“I still say he ran off to close another case,” Ellie sadly droned for the fifth time in two hours. She was sitting at her desk pretending to work.
Hancock was sitting at Nick’s desk, boots up on the desk. “You know as well as I do, he’s not like that. He probably got frustrated with my inability to get anything past the gates and took off with a plan of his own.”
Neither of them were really doing anything. They were only able to focus on two things. One was the woman on Nick’s bed, the other was Nick Valentine himself. They took turns watching her at first, but it took less than an hour for either of them to become overwhelmed with the idea they were participating in a death vigil. Instead, they silently decided to keep each other company while waiting for Nick to play hero and provide the extra medicine they needed to bring Marian around and back to the way they liked seeing her.
“Where is he, then? And why won’t you let me call him on the radio?”
“I have my reasons,” Hancock assured her. “You know how Nick is. Any minute now he’s going to bust through the door with some miracle that only he could have created.
“I hope you’re right,” Ellie insisted.
“I’ve known that hunk of metal longer that you’ve been alive. He won’t let her die.”
Reassured by his own words, he sipped on some of Nick’s bourbon watching as Ellie stared at the door in front of her. Finally, she stood up and went to the other room to check on Marian.
It took longer than Hancock expected. Hancock expected Nick to be waiting with a healthy Marian to tell him that the ghoul’s services weren’t needed when he first arrived in Diamond City. Instead, he was disappointed by his friend and agitator to find that he was needed after all. He was disappointed in himself that he didn’t provide enough to fulfill that need.
Finally, the door opened, and Nick appeared. He looked at Hancock in surprise. Before he could say anything, Ellie ran up and hugged him.
“Nick!” she called, “You’re finally back.”
The synth wrapped his arms around her and squeezed his secretary and friend gently. “Did you think I was gone for good?”
“We were worried you wouldn’t be back in time,” Hancock explained standing up.
“Is she…?”
“She’s alive,” Ellie told him. “I was just checking on her. Hancock brought some medicine to help.”
“It wasn’t enough,” Hancock said. “She’s still balanced between living and dying. I was afraid to push my luck.”
“It’s okay,” Nick said. “You may have bought me the time I needed. I’m sorry about taking off the way I did. I just couldn’t wait and watch her die anymore.”
“So, you got something for her?” Hancock asked.
“Not only did I get something for her, I got the best doctor in the Commonwealth.”
“Where is she,” Ellie asked pulling away from their hug.
“She was conscripted to help heal the guards. Which we both expected. She was really a distraction for me to slip in some stimpaks without the guards looking too closely. It would have gotten me too much attention if it looked like I was coming back empty handed.” Nick stepped away from Ellie and walked over to the chair in front of Ellie’s desk. He took off his coat and laid it over the chair. “Ellie, when I show you where the stimpaks are, I want you to grab them and get them to Marian. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay.”
Ellie looked like a terrified child. Not that Hancock could blame her, Nick had been her family since he rescued her from the mob that killed her birth family; and now he was talking like he was about to sacrifice himself.
“It’s okay, sister,” Hancock assured her as Nick loosened his tie, “I’ll take care of him.”
The synth quickly removed his shirt and was standing half naked before them. Hancock had only seen Nick do this trick once before, and he hated it then, he hated it more now that he knew what was coming. He moved to the side of Ellie’s desk. He wasn’t going to get in her way, but he was going to get to Nick as quickly as he could.
Nick carefully ran his fingers along the sides of his torso. He was shaking with anticipation, as was Hancock. He put pressure on exact spots on his sides before the front of his torso started to move. The front of his chassis came off, and he laid it down on Ellie’s desk. Among the circuits and wires there were three stimpaks duct taped to the inside of his chest.
Almost as soon as his body part was out of his hands, he let out a groan and grabbed the desk. He leaned over it, gritting his teeth.
“Nick?” Ellie asked.
“Take them to her!” Hancock ordered.
His words broke her out of her daze. She yanked the stimpaks off the chassis, and ran into the bedroom, duct tape still connecting the three syringes.
Nick was trying to put himself back together, but the obvious amount of pain he was experiencing was slowing him down. Hancock moved behind Ellie and approached the hero of the hour.
“It’s okay,” he told Nick, taking his chassis out of his hands.
He moved in front of Nick and lined it up to where it should go before pushing the part back into place. The pained expression left Nick’s face almost immediately.
“Thanks,” the synth sighed.
“Sit down,” Hancock ordered, helping Nick into the chair. “Do you need a med-x or anything?”
Nick followed Hancock’s orders, collapsing into the chair. “No, I just need a moment to get myself together.”
“Good, because I have a bone to pick with you,” Hancock said, moving around the desk. Nick started pushing himself up as if he was going to stand. “No, no, stay there. You get to sit in the hot seat. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.” The ghoul sat down in Ellie’s chair, remembering a time long before the chair was Ellie’s.
Nick seemed to understand what Hancock was doing and started smiling at him as if remembering those times more fondly than Hancock did. “You came all the way here, just to yell at me?”
“I came all the way here to save Marian, yelling at you was a benefit. Now, I remember you usually started out offering me a cigarette. Would you like one?”
Nick was already pulling on his shirt as they talked. “I quit,” he confessed.
Hancock couldn’t help but smile, thinking that Nick was joking. This was Nick Valentine; he smoked more than anyone Hancock knew. “Common, Nick, this is me you’re talking to. You think you’re going to convince me that you quit smoking?”
“She’s allergic,” Nick explained adjusting his tie. “And I realized I would rather be able touch her than smoke any longer.”
Hancock felt his smile disappear. He knew Marian was allergic to cigarette smoke, but he didn’t expect Nick to stop smoking, even for her. He knew Nick and Marian would get along well, and the first time he saw them together made him believe they would make a great match, even a cute one, but somehow the thought of Nick quitting never crossed his mind.
“That’s more than I ever thought of doing for her,” Hancock muttered. He then pulled himself together. He had waited 35 years for this moment, he wasn’t going to miss his chance. Nick was probably never going to screw up again. “Well, I’m still going to give you what you always gave me.”
“Lecture away,” Nick offered. He stood up for a moment to pull his trench coat back on, then sat down in the chair again.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“What is it you always said to me when I was in here? ‘Okay, kid, you’ve fucked up. People got hurt, now, what are you going to do to fix it?’”
“That sounds like what I always asked you. Normally, those lectures fell on deaf ears.”
“So, I was a punk, I still took what you said to heart, and I kept coming back when I was a kid.”
“You had potential, I’m glad you finally started to live up to it.”
“I finally figured out what my messes meant to other people. I’m doing what I can to clean up. But you decided to fuck with her feelings, and that’s not like you, Nick.”
“I know what her name is,” Nick revealed. “She had her holotags sent to me.”
“Isabel Monroe?” Hancock asked.
“How did you know?”
“Shortly after I met her, she came to me, told me who she was and that she wanted to help me prepare for the possible war. I never saw anyone so brave. All I could think about was that she was risking her life telling me the truth. There was something about that moment that made me think of you. Like how you never hid what you are even though you knew that being a synth was a risk.”
“You’d be surprised how many people I’ve convinced I’m a very sick ghoul,” Nick pointed out.
“Not the point,” Hancock said. “What were you thinking? Don’t think I don’t know what was going on. She went from grumbling about you and about where all she wanted to shoot you, to talking about this thing you taught her or that thing you said. And then, I get word that she’s shit faced in the Third Rail because you had to break her heart.”
“I fucked up, is that what you want me to say?” Nick asked as petulantly as Johnny did when the roles were reversed. “I’m not used to being around someone like her. Someone who I want to be around to be with them. I’m used to helping people. Somehow, I forgot what it was like just being with people.”
Just then, Ellie showed up in the doorway. Hancock was torn between waving her away and asking about Marian’s health. The look on the secretary’s face helped him decide.
“Nick,” she called quietly, “I don’t know what to do. I gave her the stimpaks, and she’s healed. But she’s not waking up.”
Hancock looked at Nick for a moment, hoping for an answer. He was surprised that Nick had one. “Curie promised to swing by before she goes to bed tonight. As long as Isabel is healed, we can hold out for a few more hours. Just stay with her for now, I’ll come relieve you in a bit.”
Ellie disappeared back around the corner, leaving Hancock and Nick their privacy. The panic from the day was draining from Hancock. Marian was healthy, just asleep. Curie would come over, find a way to wake her up, and everything would be fine.
Hancock turned his attention back to Nick. “She wouldn’t be in this situation if she wasn’t hurting,” he told Nick. “She would have done something less stupid or been fighting harder to stay with us.”
“I’ve had enough,” Nick finally yelled. “I know I fucked up! I know I hurt her! But I just brought back the medicine she needed, isn’t that enough? A game can only go so far, Hancock!”
“No! It isn’t enough!” Hancock shot back. “You brought her the medicine. I brought her some too. The difference is what happens tomorrow. Say Marian wakes up right now, we saved her life, we hug her and pat ourselves on the back. That’s not going to stop her from walking in front of a bullet tomorrow. That’s the difference. I was doing everything I could to keep her in the Commonwealth, but I had no more arguments to keep her in after you shattered her heart.”
Nick’s expression showed that he was finally getting through to Nick. That the synth forgot that Marian was suicidal before he met her, and somehow the death wish faded around him. “I see,” he finally said. “She said there was a conspiracy to keep her in the Commonwealth. I didn’t realize you were involved.”
“She probably doesn’t either,” Hancock admitted. “Almost as soon as I met her, Mac came to me and laid out what she was like when he knew her. I agreed to help him, mostly because I wanted to see if she was as smart as she seemed. Now, I want her to survive, maybe even thrive. But she had nothing to lose, so there was nothing to hold her here.”
“Until I started getting close to her,” Nick finished.
“She was too much like me, always running away from everything good in her life. But she wasn’t running away from you. You were convincing her that her life is good. That she can help people here as much as back home.”
Nick was silent for a while. He leaned forward and rubbed his face in his hands before leaning back and looking at Hancock. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “I don’t know what I’m going to do to make things right. I just know that I have screwed up, and the woman lying on my bed is paying for it. Suddenly, I found myself falling for someone, and I panicked and convinced myself that she only wanted to hurt me, so I pushed her away. I do want to make it right, but all I can think about is making sure she lives long enough for me to do that. I will make it right, I have to, because the idea of her dying is too much for me right now.”
Hancock understood Nick’s pain. Nick was used to seeing people come and go. There was a point where sometimes Hancock wondered if Nick saw people, or just pieces of a case. Marian wasn’t that to him, and it was obvious. All Hancock could think to say were the words Nick normally said when Johnny convinced him of the same sincerity. “Take your time,” he said quietly. “I’m sure the right answer will come to you. I think we both want the same thing for her. I think we both want her to be safe and happy.”
Nick’s silence was all the agreement Hancock really needed or wanted. He was sure Nick would come up with a way to convince Marian to stay with them, and Hancock would do everything he could to make sure she thrived in her new home.
“Why don’t you go ahead and check on her,” Nick finally told Hancock. “I want to talk to Ellie for a bit before I look in on her. I don’t think either of us will be able to see anything Ellie didn’t see, but it might put her mind at ease.”
Hancock nodded and stood up from the desk, clearing it out for its rightful owners. Nick was right about one thing; a game can only be taken so far. Ellie was busying herself by removing the dirty bandages from Marian’s body.
“Your boss wants to see you,” Hancock told her. “I’ll finish up.”
“She’s still moaning some,” Ellie said. “She’s not completely healed, but I can’t see anything that’s bad enough to kill her.”
“Don’t worry about it, I have experience with these kinds of injuries.”
After Ellie walked out of the bedroom, Hancock stood close enough to the doorway to hear the conversation between them. He feared Nick may try reaching out to Nate for help.
“Why don’t you take the night off,” Nick offered. “Go spend some time with Yafim.”
After Ellie left, the two men carefully examined her body for any remaining injuries. She wasn’t bleeding anymore, even without the bandages. Most likely her insides looked similar to her outsides, but Hancock had to wait for Curie to confirm that. After they were satisfied with her health, they then got her dressed again. The fact they were putting her back in the freshly laundered rose dress instead of her usual bulky armor reassured Hancock about his assumptions that Nick still had feelings for her. Nick had to have bought it for her. Dresses weren’t something he normally kept in his dresser. He did care for her, he just managed to royally fuck up.
They waited together, idling through the hours near the woman they would both die for, waiting for Curie to give her decision. Finally, the door opened, and Curie arrived along with Dr. Sun. Nick and Hancock cleared out while the two doctors examined her and discussed their decisions. Finally, Curie came out of the bedroom to talk to them.
Hancock could feel his heart seize at the sight of Curie being the one to come to them. Dr. Sun may be a good doctor, one who Hancock had even tried to lure into Goodneighbor, but Curie still had the better bedside manner and a history with them. Curie signified bad news. Hancock was planning out what he would say and do for Nick when she was finished delivering it.
“Monsieur Valentine, Mayor Hancock,” Curie began. “We have examined the patient as well as we could. I wish I had better equipment, but the truth is, we cannot find anything seriously wrong with her.”
There was silence in the air as Hancock and Nick tried to figure out what Curie wasn’t saying.
“Did you take into consideration the injuries that the stimpaks and the blood pack would have helped heal?” Hancock finally said.
“Oui. Stimpaks are marvels of modern science, and I have worked tirelessly to improve them, but they do not heal everything. Scaring still happens and stimpaks still cannot heal those. Doctor Sun had seen what her injuries were before they were used, and I know the capabilities of my improved stimpaks. With everything we know, she should be able to walk moderate distances at this point.”
“But she’s still asleep,” Nick pointed out. “How does that happen.”
Curie looked sadly at Nick. Hancock couldn’t help but think she was pitying a fellow synth. “I am sorry, Monsieur Valentine. We do not know for sure. Doctor Sun is examining her one last time in case we missed anything, but right now we only have guesses.”
“What are you guessing?” Hancock asked.
“The mind is an amazing thing. Something that we are only beginning to understand. Doctor Sun wants to verify this hypothesis with Doctor Amari, but he believes that she is still asleep because she does not want to wake up.”
“So, we have to carry her to the Memory Den?” Nick asked.
“Probably not a good idea,” Hancock interrupted, not wanting Nick to know about what happened between his friends when he wasn’t looking. “Are you sure about this?”
“Non,” Curie admitted. “But there are multiple documented cases of people surviving or dying seemingly based on who was around them when they were sick or injured. There were some studies done in controlled labs, but those studies were still inconclusive before the bombs dropped.”
Hancock let out a sigh. There was nothing more Curie or Sun could tell them at that time. The only thing now was hope.
“Thank you, Curie,” Nick said. “Would you like an escort back to Sanctuary Hills?”
“Do not worry, Monsieur Valentine. I have spoken with your mayor and he is willing to provide room and board in exchange for the help I am providing. I will be staying here for as long as I am needed. But I would like to visit your friend Madame Halcombe at least once a day while I am here.”
“I would appreciate it,” Nick said.
The two doctors left the office together. After the door shut behind them, Nick and Hancock took seats, Hancock at Nick’s desk, Nick at Ellie’s. they moved their chairs so they could look at each other.
“I know!” Nick suddenly snapped before Hancock could say anything.
“There’s nothing else that I can say,” Hancock admitted. “The worst part is, I have to leave you here with her. I have to get back to Goodneighbor.”
“Go,” Nick said. “I’ll stay with her. I’ll send word when she wakes up.”
Hancock stood up from his chair, accepting Nick’s permission. “Thanks. If you need anything…”
“I’ll have Ellie call,” Nick concluded.
There was nothing more for Hancock to say. He pressed a reassuring hand on Nick’s slumped shoulder before exiting into the night, hoping that everyone was asleep. He would have liked to rent a room and stay the night, but he had been pushing his luck ever since he entered the city. It was time for him to go home and get some jet to take the edge off his hangover.