The walk to Croup Manor felt like it took longer than it should have. The rain, and Marian’s injuries made Nick worried about her health. Every slight movement made him jump, fearing another battle that she may not be able to survive.

He was still silently kicking himself for letting her get injured. He knew she was taking on radiation damage but said nothing to her about the choices she was making. He was so engrossed in looting the dead mirelurk for food, he was unable to pay attention to his surroundings, or her desperate pleas.

The rain had already ended by the time they could see the lights of the eerie house. Dogmeat happily abandoned them to set himself up in one of the doghouses that Nate had built for him in every settlement. Nate had big plans for this one. He wanted it to be one of his main hubs for creating resources. He had been building it up with the intention of setting up the recruitment radio beacon after the place was ready. Unfortunately, the events that led him to being the director of the Institute were too traumatic for him. He never got around to finishing many of his projects. Nick fully intended to use that to Marian’s advantage. It was after midnight before he was able to get her lodged into a private room with multiple beds.

As soon as they said their “good nights”, Nick was picking through the settlement’s storage. He carefully selected from the clothing items to find something that would be helpful to Marian’s survival, but nothing Nate would miss too badly. He found himself assembling a new outfit for her with basic pieces of armor for all of her limbs and torso. He even found himself debating the pros and cons of her wearing a helmet. The safety that the helmet would provide her won out, even though part of him mourned the opportunity to stroke her hair when they had quiet moments.

He was about to close the storage, when a spot of red caught his attention. He pulled out the freshly laundered dress. Nick let himself picture Marian in the dress. Playing with the skirt, looking up at him with that beautiful smile of hers. He knew she would scoff at it. There was nothing practical about it. Nothing that would help her survive. But the thought of her wearing it around the office made Nick decide to try and see if she would wear it.

Maybe more time in the office and less out in the field wouldn’t be so bad. Ellie would worry less, and that shade of red would look nice on Marian. The synth took the dress and closed up the storage. If Nate took offense to the thievery, Nick would pay him back.

Nick took the folded clothes into the well-lit kitchen. After placing the clothes on the main table, he settled into a chair and pulled out Lisi’s file. He started making some notes while reviewing everything he had already written down.

The detective was surprised when Marian walked into the kitchen. His internal chronometer told him she had been asleep for a little over one hour. He tried not to look concerned when she sat down next to him.

“Need something?” he asked.

“No, just…just ready to get back to walking,” she told him.

“Not until you get more sleep, I don’t want you to become a liability.” As soon as the words left him, Nick could have kicked himself. He could hear Ellie scolding him, and rightfully so.

He looked up to see Marian looking at the gun in her lap. She wasn’t going to say anything, but the things that bother her the most were never verbalized. How many secrets did she keep locked in her head?

“I’m sorry, Doll,” Nick cooed. “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just, you always look so tired, I worry about you sometimes.”

Marian started talking again, she didn’t look up. It was as if she was talking to her gun. “I don’t sleep that much,” she told him. “One or two hours at a time. Normally when I’m not working, I will nap any time I get too tired to keep going. I’ve just never been good at sleeping.”

“I guess that’s what happens when you sleep in the wasteland, but you don’t have anything to worry about here. Settlements rarely get attacked.”

“It’s not the wasteland,” she explained looking up at him. “It’s me.” Her eyes shifted slightly to the right. “I’ve always had nightmares. Ever since I was a kid. When I sleep, the things that I see are worse than anything I see when I’m awake.”

“What did your parents do to help you?” Nick asked.

“They told me it was just a dream, so I shouldn’t be afraid,” Marian explained. “I don’t know when I stopped telling them. Probably after the second nightmare.”

The thought of a small child being left to deal with their own terrors disturbed Nick. The whole sentence Marian told him had a lot of implications. Enough that he could hear the conversation she had with Theo. They knew each other’s pain, because they both experienced it. The conversation Nick had with Theo’s father hit home as well. Somehow, Nick didn’t notice how the man was more focused of his family’s reputation with the neighbors than why his son was having temper problems.

Old Nick saw a lot of families like that, normally around the time he was helping write the report about the events that lead the kid to the last temper tantrum they were ever going to have. The fact there would be full diaries from the kid trying to figure out their pain, and the parents always saying how they didn’t know was enough for Old Nick to want to shake a few of them. He wondered if Marian had full diaries trying to figure out her pain.

Stolen story; please report.

He stopped his ruminations bringing him back to the now. He noticed Marian rubbing her arm he then realized, she was still shirtless. She was obviously trying not to shiver. He wanted to take off his coat and wrap it around her. He wanted to take her in his arms and keep her warm, but she couldn’t touch him without her clothes on. Even if he never smoked again, it would be a long time before he got all of it out of his clothes.

“I got you something,” the synth finally said as he pushed the pile of clothes and armor over to her.

“Where did you get it?” the half-naked woman asked as she began picking through the fabric and metal.

“It was in the storage. Nate was planning on breaking the armor down for parts. I’m not sure what he planned on doing with the clothes, probably selling it.”

Marian picked up the dress and held it up. She looked at him quizzically. “I think this got buried in the pile. I’ll return it on my way out,” she said.

The thought of the dress made Nick feel foolish again. Of course, she wouldn’t have a need for a dress. Something like that would be more of a liability for her than a pleasure. He couldn’t let her just dismiss it though. He wanted to see her in it, if only to confirm his suspicion.

“I…I got that on purpose,” Nick told her. He looked down at the file on the table, feeling like a shy teenager. “I know it’s not your thing. I just thought, well, the color would look good on you. And maybe you would be more comfortable wearing it around the office.”

He got his composure back in time to finish his explanation and look at her. She looked like she was contemplating the dress. “I never really had a dress before,” she said holding it up in front of her. “I heard they really are more comfortable than armor. Maybe, I can wear it when things are quiet.”

She stood up and started pulling the dress over her head. The length of the skirt was giving her problems, causing Nick to stand up and help her with changing her clothes. When the dress was finally pulled down over her head, he found himself looking down at her, inches away from her. He could feel the gentle warmth radiating from her body. Her smile showed she was not offended by his assistance, or his closeness.

“Thanks,” she said to him. One of her hands reached up and she started rubbing his chest and playing with his tie. Her blue eyes kept moving between his tie and his eyes before she stepped back a little bit. “How do I look?” She asked as she moved in a circle, her skirt caught the air and billowed out. “Wait, I didn’t know that it’s this easy for them to do that!” With her newfound knowledge, she did what every four-year-old girl did and spun in a fast circle to cause her skirt to billow as much as possible.

“Easy, Sweetheart, you’ll make yourself dizzy.”

“It’s okay,” she told him as she stopped to face him. “I’ll put on the practical clothes and armor. It’s just that I’ve seen girls do that in settlements, and I always thought there was a trick to it.”

She started reaching to take her dress off when Nick reached out to grab her hand. “Let me look at you first. Please.”

She stood in front of him, wearing her new dress. Nick couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in his fashion prediction. The dress was perfect for her. It hugged her curves in a way that showed she was putting on weight to the point that she looked healthier than he ever saw her before. Ropey muscles on her forearms and calves showed her physical strength, but somehow didn’t diminish her femininity in his eyes. The color from the dress perfectly matched the color of her skin, giving her a slight blush. Her blue eyes contrasted the red beautifully making them stand out and attracting his attention to them. Somehow, just wearing the dress made him feel like the luckiest synth in the world.

“You’re beautiful,” he told her.

Her blush became more prominent as she turned her face away from him. “It's cruel when you say things like that. When you say things like that, I find myself believing you.”

Nick walked up to her and wrapped an arm around her, glad he could safely touch her again, even if he had to still be careful to keep his clothes from touching her skin. He cupped her cheek with his other hand and moved her face to force her to look at him. “You’re beautiful,” he insisted.

Marian was silent for a moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, as if she was trying to think of a response to his statement. Nick decided to save her from her possible embarrassment and leaned down to kiss her mouth.

Her lips stopped moving long enough for her to kiss him back. His arms wrapped around her body to pull her in gently. She raised her hands and placed them on the sides of his face. After a few seconds, he broke the kiss.

She smiled at him in a way that seemed both sheepish and seductive. “I guess you want me as more than a partner,” she jibbed.

“You are one of the prettier partners I’ve had. I wouldn’t mind spending time with you when we aren’t on a case together.”

“What about working on the case together now?” Marian asked, looking at the file and gently breaking from his embrace to sit down at the table.

“I made a few notes,” he told her as he joined her at the table. “The mirelurks in Libertalia had me thinking. There was an oceanological society that had its head quarters around here. I’m thinking we should look there tomorrow.”

“Do you think Lisi would go there? She’s very intelligent, but I’m not sure if she was ever interested in marine stuff.”

“That’s not the point, Doll. A place like that had lots of scientists gathering, often working odd hours to complete research. That’s the best place in the area to find coffee cups. All your friend would need is to hear a rumor, and I’m sure she would go there.”

“I hope so,” Marian responded.

“We’ll have to wait until Dogmeat wakes up before we can head out there. Why don’t you try to get some rest before then?”

Marian nodded her head and stood up. The way the cut of the dress shaped itself to her made Nick want to stare a second time. She seemed not to notice as she gathered her possessions.

“Nick,” she finally said. “I know this is silly, but…When you’re around, it’s like…it’s like I don’t have to worry about the nightmares. The room I’m staying in, it looks like it was set up for more than one person, but there’s no one else there. I was just thinking, there is a desk, and you can turn on the light if you want…”

The synth decided to rescue her from her own awkwardness as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her. “I wouldn’t mind staying with you,” he told her before kissing her.

He collected his file, and followed her to the room she was sleeping in. He didn’t mind watching her sleep. He would happily stay next to her every night if that was what it took to help her sleep.