Eastward Bound

Piper waited until an hour into our walk before needing to ask the question. "How's your arse feeling, Cait?"

"Tender as fuck, Piper. Worth every second his big cock was inside me though."

"Wonder how Jenny is feeling this morning…?"

"Considering we left her in bed, I wouldn't be surprised if she will end up taking a day off," I said, "What about you, Piper?"

"Next time, I think you just annihilate all three of us, Blue. Hell, we'll gather all your lovers and we'll just have an all anal gangbang."

"Jesus, Piper, what's got into you?" Cait wondered.

"Nothing. But watching him with you was so… I don't know how to describe it. It was clear how much you loved each other at the time, but seeing him just slam his cock into you, the expression on your face one of complete joy but also love at what you were doing…"

"Like to see him do it to you, Piper," Cait replied softly, "Bet you'll have the same smile on your face afterwards like I did."

"It's a good thing it's only the three of us," I said, chuckling away.

"Well, we'll be safe until we're further east, Blue, so we should be okay to discuss everything we've been up to."

The two chatted away like old friends most of the walk. I strode along in my armour, weapon in hand, like I was on patrol. Considering there were not constant patrols north of the river, and scouts continuously scouring the countryside, walking along in armour was probably overkill, though the further east we did walk, our influence slowly diminished.

Finch Farm was north-east of County Crossing. Plenty of work had been done to help the people at the settlement. A wooden fence had been erected, with guard towers at each corner. Small wooden dwelling had been built. I had suggested that the training yard be cleared out, and work be completed to clean out the inside, but the settlers wished to remain close to their crops in the event there was a raid. So we did what we could to help them. There were now a dozen people now working there.

Despite leaving at dawn, it was still a long walk and only arrived at Finch Farm after dark. Piper was now used to exploring the Commonwealth under darkness, happy that my helmet had a bright light to lead the way. Cait walked along without a care in the world, confident in her own abilities, but knowing I'd protect both of them, no matter what.

I made sure to stop out of my armour before knocking on the door. I heard the telltale click of a weapon so though I should announce myself. "Apologies, I know it's after dark but it's been a long walk from Sanctuary. General Shepard, Commonwealth Minutemen. You gave one of my people a message."

"The Minutemen?" a male asked. He opened the door slowly, a shotgun barrel pointed at my chest. He looked me up and down, noticed the uniform, and visibly relaxed, lowering the weapon immediately. "Sorry, can't be too careful around these parts."

"No harm, no foul. These are my colleagues, Piper and Cait. They're here to help too."

"Would you like to come in? The only problem is…"

"We brought camping supplies along. You relax tonight and we'll talk in the morning. Just thought we should announce our arrival so you weren't surprised to find us if you were to wander outside during the night."

"Though if you hear noises later, you won't need to investigate," Cait added in a tone even he couldn't miss. Shaking his head, he wished us goodnight as he closed the door. Making camp was simple enough, pitching a tent with three bedrolls, starting a fire, cooking a little food and sharing

We didn't actually do anything that evening as it had been a long walk, so after dinner and a drink, we headed to bed, each of us taking a bedroll, though they both shuffled theirs much closer to me in the middle. Waking early in the morning, I knocked on the door, the same man opening the door, introducing himself as Abraham Finch. He invited us to join him for breakfast, where we were introduced to his wife, Abigail, and his son, Daniel.

Over breakfast, he explained the situation. A group of well-equipped raiders had moved in at the nearby ironworks. I rarely headed this far east, so I wasn't sure where it was. Therefore, I was left a little surprised it was so close to the farm, but from what I was told, they had only recently moved in and hadn't ventured too far south yet.

The whole reason we'd been summoned is that Abraham's heirloom, a weapon, had been stolen by his son, Jake, who had disappeared to join the nearby raider group. That was a surprise, leaving Abraham rather pissed off. Abigail tried to get a word in but Abraham wouldn't listen, asking that all we do was clear out the raiders and retrieve his heirloom.

"And your son?" Piper wondered.

"Don't care."

"Abraham!" Abigail exclaimed.

"That boy has been nothing but a pain in my arse, Abi. Enough is enough. He chose to run away and join raiders. Fine. He can now suffer the consequences of his actions."

I glanced at Abigail, wondering if she would say anything, but all she did was sigh, shake her head and stand up, strolling outside. Abraham sat there, arms folded, and wished us luck. I gave Piper and Cait the eyes for us to leave. Abraham did follow us out, pointing us in the right direction, though we could see the ironworks in the distance, with a final warning that we should approach with caution, as the raiders fired at anything walking along the road, so traders generally tried to avoid the road and nearby bridge.

Stepping into my armour, Piper was assembling her combat armour, and now that she was in a good place, and didn't want to die, Cait was also wearing similar armour. Both had even taken the offer of a helmet for added protection. I chuckled at both of them. "I'll make soldiers of you yet," I said, "Good thing fraternisation is allowed in my armour."

Caution was the word of the day as we walked towards the ironworks. Cait and Piper both carried binoculars, and taking cover still some distance away, they called out the position of over half a dozen raiders. And they were perhaps the first group of raiders that had a modicum of sense. They carried decent weapons and staked out effective defensive positions.

But I had power armour, and that put everything in my favour… Unless they had powerful weaponry, such as a missile launcher or worse. "Okay, I'm going straight to the front and up the middle, drawing their fire. You two flank, catch them by surprise. If you find yourself under heavy fire, withdraw and flank the other side. The object will be the front doors. As expected, I guess."

"Be safe, Blue," Piper said, watching the pair keep low and in cover as I strolled ahead, assault rifle in hand. I reached the rusty fence when gunfire erupted. I did keep to cover to start, just to assess what sort of weapons they had. A few pipe weapons, as I could hear the usual pop and crack I heard dealing with raiders, but I recognised one or two cracks that suggested other bullet calibres. Still wouldn't cause me too many issues unless I took a barrage. That could cause problems.

Gunfire off to my right distracted a few of the raiders, enough that I could make my own move. I'd assessed where they all were, standing up and firing at the nearest raider, who went down quickly, blood spurting out the back from the trio of bullets into the chest. Swinging around, I put a bullet through the forehead of another leaning up out of cover. Lucky shot, not that I'd admit it to anyone.

The raiders were now concerned considering I was coming up the middle with Piper and Cait flanking. From the cries, they were definitely keeping a couple of them busy, so I focused on the rest, though three up on the roof were a problem, smart enough to stay in cover, so I already figured we'd just have to deal with them later.

One raider through charging at me, firing wildly, might intimidate me. Idiot. His bullets pinged off my armour as I calmly raised my weapon. It was amusing to see him come to a halt, the last few seconds of his life what I'd call an 'Oh shit!' moment. Bullet in his chest, bullet in his head, swinging around to fire at another raider taking cover in a wooden shack. Never going to stop a short burst of bullets, and I heard feminine cries as I killed another raider.

Making it to the front door, Piper was the first to appear, keeping low as she reached the front door. Apart from looking a little sweaty and dirty, she was fine. Cait followed her barely a couple of seconds later, shotgun in both hands, as sweaty and dirty as Piper, clear that both had thrown themselves to the ground more than once.

"Tactics inside, Blue?"

"It's a factory, so hopefully there's cover. I'll take the front as always, but feel free to take out anyone I miss. No idea where the raider in charge will be."

"What about Jake?"

"Don't know his story. If we figure out who he is, we'll see if he co-operates. But we're not going to wander around, asking questions. But he might be the only one to possibly surrender."

Heading inside, there were plenty of raiders about. No point taking it quietly, but we did split up, Piper and Cait heading left along one walkway, I stomped along another, hoping to draw most of them my way. They were the usual idiots, seeing someone walking along in power armour and firing wildly. But these raiders did have things up their sleeve, such as grenades. One raider threw a grenade in my direction. It bounced off my armour so I simply kicked it back.

Gunfire off to my left suggested the girls had made contact with raiders, but I heard more shouts about the fucker in power armour. Made me laugh, but I knew they'd be coming towards me so Cait and Piper could even appear ahead of me, behind tthem, and we'd make mincemeat of them. That's not quite what happened, but raiders flooded in my direction, taking cover, some firing wildly, but there were a couple who aimed and fired, still hearing their bullets ping off the steel plates though.

Piper and Cait appeared behind in the corridor, keeping to cover. The raiders knew they were now boxed in, so wisely thought taking out the two not in power armour was best. I generally don't shoot people in the back, but that didn't mean I couldn't aim for legs. Three of them went down, making them easy pickings for the other two, who took down the other two, Piper with a great headshot, Cait putting a full blast through the chest of the other.

The pair walked towards me as I finished off those I'd shot in the leg, Cait with a slight grin on her face every time I pulled the trigger of the pistol I was now holding. Piper was now used to it, now not even flinching with every pop. I'm sure many would have viewed it as little more than execution, but the apparent rules of war I had once lived by, despite everything we did in Alaska, ended the day the bombs dropped.

"Where to now?" Cait wondered.

"The only way is up. There were at least three up on the roof. Could have come inside, but they must have been up there for a reason. No sign of the kid or whoever is in charge."

We carried out a quick search before heading up, taking note of any possible salvage, before we found a metal stairway heading up. No more raiders were around, so we must have taken out most of them, but none seemed to have been what I'd called a leader. "Think this leader will introduce himself?" Cait wondered.

"Called himself Slag, right?" Piper asked.

"He'll end up in it once I'm done with him." I came to a stop and sighed. "Sorry, that was fucking awful. I'll try better next time."

The girls giggled at least. "Heard a lot worse, Blue."

Coming to a set of doors, we could hear plenty of noise behind. I assumed it would be some sort of last stand as, if there was an exit, the only place they could go was the roof, and unless they had some way of climbing down, the only way out was through us. "Piper, if you have a clear shot on Slag, as it'll be easy to figure out who he is, take it. Then we'll take care of the rest. With any luck, we'll figure out who Jake is, if he's still alive. Then we'll interrogate him." I paused a moment. "Nicely."

"Ready, Blue," Piper said. Cait just grunted her agreement.

Opening the doors wide, I could even feel the heat radiating through my armour as I stepped forward. I figured out who Slag was within three seconds, the male wearing a form of armour with the height advantage. There were three other raiders standing about, with another male near the blast furnace, sitting on his knees, easy to see he was terrified.

"Who the fuck are you?" Slag asked, "And how the fuck did you get in here?"

"Who the fuck are you?" I retorted, "As for how I got here, go check the bodies we left outside."

He actually laughed. "I'm Slag, and we are the Forged. And you, stranger, you're somebody with some guts. I like that." He glanced away from me to the kneeling man nearby. "See Jake, here's someone who might actually be worth my time. Unlike you."

"But… But I brought everything you asked for."

Slag snorted in disgust. "Stealing things from your family farm doesn't prove your strength, boy. Though this wonderful sword you brought does put me in the mood to give you one last chance to prove your worth. Kill that prisoner and prove that you aren't completely useless."

"You said we'd be raiding outside of the Commonwealth. These people aren't even a threat to us!"

"Do it, Jake, otherwise…"

There was a single shot. I knew it had been Piper. I noticed a small hole appear in Slag's forehead, then a trickle of blood start to drip down to his nose, eyes rolling back as he collapsed. Cait had her shotgun raised, firing at the nearest raider, while I swung my assault rifle, a pair of short bursts of fire. One of the bodies fell into what looked like lava. Thankfully, his screams of pain only lasted a couple of seconds.

I looked at Cait. "Check the others. If they're no dead, make sure they are."

"Gladly," she replied.

I headed straight for Jake, who stood up, turning to face me, though he wasn't any less nervous considering I was in power armour, armed with an assault rifle. "You Jake Finch?"

"Y… Y… Yeah. Who are you?"

"General Shepard. Commonwealth Minutemen."

"And what are you going to do with me?"

"Piper, escort Jake back towards the entrance. I'm going to deal with the idiots on the roof then join you outside."

"Okay, Blue. Jake, give me your weapon first." I noticed the shaking hand as he gave her his pipe pistol and rather meekly followed her out.

I'd heard Cait use her shotgun a couple of times, reappearing at my side. "Made sure Slag was dead," she said, "Not a lot left of his head." I glanced at her, though she couldn't see my face behind the helmet. All she did was grin. "Oh, it was disgusting, but he no doubt deserved it."

"Want to join me on the roof?"

She laughed. "You sure know how to treat a girl, Nate."

The three were waiting for us, but they had obviously heard all the commotion, or would have known that our appearance meant everyone inside was dead. One of them made an attempt, the other two dropped weapons to surrender. Even Cait was surprised by that one as I gestured them to move with the point of my rifle.

"What do you think?" I asked Cait.

"Left a hell of a lot of bodies downstairs. I mean, if you don't want to shoot them, could just throw them off the roof." I was surprised she looped the shotgun strap around her, leaving her arms by her sides. "But there's been enough death today."

I looked at her and smiled behind the helmet. Lifting the rifle, I gestured. "Drop any weapons you have and take off your armour."

"What?" one of them asked.

"You heard me. You can leave with your lives, but you're not leaving with anything except the clothes on your back. Unless you want to be marched up that ramp there. Already figured out what that's for. But I'm going to blame that on Slag and those inside. You want to keep breathing, do what I say."

Weapons were dropped, plus other hidden knives and pistols. Armour was taken off so they were only in shirt, jacket and trousers, with a pair of boots from the looks of it. Gesturing again with my rifle, we led them back into the factory towards the front door. Piper was surprised to see us leading a couple of people out, Cait stopping with her as I led them to the road, pointing north.

"You're lucky to be alive, but forget about heading towards the city. Your kind isn't welcome. Head north and leave the Commonwealth. I won't remember your faces, but won't matter. I rarely let raiders live. Thank your lucky stars I'm in a good mood."

Smart enough not to argue, the pair of them shared a glance before they turned and jogged away, glancing back more than once, perhaps worried I would shoot them in the back. I was tempted to give them a fright, but I waited until they were over the bridge before I turned back to the others. Jake was sat on the stairs, Piper and Cait leaning against a railing as I approached.

"He said anything?" I asked Piper.

"Not really."

Stepping out of my armour, I let him get a good look at me. "You were going to join them, Jake. Now I'm not going to kill you for it, but you are going to answer my questions. I think you're lying, I start leaving bullets in limbs. Think I'm lying?" He met my eyes and shook his head. "Good. So, the first and easiest question. Did you kill anyone?"

"No! No, of course not! I wanted to join them because…"

"Because?"

He sighed. "I knew they were going to make our life hell. But considering life was never great on the farm, I thought I'd help the family by leaving, but I'd convince the raiders that there were far better pickings outside of the Commonwealth. Slag, obviously, wouldn't listen to me. Needed to prove myself first."

"Where's the heirloom you stole?"

"Still inside, probably. I'd already given it to Slag."

"I'll take a look," Cait said.

"Your father isn't happy, Jake. Wanted me to get the heirloom back. Being honest, didn't give a shit about you. Don't think putting a bullet in you would have pleased him, but I don't think he would have been particularly sad either."

"I want to go home," he murmured.

"And I'll take you, but I wouldn't expect a warm welcome."

Cait returned with the heirloom, which was a weapon I recognised, though there were some significant changes, but it was obvious that it used to be a sword. She handed it back to Jake, who nodded his thanks, and after stepping back into my armour, I led us back to the farm.

Husband, wife and son were busy working away at their crops when we appeared. As soon as Abraham saw Jake with us, I was worried he was going to do something he'd regret, so I made sure I stood between father and son. To say Abraham was incensed was putting it lightly. "I told you never to return," he shouted.

"I'm sorry!"

"Sorry?! You stole…"

"I have it, dad. It's fine."

"You stole from your family. You joined a bunch of raiders. And you think sorry is going to cut it?"

"That's it!" Abigail yelled, watching as Abraham glanced at her in surprise, while Jake shuffled nervously next to me, "I've had enough of your two butting heads all the time. Abraham, Jake is a grown man but he's still young and will make mistakes as he learns. He did this with the best of intentions, foolish intentions, but I believe him when he says he was doing it to protect his family. But you constantly castigating him is one of the reasons that drove him away.

And Jake Finch, you foolish young man. You seriously think a group of raiders would actually listen to you? All they would have done is taken your heirloom, killed you, then likely come here in number to kill us then take everything we have. I understand that you want to spread your wings and fly, but life is not like that, son. You have your family, you have us and your brother. That's it. But life is what you make it, but you made a bad choice. Learn from it."

"I will, mother. I will."

"Good. Abraham?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Abi."

There was no apology towards his son, but their eyes clearly met, and there was a brief nod of understanding. "Head inside, Jake. We should talk in private."

Jake nodded and headed towards the shack, Abraham briefly resting his hand on his shoulder. I recognised a reassuring pat when I saw it. "I'm going to make us some lunch, Abe. Would our guests like to join us?"

"I'm famished, ma'am," I replied. Piper and Cait agreed they were hungry. She disappeared with their other son, leaving us with Abraham.

"We don't have much so I'm not sure…"

I held up a hand to halt him. "We don't expect payment right now, at least not in the terms of caps. You know who I represent. What I usually agree with farms and settlements is a quid pro quo. We will offer you the protection of the Minutemen. In addition to that, we can provide defences and help expand your farm. What we would like in return is for the land nearby to be cleared so other small dwellings can be established so other settlers can join you, and for your crops to be expanded to provide food for the area under our control."

"How far does your influence now expand?"

"Your farm is now our eastern border, but we control as far south as the river. Sure you heard on the radio that we've also re-established control of the Castle, and from there, we will slowly but surely take our fight into the centre of Boston."

"Big plans."

"We do, but to be honest, they probably won't affect you too much. You provide for us, though, and we'll return the favour."

"We've heard good things about the Minutemen, General. The Finch family will serve."

I offered my hand. "Good man."

"What about Jake?"

"What about him?"

"Well, it's obvious he's looking for adventure, wants to get away from here. Clearly needs a little discipline. Would you consider taking him?"

"Only if he's interested."

Abigail made a quite delicious vegetable stew, as their farm grew nearly every crop imaginable, with more than enough to spare, crops proving to grow incredibly quickly since the mutations had taken effect. Despite everything, the table provided some rather lively discussion, the only person remaining quiet being Jake, understandably so.

Once we finished lunch, I asked Abigail for a glass of liquor each so I could speak to Jake. She already knew what the conversation would be about, handing me a bottle of bourbon and two glasses. Escorting Jake to the nearby shore, we sat down in the dirt as I poured him a glass. He sat, shoulders slumped, barely able to lift his head.

"So you want to help your family, Jake."

"Yeah, I know, I know. Misguided. Stupid. Utterly, utterly foolish."

"But you have a good heart, and your intentions were noble. So I have a proposition for you." He glanced at me. "Join the Minutemen."

"What? Seriously? But I'm no soldier. I tried to join a group of raiders!"

"Tried and failed, and I would like to believe you've already learned a lesson. But with the Minutemen, not only will you help your family, you'll be helping the Commonwealth. But with the Minutemen, you'll receive training and with that comes discipline. You'll learn to think before acting, for example. The three of us are leaving tomorrow so you'll have to make your decision quickly."

"If it gets me away from this farm…"

"No, you're not just using the Minutemen as an escape. I only want you to say yes if you actually believe in it. So I want you to think about it the rest of the day and tonight. Tell me tomorrow morning your decision. I'll be judging you. Trust me, seen plenty of young foolish men under my command, joining up for various reasons, plenty of them wrong. They're usually the first to end up in bodybags. So I want you to be sure it's for you, because tomorrow, I'll be taking you to Sanctuary, then I'll be marching you to the Castle for training."

"Okay. I'll give it some serious thought. But thanks for maybe giving me a chance."

"No problem." I poured him another glass. "Being honest once again, though, more than most thrive with the order and discipline the army instils. And I think the Minutemen will be good for you."

We joined the Finch's for dinner that evening, this time enjoying some meat and roasted vegetables from the grill, before building a campfire outside, all of us gathering around, sharing another bottle of liquor. Abraham and Abigail regaled us with stories of their life. Like everyone else, it had been hard since the day they were born, but they'd met, started their farm, raised a couple of kids, and managed to survive as long as they had thanks to traders and some nearby neighbours, many who had abandoned their small farms over the years.

The work for them was long so three of them were tired rather quickly, Jake heading inside with them, letting me know that he'd think about it some more before telling me his decision in the morning. I was going to take him if he said yes regardless, but I didn't want him joining without giving it thought. Considering everything that happened, I was going to ensure his trips north were infrequent, at least to begin with. He could do with space to breathe and become his own man.

Though it had been a long day for us, Cait and Piper wanted a little fun that night. Didn't last too long as we had an early start and long walk back to Sanctuary the next day, but we all enjoyed at least one orgasm, and it was certainly nothing like our last night at Sanctuary. We lacked lube, and we agreed nights like that should be special. But falling asleep with a woman to either side of me would always make me feel great.

Waking with the rising sun the next morning, Jake was already up, the small bag packed, and he had a weapon ready. "Are you sure? I ask only the once."

"I am. Father and I talked long into the night. He knows it's the best thing for me."

"Okay. We'll head back to Sanctuary today. We'll rest there for a day, then I'll take you to the Castle. Your training will commence under the tutelage of Major Shaw and Colonel Garvey, more than likely the former."

"I'm ready for it, General."

"Hope you are."

Abraham and his family wished us goodbye. The handshake shared between father and son was surprisingly heartfelt. His mother gave him a very tight hug, wished him luck, told him to behave, then told us to go. Guess no-one wanted an overly long goodbye. He spent most of the walk alongside me, and he admitted he rarely spent any time off the farm. One or two trips to Diamond City once he was old enough, but he admitted that joining the raiders, in addition to protecting his family, was simply to get off the farm and live a little, but regretted joining the raiders rather quickly, but he couldn't just walk away.

"They knew I was from the farm," he added with a sigh, "If I'd run, they would have just turned up in number, killed all of us, taken what they wanted then burned everything else. You didn't really speak to Slag. He was insane. And what he did to other people…"

"Found the ramp on the roof. I can just imagine."

"Glad you killed him. Thanks for the rescue. Not sure I did say thank you."

"You're welcome either way. Clear the air with your father?"

"Yeah. He's still a little pissed but I understand why, and he now understands what I was trying to do, which is why he's supportive of joining you now. I won't let him down though. I'll return one day in uniform and make him proud."

"Good. Just remember that through your training and then during your service."

Leaving as early as we had, the four of us made good time throughout the day, only stopping long enough so I could step out of my armour to have a bite to eat. We made it back to Sanctuary by the time the sun was setting, leaving my armour in its usual position before heading to the radio so I could report in what happened to Preston back at the Castle.

He was pleased to hear our progress, and was happy to hear I'd be returning to the Castle within a couple of days with a new recruit. He filled me in with what had been going on at the Castle, including a few recruits turning up while they had slowly started to clear out the area closest to the fortress. The news that the walls were almost entirely rebuilt already was probably the best thing he could tell me. I let him know we'd rest up the next day then head south the day after that.

After dinner, it has been a long couple of days, so I headed straight to my bedroom with Jennifer for company, Piper asking Cait if she'd be willing to give me some privacy as they would both be joining me at the Castle but Jennifer wouldn't. Cait kissed my cheek, told me to have fun, and headed off with Piper to another house.

Jennifer was ever so excited, like every time she was when we were intimate. Her youthful enthusiasm certainly rubbed off on me, and certainly on the other girls when they joined us. After some mutual oral satisfaction, ever so eager to blow me while I wanted nothing more than my mouth pleasing her pussy, she rolled onto her back and urged me on to make love to her. Noticing the use of that term, she admitted she preferred that when we were alone.

She smiled whenever I told her how good her pussy felt. Made me smile in return when she told me how good my cock felt inside her. We made love for a good couple of hours, laughing away as we swapped positions and enjoyed a few different things. She ended in her favourite, riding my cock nice and slow, my hands caressing her body. When she leaned down to kiss me deeply, hands running down to grab her arse, that's when she wanted it harder and faster, aware I'd cum one last time before we stopped.

Snuggling against me after we enjoyed our usual post-sex cigarette, she asked, "Will you be gone long?"

"No idea, to be honest. I'll be here tomorrow as I'll leave some last orders for the soldiers. But it's a two day walk to the Castle, no matter which route we take, then two days back, but I'll be staying south for the time being. Have a lot of work to do."

"Can we talk on the radio?"

"Of course. I'd love to hear from you."

"Good. I'll do just that."

"And just us two again tomorrow night." That earned me a kiss on the cheek before we lay down to sleep.

The next day was spent not doing a whole lot, to be honest. Sanctuary ran itself, the two Minutemen squads running things seamlessly. Patrols left not long after sunrise, two traders arrived during the day, most of the civilians were busy tending crops with a few stalls serving food and drink, or offering the basic necessities one needed. Jake was impressed with what we'd managed to build, particularly with the organisation of how it all worked. And he had no idea that the Minutemen had grown. I couldn't help smile when I suggested he hold back being impressed until he'd seen the Castle.

Spending a second night with Jennifer, we spent most of the time talking, laughing, with a little lovemaking, but it was perhaps the first night we did more of the former. And it was the first time she felt relaxed and comfortable enough to tell me what happened with her family. And what had happened to her. I simply held her as she talked. She confirmed what I'd already assumed. It was as horrific as I thought it was, but all she wanted was for me to hold her afterwards. She'd processed everything, compartmentalised it in her mind. And she said I'd helped her heal at the same time. And if I was going to kill a few more raiders too, that would never be a bad thing.

She woke with me in the morning as I dressed for departure, joining Piper, Cait and Jake for breakfast before we assembled to leave. We were taking the route via Bunker Hill, stopping there for the evening, before skirting the centre. There was a much higher chance of running into opposition, but Piper and Cait had plenty of experience, Jake smart enough to follow our lead.

Jennifer and I shared a very long kiss and embrace. She'd mentioned over breakfast that I now knew everything and left it at that. "I love you," she whispered, resting her head against my chest as I wasn't in armour yet.

"And I love you too," I whispered back, "Not sure when I'll be back."

"It's okay, Nate. I know you're busy. I'll be happy whenever you're back."

"Should just bloody take her," Cait murmured, "We'll keep her safe."

"No, Cait. My home is here now. And maybe, one day when the Commonwealth is safe, it can be for him too." She met my eyes. "Maybe we could… You know… Try…"

Raised my eyebrows at that confession, though I couldn't help grin. "Better you than me," Piper said with a chuckle, "Raising my sister was enough for me."

Stepping into my armour, I took her hand and led her as far as the bridge. I knew she had become firm friend with the Abernathy's daughter, and she did wander as far as their farm, but never without an escort. Grabbing each side of my helmet, she stood on tiptoes and left one last kiss before she turned and walked away.

"She's got it bad, Blue. And seems like she's been thinking."

I could at least hide my grin behind the helmet. "Yeah. Probably worried how I would react."

"So what do you think?"

"I'll give it plenty of thought, and to be honest, I'm not surprised she mentioned it. Sort of. But I'll worry about it later. Jake, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. In a couple of days, you'll be officially recruited into the Minutemen. Cait, Piper, let's go. Still got plenty of work to do yet."