The bronze man holding a musket with one hand and his other hand on a plow had his back toward Nick as the synth approached him. The synth had been running all night and was lucky that he managed to get to Sanctuary Hills without worrying about a fire fight slowing him down. He had never been more grateful for his legendary luck. Now he hoped it could hold out just a little longer.

He crossed the Old North Bridge and entered the village that was growing into a small city. It seemed that he had visited this place so often with Nate that it was his second home. Now he had troubles remembering if he had visited since Nate left for the Institute.

“What are you doing here?” a familiar deep voice asked from the guard station.

Nick looked over and saw a handsome man standing watch. He almost didn’t recognize Danse without his Brotherhood of Steel uniform on. Instead, he seemed to have taken to a leather jacket that made his shoulders look even broader. Everything else about his screamed “military” his posture, his movements, his word choice. Everything about Marian that screamed “military”.

The similarities were so stark, Nick couldn’t help but feel stupid for not seeing them. Every reminder that he missed the clues he needed to see what she was made him feel like he should give up on the detective gig altogether and go back to handyman work.

“Valentine, I asked you a question.” Danse’s tone towards him had become softer in the past year. They still didn’t get along, but Nick did his best to help Danse come to terms with what he was. Something the disgraced Paladin appreciated.

“Easy, Danse,” Nick told him. “I’m looking for Curie.”

Danse was silent for a moment, as if weighing the truth to his words and looking for something wrong. Instead of asking anymore questions, he accepted it. “She’s in the hospital, probably trying to dissect a teddy bear. She’ll be grateful for the company.”

Before Nick could thank him, Danse went back to staring at the horizon. If the bored look that Nate’s husband had reflected the general sentiment of the other friends who had followed Nate around and eventually moved to Sanctuary Hills, Nick was sure Curie would agree to help him.

The buildings were a mixture of burned-out houses, and makeshift structures built from the corpses of the houses that didn’t survive the bombs. He moved past them until he got to the one where Curie stayed.

It was a burnt-out house, which had been turned into a hospital with space for Curie to live in. She was in the main room, where she stood at a chemistry table and surrounded by empty beds. Codsworth hovered nearby, making one of the beds.

“Mister Valentine!” Codsworth announced happily. “It’s always good to see you!”

“M’oui!” Curie agreed never taking her eyes away from the beaker she was agitating. “It is always good when you visit. To what do we owe the honor?”

Valentine couldn’t help but smile. He felt almost like he was being welcomed home. If he could pretend that a beautiful woman wasn’t dying in his bed, he would let himself be swept away in the feeling.

“I came to see if you could help me,” he told Curie.

She put down the beaker and turned her attention to him. “What do you need?”

He took an unneeded breath. “There has been a major attack on Diamond City. They are short handed and short supplied with helping people get healed. Doc Sun is practically being told who gets to live and who he has to help die.”

“Oh, mi deui!” Curie cried in her French lilt. “That is no good. Say no more, Monsieur Valentine, I will come and help right away. Codsworth, please get my suitcase. I must pack all the stimpaks I can to help!”

“Right away,” Codsworth responded. “Would you like the help of the local brahmin, too?”

“Non, it will just slow us down. But please, get my laser rifle.”

The Mr. Handy left the room in hast. Nick could have sworn he bobbed with joy, but it was most likely a figment of his imagination. He turned back to Curie, still needing a bigger favor from her.

“I came for a little more than that,” Nick explained. “There is a woman, who…I care about. She...got injured during the attack. Witnesses say she was helping the Diamond City Guards. But…because she isn’t a guard, the mayor isn’t allowing any resources to be used.”

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“Oh non!” Curie cried. “How terrible! How bad is she? I am sure my expertise can help her.”

Nick was silent, having to think of how bad she was when he left her after two shipments and MacCready were blocked from providing her help. Her breathing was so shallow, and her pulse had become so faint he was afraid that moving his hand from her wrist would cause him to miss the moment of her death.

“I don’t know if anything will be able to help her soon,” Nick explained. “I don’t know if she’s even still alive. I just…”

A gentle hand touched his shoulder. He looked down at the former Miss Nanny and saw her smiling with her best bedside manner. “Do not worry, Monsieur Valentine. I have improved my stimpaks recently. I am sure that your paramour will be okay. We just need to get the stimpaks to her.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking about,” Nick explained. “I have a plan, but I need to know if you are willing to help me with it.”

“Oh, some intrigue. How exciting,” Curie replied.

Nick explained what he had in mind. Curie and Codsworth helped him prepare for his plan before they worked on getting the last of the supplies together for Curie to be away from Sanctuary Hills for a long time. She told Sturges to expect her to be away for two weeks, but that she would keep contact via the radio. Nick would escort her to Diamond City, and Codsworth would follow in a day or two.

Sanctuary Hills was now so safe, it had become sleepy. No wonder Codsworth was happy to do any favor Nick asked from him. Now it was to help clean out the last of his old smoking habit from his clothes.

Nick paced near the bridge, wishing that he could fly back to Isabel’s bed. Wishing he could just put his and Curie’s plan into effect and heal her already. Wishing he could pull out a cigarette and use it to calm himself.

“If you keep pacing like that, I may shoot you out of nervousness,” Danse said.

“That wouldn’t be the worst part of my day,” Nick responded. The thought of asking about Isabel was nagging at him. He knew he could get in trouble asking Danse, but the thought that he might never know was worse. “Hey, Danse, are you familiar with the name ‘Monroe’?”

The other synth’s head turned suddenly to look straight at Nick. “Are you talking about the family from the Brotherhood of Steel?”

“That’s where I heard the name was from,” Nick confirmed.

“I don’t know how you got that name, but I’d suggest you say away from anyone who has it,” Danse warned. “They’re a small but prominent family in the Brotherhood. They have been in the group since the beginning. I met one of the members, he was the best mechanic I ever met, and that’s saying something since the kid couldn’t have been much older than Elder Maxson.”

“Are they all mechanics?” Nick asked, having troubles picturing Isabel as a mechanic.

“No, I’m not sure how they pick their jobs, but I heard they always excel at the job they pick. If Elder Maxson took even one member on the Prydwen…. well let’s just say that was probably one of his few mistakes.”

“Say no more.”

“As I said,” Danse told him, “stay away from that family. They generally don’t like things like us. They like killing things that aren’t human, more than most members of the Brotherhood. I’d suggest if you see one, running may be your only option.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Nick said. He wondered what Isabel’s job was. Could she have been trying to get him killed? He thought of the holotags in his pockets, no, she gave them to him for a reason, and he was sure he knew why.

“There you are, Kid,” Mama Murphy said approaching Nick.

“Not now, Murphy,” Danse ordered.

“Oh, it’s okay, I knew he was coming. I have a message for you,” she said in her way of changing the speed of her talking mid-sentence.

Danse looked insulted and turned his attention away from Nick and Mama Murphy. Nick never believed in Mama Murphy’s predictions, but sometimes it was best to humor respected members of a community.

“What can I do for you?” Nick asked.

“I see your energy, yours and the Traveler’s,” she began. “I see the energy between you two weaving together…merging…it’s a beautiful thing to see. It’s not perfect…but beauty rarely is. She’s going to be alright,” Murphy said as if she could read his thoughts. “She will be alright, and your energies would continue to grow together. Believe me, it’s something to behold.”

“Did you come her just to tell me that?” Nick asked.

“No, I got a vision of you that you need to hear,” Murphy said. She was silent for a moment, letting her eyes unfocused before she spoke. “I saw you and the Traveler…together. But…it’s not going to be easy. The children of the sword and the…cog…. they are looking for her. They want her back. She will have to answer a question…a question without a right answer. Know that when she’s in your hands…she will be safe. Let go of her as soon as you can…but she will be safe until you can let go.” Mama Murphy let out a sigh and lowered her gaze as she exited her trance.

“But she will be alive when I get back to Diamond City?” Nick asked, finding himself pulled into her prophetic world. He didn’t care about the prophecy outside of the promise that Isabel was still alive and that he could still save her.

“I can only give you what my vision shows me,” Mama Murphy explained. “I’m sorry that I can’t do more.”

“Mama Murphy, please stop wasting Monsieur Valentine’s time!” Curie scolded as she approached the bridge.

“The vision is only a waste if you let it be that” Mama Murphy rebuked. “Remember what I said, kid.” With that, she wandered away.

“I am sorry for taking so long,” Curie said. “It is hard to pack when you don’t know how many people will need you.”

“That’s okay,” Nick said. He felt himself believing what Mama Murphy said. He believed Isabel was okay, and that she would be safe when he got home. They weren’t out of time. “Shall we go.”

“Oui, every minute we delay may cost another life. Let us see what we can do to help Diamond City.”

The two synths didn’t bother wasting another second. They ran across the bridge towards the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth. But all Nick could think of was seeing the blue jewels that Isabel would call eyes.