and a massive couch, but the second floor had two sleeping bags and some string lights. That was where he and Duncan held secret meetings. Duncan followed along and they clambered up the stairs of the clubhouse.
“We have to think of something good, okay? Something that will really surprise them.”
Duncan frowned. “When is Daddy coming home?”
“Dunc, he’ll be back soon. That’s why we need to plan.”
“What about Lola?”
“Mom?” Shaun bit his lip. Mom had warned him that she might be gone for a little while. She wouldn’t be coming home when Mister MacCready did this time. He didn’t like to think about it. “I don’t know.”
Duncan curled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.
“Hey. Hey, Duncan. It’s okay. They’ll be home soon!” Shaun flopped down onto his sleeping bag. The teddy bear Mom had given him was still up here, next to his pillow. He set the bear up so that it was sitting against the wall beside him. Duncan rubbed his eyes with his fists again.
“We have to surprise your dad first, okay?” Shaun took out the pad of paper he had stashed under his pillow. “Mister MacCready will be home first, so we have to think of something good to get him.”
Duncan nodded sullenly.
“What does your dad like?”
Duncan shrugged.
“Come on, Dunc. You gotta know what your dad likes!”
“Comics.” Duncan’s muffled voice sounded through the sleeve of his coat. “Daddy likes comics, and reading to me, and snacks, and playing hide-and-seek.”
“Good!” Shaun had the paper in hand, but he realized belatedly he didn’t have a pen. “We could make him a snack?”
“That’s dumb.”
“No it isn’t.”
“Yeah it is.”
“Duncan,” Shaun sighed, setting down the paper. “We have to work together. Your dad will be home soon.”
“Are you sure?” Duncan looked up at him over his crossed arms.
“Positive.”
Duncan poked his head up more. He wasn’t crying anymore, at least. “We could make him cake. Daddy always said he liked cakes.”
Shaun wasn’t sure how to make a cake, or if Uncle Preston and Sturges would know how to either, but he added it to the list of ideas in his head.
“What if we get him a new comic? Then he can read to us when he gets back.”
Duncan perked up at that.
“Yeah! We could get him a comic!” His face got real serious. “But it has to be Grognak. I don’t like the other ones.”
“It isn’t for you, Duncan—” Shaun stopped when he looked back over at Duncan’s face. Sometimes he forgot how little the kid was. “Okay, Grognak it is. Let’s go tell Uncle Preston.”
“What about Lola?”
“We’ll come up with an idea for her next.” They had more time to figure out a gift for Mom. There was no telling when she’d be home again. Shaun buried that thought for now. He needed to show Duncan that it would be okay. Mom had told him that he needed to help Uncle Preston look after Duncan as much as he could, and he was determined to be the best big brother ever. He tucked the teddy bear into his sleeping bag before running back down the stairs and out of the clubhouse with Duncan hot on his heels.