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fallout4holmes · 6 years

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Journal 23

The trip home seemed interminable. I was champing at the bit when Valentine suggested we take shelter for the night in an abandoned barn that was mostly intact. He ignored my protest that we could just keep going til nightfall, and when I threatened to go on without him, he said, “I'm game if you want to keep moving. Course, I'm not the one that benefits from a good night's rest.”

“You are not ‘game,’” I accused. “You are not remotely - damn it, Valentine at least have your gun drawn before opening that barn...”

He smiled. “Got you over here in a hurry, didn’t it?”

I huffed, “And you complain about me giving you hypothetical heart attacks.”

“Not my fault you seem to forget I’m made of metal.”

“You feel pain, and I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if you were ever damaged beyond repair,” I said, and carefully opened the door.

For once, fortune smiled on us. After ensuring the barn wasn’t housing any ferals or mole rats, we built a small fire and watched the sun set through the open door. I’d conceded to his desire to stop, but I was still restless.

“You alright?” he asked.

“I don't know. I'm strangely anxious. I don't want to stop for the night.”

He smiled a little, knowingly. “Been a long time since you were homesick, huh?”

I was surprised it hadn’t occurred to me. “I suppose. Everything that has happened likely makes this far more intense than it would have been two hundred years ago.”

“Probably.” He held my hand in reassurance, “We'll get there soon, and you won't want to be exhausted when Shaun sees you.”

“Ha, as if I would let any amount of physical fatigue stop me.”

“Yeah, I know,” he drawled with a grin. “That's why we stopped for the night.”

I sighed, “I'm falling out of practice running myself ragged, and it's your fault.”

“Good,” he said with a satisfied nod. After a moment, he looked at me, amused. “What?”

I realized I’d been staring, “Apologies, I was fascinated with the firelight reflecting on the exposed circuitry in your throat.”

He lit a cigarette with a skeptical smile, “Never thought I'd say this, but I can't tell if you're making an observation, or flirting.”

I laughed a little and lit my own, “To be honest, Valentine, I'm not sure myself.”

He put an arm around me as I leaned against him. “Doesn't matter,” he said, “I'm happy to hear it, either way.”

We had barely made it down the steps into Diamond City when Dogmeat hearladed our arrival. The dog’s barks echoed across town, followed by a young boy’s ecstatic, “They’re home!” There was no point in decorum. Shaun leaped into my arms, and I was only too happy to hold tight.

“I missed you!” he said.

“I missed you, too.”

“Nick!” Shaun held his arms wide, and Valentine obliged with a smile.

Dogmeat circled our awkward three-person hug panting, tail wagging, and eventually even put a paw out.

Valentine laughed, “Don’t worry, pal, we didn’t forget you.” He knelt down and gave the canine a scratch behind the ears. “I see you did a fine job looking after Shaun.”

Dogmeat huffed as if offended by the mere suggestion he might not, and wagged his tail.

“Dad, why do you smell weird?”

“Weird?”

“I don’t know what it is, just… wet?”

“Ocean. I smell like the ocean, even after walking all the way from the northern coast. Wonderful.”

We started walking toward home, and were met halfway by Codsworth, a bag of groceries in hand. “Welcome home, sirs! Master Shaun and I were just deciding on supper.”

“He said I have to eat the vegetables, but if I do I can have a snack cake,” Shaun said.

“Did he?” I asked, amused.

“Ahem, well. I didn’t see any harm, sir.”

“I have no objection. However, I am concerned that you actually want to consume two-hundred plus year old packaged pastry, son.”

“They’re yummy!” he protested.

“I’ll take your word for it. Head inside with Codsworth, Valentine and I are going to check in with Ellie at the Agency and we’ll be right back.”

Ellie was both glad and relieved to see us. “How'd everything go with the Nakano case?”

“How do you think it went?” I asked. I was in a curious mood after seeing Shaun, I hadn’t meant the question seriously, but she answered as if I had.

“Well, you were away for a long time, and don't take this the wrong way, but you smell like the ocean.”

I smiled, “So I’ve been informed.”

She smiled a little, then continued, “So I'm guessing you had to track someone down a long distance. By boat maybe? Guess I was right about the missing person angle. And… that's all I can tell. Come on, I'm not psychic. Give me the details.”

I was pleasantly surprised. “Miss Perkins, have you considered being more than just a secretary?”

Valentine chuckled as Ellie protested, “Oh no. You two can have all the danger you like, I’m perfectly comfortable behind a desk. Now come on, Holmes, what happened?”

“We tracked Kenji’s daughter to a synth refuge up north near a small port called Far Harbor. She’s back home, safe and sound.”

“That's great! We don't often get to bring people good news. It's a nice change of pace. I knew something good was happening when you and Nick started working together.”

“If I didn't know better, I'd say you're giving our friend here all the credit…” Valentine grinned.

“Just keeping you on your toes, Nick,” Ellie smiled. “Speaking of which, Shaun had a surprising bit of news when I checked in on him one day. I felt like an idiot for missing this bit of gossip.”

I was puzzled, “Oh?”

“Yeah, he said something about missing his dads, plural?”

“... ah.”

Valentine spoke, “You see, Shaun decided I’m… part of the family, sort of announced it out of the blue before we left town.”

Ellie looked back and forth between us. “But he’s not wrong.”

I looked at Valentine. He glanced at me, then at Ellie. “Well. No. In fact, I, uh. Holmes and I decided to give this whole partner thing an honest try and -”

He was cut off by Ellie’s enthusiastic hug, “Oh, Nick! That’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you, you deserve this.”

Valentine was taken aback, but touched. “Thanks, Ellie.”

I was not remotely prepared for her arms around me, which was a terrible lack of foresight on my part. “… Thank you, Ellie. Now, fill us in on everything we missed while we were away.”

She laughed, and turned to the files.

There wasn’t much to tell. More pressing was word of growing super mutant activity around some settlements. I’ll become the General again tomorrow, but tonight I’m with my family. Valentine is telling Shaun a story before bed, per Shaun’s request. After supper, Shaun had asked, “Are you staying with us from now on, Nick?”

“I’d like to,” Valentine said. “What do you think of that?”

Shaun‘s face lit up, “That'd be great!”

“Good,” I smiled. “Then he's going to be staying for a long time.”

I never imagined that, here, in this world, I would create a home. I never thought I’d find friends. I certainly never imagined I’d find someone I felt so close to, someone to whom I could trust my soul. It is a delight to hear Shaun ask questions as Valentine tells his story, the blend of a child’s wonder and innocence mixed with a shockingly observant intelligence I like to think is hereditary and not the result of his origin. Perhaps in a way it’s both.

Valentine has just explained the concept of “suspension of disbelief” to a ten year old. Shaun is skeptical, but willing to save his questions for the end.

It is good to be home.

#fallout 4 #sherlock holmes #crossover #fan fiction #nick valentine #shaun #codsworth

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