Chapter Text
Prompt: Time Travel
The Ghoul sat on the rocking chair across from Ma June’s sundries, one toe of his boot propelling him back, then rocking him forward. He watched the entrance to the settlement, trying not to seem as though his heart was in his throat as he rocked, paying no mind to the eyes glancing his way. He might not be welcome here, but no one was lining up to kick him out. Besides, he had no plans to make any trouble…he just wanted to do a job. Folding the index finger of his right hand, he held it in his fist, breathing and out, a habit he’d picked up in the last few days.
He still didn’t know how the science of how any of this worked, but he’d never been a science man himself, so that was no surprise. He’d been a soldier and an actor and a husband and a father and…well, the Ghoul, whoever that was. He didn’t know anymore. But he’d been told he only had one shot at this by people who knew a hell of a lot more than him, so he planned on not fucking up this time. He was a man used to working with high stakes, after all.
He’d woken up in that coffin, and he’d forgotten, somehow, how fucking bad it was. And it had only been a couple of hours after that when the idiots whose names he’d never bothered to catch had dug him up…the ex Enclave scientists had assured him of the timing before he’d agreed to this hairbrained scheme of theirs, but it had still just about made his heart pound out of his goddamn chest. So he’d tried to focus on the mission instead…on how he’d fix this. And he had to.
For a while in that chair with his saddle bag on his shoulder and his hat pulled over his face, Cooper worried. He tried not to show it…he was a good actor after all this time, so no one would know, but still, he worried. What if they’d got the timing off? What if things were different this time? What if he was early or late? What if…
And then she walked by, a woman in a blue Vault Suit with her hair in a ponytail, cleaner than he’d seen it in a while, that Vault Tec backpack on her back. And he smiled, watching her walk by with a soft, murmured, “hello again, Ms. MacLean.”
The last time he’d seen Lucy MacLean had been at a little shack that doubled as a makeshift medical clinic. It had taken him and Lucy four days to walk there from Vegas, her acting more like a robot than a person. With that chip in her neck, she’d still known how to do shit like shoot her guns and build fires and just about anything else he asked of her. Anything. From the second he’d found her in that lab, neck bleeding a little from the device her daddy had used to put the chip in her, she’d followed at his heels like the dog, blank faced and cheerful.
“You okay?” he’d asked as soon as they’d gotten a few miles between them and Vegas, hating that blank look on her face. There hadn’t been much time for conversation up until then, not when he’d been so desperate to get away and so sick with guilt he couldn’t stand it.
“What do you mean?” she’d asked, just standing there while he’d lit a fire.
“That thing…does it hurt?” he’d pressed, hardly able to look at her.
“I don’t know what you mean? Nothing hurts.”
He’d turned to her then, feeling desperate, but it hadn’t been her…not really. “Do you know who I am?”
Lucy had tilted her head, looking a little troubled, lips pursed. “I…I…” she’d just stood there, a hand coming up to touch her forehead. “I don’t think…I…”
He’d waved a hand, afraid that thing would turn her brain to slop. “Don’t worry about it, Vaultie. Just sit down.”
And she had, not questioning it. Just sitting there, blank faced again in a way that had made his skin crawl. Hank MacLean had wanted his perfect little girl, obedient and happy. But that wasn’t who she was! She was good, yeah, but she was smart too, and smart mouthed. A little killer. Cooper wanted that little killer back.
So he’d led her through the desert again, her and that dog, and he’d asked around until he’d found a doctor with a shot at fixing her, and with a feeling like a rock in his throat, food threatening to come back up, he’d pointed to the bed. “Go on. Lay down on your stomach.”
And she had, never once questioning it.
He’d been pacing in the waiting room when the doctor had come to find him, griping under his breath about how long this was taking. Because he’d wanted her back so goddamn much. After, he’d thought, he’d sit down and talk to her. Try to make sense of this shit he was feeling. Maybe even apologize, though he’d for sure give her shit about punching him out of a window. And then the doctor had appeared in the doorway, clearing his throat to catch his attention.
“You done? Is she fixed?” he’d snapped, more than ready to see for himself that she was okay. But no sooner had the words been out of his mouth had he seen the doctor’s face…pale and resigned, and he’d known. He’d asked the question anyway, feeling blood drain from his face, words barely making it out of his throat. “What? You couldn’t get it out?”
“Sir…we did everything we could.”
He couldn’t remember what he’d said back…just remembered shoving past the man he’d asked to fix his companion and bursting into the room, ignoring the doctor calling out for him and the assistant jumping out of his way. And he remembered Lucy…remembered seeing her ashen cheek resting on the bed…her dark hair tied up and out of the way. Mouth lax, a couple drops of bright red blood on the white bed by her lips. Hands limp at her sides. And her eyes…those big brown eyes, always taking everything in…he’d seen them sparkling with happiness and bright with anger and everything in between, but on that table, they’d been flat, staring off into the distance without seeing him.
And he’d dropped to his knees beside her, his hand cupping her cheek, but those eyes hadn’t moved. Her skin had been too cold, her back not rising and falling but perfectly still.
“Lucy…sweetheart…”
“We did everything we could. She was seizing on the table. There must be some sort of failsafe in the chip…the second we started to remove it, it attacked her nervous system. She was gone in less than five seconds . She didn’t suffer.”
Only she had. She’d suffered him and she’d suffered the wasteland and her piece of shit daddy and now this. His head had dropped to the table, a sob bursting out of him for the first time in more than a hundred years as he’d taken her limp hand in his. And Lucy should have been worried or surprised because he’d sure as hell never cried in front of her. But she hadn’t been. Because she’d been gone. And fuck it had broken his goddamn heart.
“No…no no no…Lucy…”
The doctor had stepped out of the room, leaving him along with her, only it hadn’t been her. It hadn’t been her since Hank MacLean had put a mind control chip in her neck and taken away her whole personality and then her life!
But here she was. Alive.
He watched her go into the shop…then he watched Wilzig and the dog go inside, heart clenching at the memory of the dog. They’d promised to take care of her…but if this worked, there wouldn’t be a them or a her to take care of…or a world where Lucy MacLean had died on a hospital bed because of a chip in the back of her neck. Because of him.
The fate of the world, it seemed, rested on his shoulders. And this time, he was going to get it right.
More than that, he was getting Lucy back.
He got up, making a beeline for Ma June’s, heart pounding as he stepped inside and let the door slam behind him. Lucy was standing back out of the way, watching Ma June and Wilzig talk, her wary eyes on the dog, and for a moment, there wasn’t a thing in the world that could have torn his eyes away from her. She turned from the counter, eyes wide, just like that first time she’d looked at him, surprised but not disgusted. He brought a hand up, touching his hat in a salute, unable to help his smile of pure relief. She was here. She was okay.
Her brows furrowed like she was trying to remember something, head tilting like it did when she was confused, but she tried to smile, her innate politeness taking over.
“Now you know your kind ain’t welcome here,” the older woman snapped before he could say anything to Lucy, her and Wilzig staring at him.
“Hey there, Dogmeat.”
The dog’s tail wagged, head cocked just like Lucy’s.
“Siggi Wilzig, I presume? I don’t know if you know this, but you got a bounty on your head through all three agencies,” he told him, knowing he was too cheerful for this situation but not able to help himself. He just wanted to put his arms around Lucy, even though he’d never done it before. Wanted to touch the back of her neck to make sure there was no chip there.
Ma June reached for a gun, but he put his hands up. “Now, I have it on good authority that the Brotherhood are on their way to Filly, but I’ve got a proposition for you.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, ghoul? Ain’t you a fucking bounty hunter?”
“I’m assuming Moldaver paid you to bring this here scientist safely across the Wasteland.” He lifted a brow, smiling when the older woman crossed her arms.
“What of it?”
“And that Ms. MacLean here is looking for Moldaver to find her daddy.”
“Wait…how do you know who I am?”
He chuckled, swallowing hard against tears that didn’t make any sense at the sound of the voice he never thought he’d hear again. “All in good time, sweetheart.” Then, to Wilzig, “I’ll take you to Moldaver free of charge, and Vaultie here can tag along.”
“And what’s in it for you?” Ma June snapped.
“I’d like to have a chat with Moldaver.”
“You know Moldaver?” Lucy asked.
“Sure do. We go way back. What do you say? You get an armed guard, you get to find your daddy, and you,” he turned to Ma June, “get paid either way.”
And those, it seemed, were the magic words. “You’re telling me that you, the fucking Ghoul, are planning on playing armed escort to this one and the fucking Vault dweller for free?”
“That’s the idea.”
She opened her mouth to respond, then froze, eyes darting past him. “Fuck…”
He glanced over his shoulder, then, moving on instinct, grabbed Lucy’s arm and shoved her down hard, crouching just as the window shattered and a bullet caught Wilzig in the chest.
“Motherfucker,” he muttered, glancing at Lucy to make sure she was okay. “Goddam, Wilzig…you must have been cursed or something.” He edged forward, trying to get a better look and ignoring the shouts from outside as Ma June grabbed her gun and started shooting. Beside him, Lucy pulled out her tranq gun. “Sweetie, we’re gonna have to get you a real gun, stat.” Then, to Wilzig, “you with me, doctor?”
“My head…”
“Yeah. Get it to Moldaver. I’m way ahead of you there.” He reached out and scratched Dogmeat behind the ears as she whined and nosed at Wilzig’s shoulder.
And then Wilzig met his gaze, eyes going wide as he seemed to search for something and find it. “Mr. Howard?” he breathed, stopping Cooper short. He glanced back at Lucy, but she was staring out the window, peering around the counter and looking around for a gun. “How…”
“Trust me, Siggi, it’s a long story. I’ll get the cold fushion to Ms. Williams. And I’ll take care of your dog.”
The doctor blinked at him, glancing over at Lucy.
“I’ll look after her too.”
Wilzig let out a breath, closing his eyes. “Her father…he’s working with them.”
“I know. Don’t worry, Wilzig, I’m all caught up.” He gave his shoulder a quick pat, glancing out the window to make sure Ma June had taken care of any other bounty hunters that might have gotten the bright idea to collect this one.
And then Wilzig was gone.
“He…he’s…” Lucy started, eyes wide.
“Yeah. Do me a favor and hold onto that dog, huh? She won’t bite you. I need to get his head off.”
“What?” she hissed, looking at him like he was insane, and he grinned, unable to help himself. She was okay. That was all he could bring himself to care about.
“I’ll explain later. Stay down and shoot anybody that gets past her.” He reached into his holster and handed her one of the guns he’d taken off the assholes that had dug him up, grip first.
She just stared at it for a second, then took it, eyes meeting his again. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Cooper. I’ll tell you the rest later. Just let me take care of this.” He stood, grabbing Wilzig’s dead body and throwing it over his shoulder, carrying it to the back room and grabbing a saw on his way. He’d take care of it this time.
The second he had Wilzig’s head separated from his body and stored in a sack, he hurried back into the store, quickly finding Lucy and the dog still crouched behind that display case, his gun in her hand.
“Let’s hit the road, Vaultie. And grab that rifle,” he ordered, pointing at the one in the case beside her.
“But…I don’t have any money.”
“I do.” He pulled out a handful of caps and dropped them on the counter. “Get some ammo too. And another gun. You’re gonna need it.”
She just stared at him for a second, bewildered. “How do you…”
“I’m just gonna need you to trust me on this, alright? I’ll explain as much as I can later. For now, we need to get the hell out of Dodge before the tin can soldiers show up.”
“I don’t know what any of that means!” she hissed, and he couldn’t help chuckling to himself. Goddamn he’d missed her.
“I know. Add it to the list of explanations I owe you. Come on. Get the guns. It’s on me.”
She stared at him, wide eyed, then, huffing to herself, she grabbed the rifle and threw it over her shoulder, shoving a box of ammo into her bag, then grabbed another handgun, hurrying to follow him out the back door. He couldn’t waste any time on explanations, just leading her through the back alleys of Filly at a jog, the dog hot on their heels, and then through the gates. When he glanced over his shoulder, he could see her little tin can boyfriend walking through the city, and picked up the pace.
“Let’s go, sweetie. I don’t particularly want to kill that one.”
“Do you know him?”
“Kind of. He’s alright…not his fault he was brought up by fascists. I think he’ll turn out okay, though.”
Lucy just stared at him again, shaking her head to herself as she adjusted the straps on her shoulders. “And…you’re taking me to Moldavor?”
“Sure am.”
“Why?”
“I already told you. I want to see her too.” And he wanted to keep her safe. He wanted to try again. They’d been something like friends before. She’d become important to him. Only this time, he knew it ahead of time. And this time, he was going to do things right. “Come on, darlin’. Keep up.”
Behind him, she huffed, and he couldn’t stop grinning.
To her credit, Lucy waited until he stopped them to ask any questions, trailing behind him and sipping at what must have been her dwindling water supply. He’d need to find her more soon. Food, too, although he wondered what all was in her bag. He hadn’t been paying attention when he’d dumped it all out the first time. He pushed her hard, knowing he was doing it and knowing they had to get away from Filly, but after two or three hours, he finally stopped them by a dead looking tree. It wouldn’t offer any shade, but at least she could sit.
She was sweating, cheeks pale in a way he didn’t like.
“Sit down. You got any food?”
“Oh…um…yes.” She pulled her bag off her back, digging around as she sat by the tree, and he did too. “Um…I have deviled eggs and some Cram. Soup.”
“Deviled eggs?” he asked with a disbelieving huff. “You’re eating deviled eggs out of that backpack?”
“Well…the box is refrigerated and insulated. The expiration date isn’t for another two years. Would you like one?” She pulled the little box out, sliding the top open with a little hiss.
“Eh. What the hell.” He plucked one off the tray, turning the perfectly preserved little egg with a perfect swirl on top and tossed it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Not bad…”
She bit into one, eyes darting to the bag dripping blood at his feet, then down to the dog. “Do you think dogs can have deviled eggs?”
“Nah. They ain’t good for them. Besides, she can hunt for herself.”
“Oh…she can?”
“Yeah. You’ll see, the first roach we run across.”
“I know. I mean, I met him before. Doctor Wilzig. And the dog. Last night.”
“Huh.” He hadn’t known that.
“The dog killed a big roach and…Doctor Wilzig knew my name and which Vault I was from. And that we grew corn and that we’re a meritocracy…I don’t know how he knew that. Or how you knew my name!” She swallowed, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the tree. “Can you please explain to me what’s happening.”
He sighed, reaching down to pat the dog on her side, feeling whole again with her at his side…and Lucy following him. “That’s a bigger ask than you think, Ms. MacLean.”
“Okay…” She closed the box of eggs and took a drink of her water, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “Well…you both knew my name. And you seemed to know him. And your name is Cooper?”
“That’s right.”
“Alright. How do you know me?”
He sighed, looking around. They probably needed to get going…but he thought she might need to rest first. He’d gotten a pretty good idea of how much she could take while they’d been traveling, but that was after building up stamina. She’d just now come out of the Vault. “Rest for a few minutes. Close your eyes. I’ll keep watch.”
“What…”
“We’ve got more walking to do, sweetheart. You look like you’re about to fall over.”
Eyeing him warily for a moment, she finally sighed and closed her eyes. “I am tired,” she admitted. “We had regularly scheduled exercise in the Vault but…it’s different out here.”
“Yeah, I’m guessing you didn’t have to factor in wind or incline or people trying to shoot you.”
Her lips twitched a little, stroking the dog’s head rhythmically until her hand stilled, cheek dropping to her shoulder, and it was nothing like seeing her on that bed. She wasn’t pale and her eyes were closed, stomach rising and falling as she breathed. But he still found himself staring, part of him waiting for that easy in and out to stop. For blood to appear between her lips. For her eyes to go wide and vacant.
Cooper shook his head, trying to snap himself out of it. She was fine. None of that had even happened. Not yet. And it never would. He wouldn’t let it. He’d protect her. In the meantime, he needed to get himself under control and stop staring at her.
He let her sleep for about half an hour, staying still so the dog didn’t get up and follow him. And just when he was thinking about waking her, she blinked herself awake, looking down at the dog, then up at him, like she was making sure he hadn’t left her. “It’s about time, sleeping beauty,” he teased, pushing himself to his feet and holding out a hand. “Up and at ‘em, Ms. MacLean.”
Her jaw dropped, offense written all over her face, but then she seemed to take in his grin and huffed, reaching out to take his hand and letting him pull her up, the dog hopping off her lap.
Cooper waited for her to pack her backpack again and toss it over her shoulder before he spoke again, this time gesturing for her to walk at his side. And that felt right. He’d missed her so goddamn much, but there wasn’t any way to explain that to her. “You know what a ghoul is?” he asked, figuring that was as good a place to start as any.
She thought for a moment, then nodded. “I think the woman back at the store called you that. It felt…rude.” She wiped a hand over her eyes, taking a drink from her canteen. She’d need more soon.
“Yeah, well, a ghoul is someone that got a big dose of radiation. Some people, it kills them. Some of us weren’t so lucky. Turned us into this. Some ghouls, they go feral. Means they lose their mind. Turn into monsters. You ever see one of them, best thing you can do is put it out of its misery.” He thought about the ghoul at the observatory. “That’s the kindest thing you can do.” He dug for his inhaler and held it up. “I take this, keeps me sane. But being a ghoul, it comes with benefits. I’ve been around a hell of a long time.” He hesitated, not sure how much she would believe. Some of it, he thought, she would just have to see for herself.
“Okay…how long have you been alive?”
“I was born in 2034. You can do the math if you want.”
Her footsteps slowed to a stop, so he did too, turning to watch her.
“But…that…that’s before the bombs.”
“Yeah. It was.”
“You were alive before the war?”
“I sure was.”
“So…the bombs in 2077…those are what turned you into…”
“A ghoul? Yep. Now you’re getting it, sweetheart.” He started walking again, and she did too. He wished he could tell her how good it was to see her. He wished he could throw an arm around her and squeeze her to his side. Instead, he kept walking, fingers itching to reach for her but not doing it.
“Okay…okay, so…you’re from before the war. And you’ve been alive this whole time?”
“That’s right. And your Moldaver, she was too.”
“But…she looked like she was in her fifties. She wasn’t a…”
“A ghoul?”
“Yes. But that’s not a very nice term. In stories, ghouls are associated with monsters. You’re not a monster. You’re a person.”
He chuckled, even if it did make his heart ache to hear her say it. “The term is the least of my worries, sweetheart. Before the war, some places, they built cryopods. They had the technology to keep people on ice for years, then wake them up. Moldaver was one of them.” He hesitated. Glanced over at her and wondered if he was giving her too much too fast. “Your daddy was another one.”
She stopped again, turning to face him head on.
He stopped too, wondering if they were going to make it any further today. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to mind too much…the hardest part was not reaching out and touching her. Part of him still kept seeing her on that bed, blood on the white sheets, her back still. And he knew he couldn’t keep the softness off his face.
“What do you mean?” she asked, voice barely a whisper. “My dad was another one? Another what? Someone who…who was before the war?”
“I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, Ms. MacLean. I don’t have any proof I can show you. But yeah, I knew your daddy before the war. Young Henry MacLean. My wife worked for Vault Tec, and he was her assistant. He used to call the house for her. Picked up her dry cleaning. Even went on a trip to Vegas with us once. Hell, he got hitched there,” he told her with a chuckle. “To a hotel maid. Blonde woman. Young. I think her name was Stephanie.”
Lucy’s mouth dropped open, blood draining from her face, and his smile dropped as he reached out and caught her arm. “I…that’s not possible.”
“I know it doesn’t seem like it. But he lied to you. They put him in cold storage when the bombs dropped along with a bunch of those other Vault Tec people. They would have put me in there too if I’d gone along with all the Vault Tec shit. Hell, I used to do commercials for those assholes.”
“Wait…”
He nodded. “Right. Sorry. I know it’s a lot.”
“I don’t understand…”
“Sure you do. Or you will. You’re smart, Vaultie. One of the smartest goddamn people I’ve ever met.”
“You just met me a few hours ago!”
Cooper nodded, feeling his smile grow sad. “Yeah…I guess I did.” He gave her arm a quick pat. “Come on. Let’s put a few more miles between us and Filly.”
“Okay…okay,” she breathed, nodding too many times and glancing over her shoulder like they might be being followed.
The two of them walked in silence until the sun was about to go down, and only then did Cooper suggest they stop to make camp. He watched her build a perfect little log cabin fire, sitting back and scratching the dog behind the ears, knowing his smile was too fond and not able to do a damn thing about it.
“Where’d you learn to do that?” he wondered.
She glanced up from the fire. “Um…we had manuals. In the Vault.” She pulled a little booklet out of her backpack and offered it to him.
Cooper took it, flipping through it and skimming diagrams teaching him everything from how to build a fire to how to pitch a tent. “Huh…you got a tent in there?”
“No…I got one of the smaller packs. But I do have a sleeping bag, a first aid kit, a spare vault suit and under clothes, and food, along with my water, rope, and a lighter,” she told him, reciting the details like she was reading a script.
“Not bad.”
“I never thought I’d have to use one,” she admitted. “I didn’t think the surface would be viable for human life for years…until…I don’t know. Maybe until my children were grown.”
“You have children?” he asked, brows raised. She’d sure as hell never mentioned that.
“No. Not yet. My…” she sighed, a hand resting on the side of her stomach. “I was married but…”
Now this he didn’t know…not that he’d ever asked. Not that he’d realized how much he cared until it was too late. “Who was the lucky guy?”
She gave him a look like she wasn’t sure if he was being smart or not. He just gestured for her to go on, so she took a seat beside him, pulling out a can of Cram and some crackers, placing the box of crackers between them. He opened it and tossed one in his mouth. “When Moldaver came to my Vault, she was with a group of other people. All of them were in Vault suits like they were from 32. There are three interconnected Vaults. 31, where my dad is from, 32, and 33. But Moldaver and her people had broken in somehow. And one of them was the man I was supposed to marry.”
“You didn’t know the guy?”
“No. It was a trade. Food and supplies for a breeder.” She said it perfectly straight faced, gazing into the fire a little sadly. “But after the wedding, we were back in our apartment and I saw that he had these scars on his back and…my geiger counter on my PipBoy went off. And there was a big fight in the Vault…we fought. He tried to kill me. I thought I killed him, but my dad finished him off later. Then Moldaver took my dad and I went after him.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “That’s a hell of a wedding night.”
She smiled a little. “Yeah. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.”
“No…I suppose not.”
“Moldaver…she…” Lucy swallowed. “She said that I look like my mother.”
He thought again about the ghoul at the table and what little he’d heard of Moldaver’s conversation with Lucy from the hallway.
“My mother died in a famine when I was little. A lot of people did.”
“Did you see her?” he asks, trying to keep his voice gentle. “After? Have any kind of funeral?”
She shook her head, biting her lower lip. “No. I didn’t even know she was sick. But one day…one day she wasn’t there and my dad…he told me that she’d died. And…I think Moldaver knew my dad.”
He nodded to himself.
“And…it doesn’t make sense. But…how do you know me?”
“There’s parts I can’t tell you,” he told her softly, knowing that if this was too much, time travel would be impossible for her to take. “Not until we talk to Moldaver and see your daddy.”
“But you do know me.”
It wasn’t a question, but he answered her anyway. “Yeah, sweetheart. I do.”
“Okay. And…my dad…he was alive before the war.”
“Yes.”
“And he was married to another woman. Not my mom. A blonde woman named Stephanie?”
“Yeah. He was.”
She stared into the fire for a long time…long enough that he took the can of Cram and a plate from his bag, spooning more than half the can onto the plate and holding it out to her. Hesitantly, she took it, then let him shake some crackers out onto her plate.
“Thank you.”
He nodded, spooning up some Cram from the can with a cracker.
“This doesn’t feel real. I was just in my Vault and…I just got married. And then…then they took my dad and…and you’re…you’re telling me that he’s…” She closed her eyes, covering her face with one hand while the other held her plate.
“You don’t have to take my word for it. He’ll tell you everything. Moldaver can fill in some of the gaps too.” He took another bite. “You ever been out of a Vault before?”
“No. We were told it was too dangerous…that there were monsters and raiders up here.”
“Well, that much is true,” he allowed. “That ain’t all that’s up here, but there’s plenty of those too.” Then, “if Moldaver knew what your mama looked like, they must have met.”
“So…you think she left the Vault?”
“Yeah. I do. And I think she might have taken you with her.”
To his surprise, Lucy didn’t immediately argue. Instead, she rested her hand on the dog’s back, stroking her softly, smiling a little. “I’ve never seen a dog before. Are they all like this?”
“Some are. Some will tear your throat out. Out here, you see a feral looking dog, keep your distance and don’t try to pet it.”
“Okay…” She nodded like she was taking notes. “Are there other animals I should look out for?”
“Yeah,” he told her with a snort. “You see an animal, look out for it. Same with people. And some plants. Rain. Buildings. In fact, always be looking out.”
She leaned in, voice soft. “I saw these…things. When I left the Vault. Like…sticks. But a ball of them. Are they dangerous too?” she asked, so earnest he had to laugh.
“I think you’re talking about a tumbleweed. Nah, those are fine.”
“Okay. Good.” Shen nodded seriously to herself. Then, “wait…rain?”
“It’s radioactive half the time. The sky ever starts turning green, you need to take a RadX and we’ll find shelter.”
She nodded again, regarding him with a question in her eyes that she didn’t ask. Instead, she finished her supper, then, when he put out the fire, she laid down like she had so many times a few feet away, only she’d never done it before. He knew her and he didn’t.
A paradox he was willing to accept.
Cooper sat back, tilting his hat over his head, figuring the dog would keep an eye out. Then, with one last glance at Lucy, he closed his eyes and tried to get some shuteye.
Honestly it was no surprise that he dreamed about her…about kneeling by that hospital bed and touching her pale, cold cheek. About knowing, deep in his gut, that she was dead, and that he’d never forgive himself.
“Lucy? Sweetheart?”
But she was gone. Dead. Her daddy had killed her and he’d been the one to hand her over and…
“Cooper?”
He jumped, looking at the woman on the bed. She was still there, still unmoving. But her eyes were on his now, sad and concerned.
“Cooper? Are you okay?”
And then a hand touched his shoulder and he jerked awake, staring up at the woman kneeling over him, hand jerking for his gun before his brain caught up.
“Are you alright?” she asked again, wide eyed and worried, the dog peering at him from behind her. Before he even knew what he was doing, he sat up and threw his arms around her, a hand on the back of her neck to make sure there was nothing there, the other on her back. And for a second, she went perfectly still, breath catching in her throat. He needed to let her go! He was probably scaring her. He’d never hugged her before…had never been this close. And he needed to get the hell off her.
But then she relaxed, her hand stroking his back. “It’s okay,” she whispered, chin on his shoulder. “It was just a bad dream. We’re safe. I think.”
It wasn’t just a bad dream. But that was okay because he got another chance.
Cooper let himself squeeze her one last time, taking a deep breath to steady himself, then gave her a gentle pat on the back as he pulled away, not able to bring himself to look her in the eye “Get some more sleep, Vaultie. We’ve got a long walk ahead of us.”
She hesitated for a second, then nodded, crawling back into her sleeping bag. And Cooper did everything he could not to crawl in beside her. Take her in his arms. Fall asleep with his hand on the back of her neck, close enough to hear her breathing all night long.