We set off first thing in the morning, aiming to get to Concord with plenty of time left in the day. I wasn't sure what Jake had meant when he referred to a well, but I had a hunch it involved the municipal plutonium well. I could imagine a lot of dangerous scenarios involving that facility, and I didn't want to drag my heels about getting to the site, especially if it was something important enough for Jake to try and contact me on the radio.

 

 

Most of the run up the road was calm, until we were almost on the outskirts of Concord. Still a fairly long walk from the security wall, I spotted motion out of the corner of my eye. Three robots of the same sort that Ada had been fighting were escorting a pre-war Eyebot towards the city. I considered watching them, but from the way the robots were decked out with weapons I was pretty confident they were hostile. So instead, I unslung my shotgun and took a flank shot at the closest bot. I was hoping to disable it with the blast, but I only managed on scarring the armor and damaging some of its sensors. 

 

With Piper laying down suppressing fire with her rifle, I found myself in a pitched back and for the with the robots. Despite my hopes of capturing it intact, the Eyebot went down early, clearly not as well armored as its escorts. I disabled another robot's thruster and it cartwheeled into the ground with a satisfying crunch - but I didn't have to to savor my victory as something heavy smashed into my leg, staggering me. It fouled my shot, but I adjusted my aim quickly and fired again, this time breaching the last escort's reactor vessel and triggering a blinding silvery explosion.

 

 

The fight was over almost as soon as it started, and I staggered to my knee, the pain of the wound just starting to hit me. 

 

"Mother fucker!" I hissed, examining the injury. There was a rail spike jutting out of my thigh - just like the ones the makeshift cannon I'd found at the quarry hurled. "Shit, is this what those raiders felt when I pegged them?" I asked no one in particular.

 

Piper swept the area, looking for any more lurking robots, then turned to me.

 

"Blue, are you all right?"

 

 

"I think my leg's broken," I whined. "Fuck!"

 

"Alright," Piper said, a pensive look drifting over her face, "that's not good. We need to get you into town so we can fix you up. Do you have any Med-X for the pain?"

 

I rifled my pack, extracting a syringe. "Got a few," I confirmed.

 

"OK, Blue, I'm going to dose you then. This'll just pinch a bit."

 

"Don't give me the full dose," I protested. "That shit's addictive."

 

"You can worry about that later," Piper overruled, jabbing the needle into the meat of my rear end. I could feel the warmth flow over me as the drug did its work, and soon the pain from my leg didn't seem so bad. 

 

"OK, up an at 'em," she concluded, helping to my feet so we could limp in a kind of three-legged walk back to the Concord gate.

 

"Damn, Charley," Jake said as we reached his store, "what happened?"

 

I grimaced, though the Med-X was at least keeping the pain at bay. "We ran into some uninvited guests outside town. Robots."

 

"Shit," he hissed, "them again."

 

"What do you mean?" Piper asked.

 

"Some of Preston's people have been running into hostile robots in the woods east and south of town. No one know what they're up to, but it can't be anything good."

 

"Jake!" Susan Cain's voice called out, "stop screwing around and bring her inside! Charley, get up on this table so I can take a look at you."

 

I obeyed with a little help from Piper. While I got up on the table, I asked, "I didn't realize you were that kind of doctor."

 

Cain sniffed at that. "I'll have you know that I have doctorates in medicine and in mechanical engineering. So yes, I am 'that' kind of doctor."

 

 

Cain took a moment to examine me before she gripped the rail spike firmly and pulled it out of my leg. The area was kind of a mess, but I didn't see any new blood flowing.

 

"Ellison," she said, "have you been exposed to the FEV virus?"

 

"I... don't think so. Why do you ask?"

 

"Let me put it a different way. Have you had a blood transfusion from a super mutant? Have you had super mutant blood come into contact with a mucous membrane or open wound? Have you had sexual intercourse with a super mutant?"

 

"No, the only time I fought them up close I was wearing a sealed power suit. I'm sure I've never had contact with their blood or... other fluids. Why do you ask?"

 

"Wright," Cain said, "are you sure Ellison's leg was broken?"

 

Piper stopped and thought. "Um, I mean, I didn't take x-rays. But she couldn't put any weight on it and... I mean, look at that thing!" she said, pointing to the rail spike.

 

I interrupted the interrogation to cut to the chase. "Cain, what's wrong with me?"

 

The doctor shook her head, looking a little puzzled. "It's not what's wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with you."

 

"But you just pulled a fucking rail spike out of my leg!" I snapped.

 

"I did. I pulled it out of a dry fistula with no bleeders, and no signs of bone damage. In the time it took for you to get from where you fought to this workshop, you healed that injury. Look," she said, poking a finger at the puncture wound, "wait, no, fuck," she muttered.

 

"What?!" I demanded.

 

"The fistula is closing now. Your body is healing at a vastly accelerated rate. Are you a hydra addict? Do you habitually consume radscorpion venom or products derived from it?"

 

"No," I said. "The doctor at Diamond City prescribed me a small dose of hydra to help with a rib injury I'd sustained, but I've already finished the course of medicine."

 

"Fascinating," she whispered, before speaking more clearly. "You're fit for duty, Ellison. I don't think you even need to go on light duty. I want to give you a complete medical exam, and soon. Something very unusual happened here and I want to understand it."

 

"I'm curious as well," I admitted. "Let's do that exam as soon as possible. But it sounded like you and Jake have your own problems that you need help with."

 

"And don't take hydra anymore," she rolled on. "The regenerative properties of radscorpion aren't well studied, and compounds that stimulate regeneration are almost always carcinogens."

 

"Fine, I get it, I get it," I protested. "What do you and Jake need?"

 

Jake poked his head in through the door, gesturing towards a tall machine not far from where I was sitting.

 

 

"You see that over there? That's the comm hub. We finished assembling it."

 

We met at the table where he'd set up the machine. The outer casing was a dark, gunmetal tone, but chrome tubing and fittings drew the eye to all sorts of protrusions and recesses.

 

"This is it. Isn't she a beaut? Though sadly, not ready for service yet."

 

"The power issues?"

 

"So you remembered. Yeah, the power issues. Winter helped us set up a generator and connected it on a dedicated line, but we still can't get it to work consistently. Not enough output stability in the voltage."

 

 

"The good news," he continued, "is that Susie and I gave her a real good going over getting to hear. Now we've got a rough understanding of how all the hardware works."

 

"OK, I'm listening," I said, "what's our path forward?"

 

"Well judging by the internals," he explained, "most of this thing is a giant processor. It's like an... an ASAM switchboard."

 

"I connects and communicates with the ASAMs, you mean? That's what we were expecting, right?"

 

 

"Ah, sort of," Jake said. "Susie and me both, we were expecting it to be like a security check, the lock we had to open to get at those hidden designs. Open up lots of options, do some real cool things."

 

"But that's not it, right? It's something different?"

 

"Well like I said, it's like a switchboard. The communication is two-way, and is a lot more involved than we expected. Remote management, mass software updates, division of settlement labor. And better communication of course!"

 

"And trust me," Cain added, "better communications is something we want." 

 

"Not just you," I agreed, "the need for better communications came up on my visit to Abernathy Farm."

 

"I really think it's important we get this comm hub up and running," Jake emphasized, "this is big - 'rebuild the Commonwealth' type big."

 

 

I raised a hand to slow him down. "Hold up, you don't need to convince me. I'm onboard. When - and where - do we start?"

 

"Power," Cain said.

 

"I understand that part. Do you have a plan for doing it?"

 

"So we don't just need power," Jake explained. "We need serious power. As luck would have it though, we're standing on top of all the power we could ever need."

 

"The plutonium well," I concluded.

 

"Exactly. All we need to do is turn it on. If you wouldn't mind helping, that is."

 

"Not at all. How do we get down there?"

 

"I can get you as far as the service tunnels, but after that you'll need to do some exploring. It's a maze down there, lots of collapsed segments and other issues. To say nothing of whatever critters live down there."

 

"Ah yes, critters. Can't forget those. I think I'll be suiting up for this one."

 

"Good idea," Jake agreed. "Might be contaminants down there, chemical, radioactive, that sort of stuff. Who knows what's got dumped down the manholes over the last 200 years."

 

"I'll be coming with you," Cain announced. "You'll need my expertise to get the reactor started."

 

 

"Hey," I protested, "I know a thing or two about working with machines, you know."

 

"I'm sure you do. You've accomplished incredible things in your settlements. But this is one of those 'one wrong move and it all explodes' situations, so I'm coming along to help."

 

"Besides," she added, "I'd like to help you put on your powersuit. I'm curious about how the A-01 model compares to the A-02 that I salvaged."

 

"What about me?" Piper asked. "I want to come with you too. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" 

 

I shook my head, frowning, "I don't know, Piper. I don't have any more protective garments. You'd be in a lot of danger if there's radiation hazards down there. I think you should sit this one out."

 

She frowned, clearly unhappy, before Cain of all people came to the rescue. "There might be a solution," she explained. "I've been helping Winter with a difficult fabrication problem, and we have a prototype that needs field testing. If you don't mind, Piper?"

 

"I'm always up for trying new things, especially after I met Blue."

 

"OK then, go over to the guardhouse and ask them to give you my tecasint suit. You should be able to put it on without any help, it's designed for single-operator use."

 

"Thanks, doc," Piper said, departing before I got a chance to put in a word edgewise.

 

"Alright, Ellison, let me grab my transit case and we'll get suited up back at your apartment. Do you have all the armorer's tools for your A-01, and the manual?"

 

I nodded. "I do, Winter left it all there after the last mission."

 

"Perfect, just what I was hoping to hear." Cain unbuckled the back of her thong and then peeled out of her dress, leaving it on the counter. After retrieving her transit case, she accompanied me back to my apartment, where I disrobed and sat down on the edge of my bed.

 

The doctor took a quick flip through the manual, and then checked some indicators on my suit's backpack. "Your biosaline levels are pretty low," she commented. "When was the last time you urinated?"

 

I thought back, "just an hour or two ago. We took a pit stop on the way here, a bit before we ran into the robots."

 

"Hmm, alright, we better recharge your supply. Go ahead and lie down," Cain said, "I'll get the proctoclysis started and then I'll change."

 

 

"The what?" I asked.

 

You're supposed to run proctoclysis bag to stimulate urine production if biosaline supply is low. Um, salt water enema. Don't you normally do this before a mission?"

 

"No," I shook my head, "this is a first."

 

Cain frowned, "and how do you normally restore your biosaline tank?"

 

I chuckled, "to tell you the truth, it took some trial and error before we realized how important it was. But once we realized it, Winter just pissed in a saline bag and then squeezed it up into my bladder, though the port on the catheter."

 

Cain rolled her eyes. "That's an... unorthodox way to handle it. But if it works for you, that's fine. However, I don't need to urinate, so you'll have to do it my way this time. As I said, lie down adn I'll start the drip."

 

I did as she said, shifting my legs based on her instructions while she prepared the saline solution.

 

 

As she inserted the enema nozzle and started the flow of warm water into my rectum, I asked, "shouldn't you put in the plug first?"

 

Cain shrugged, "I don't think it makes a difference either way. Most of the fluid will be absorbed before we put in the connectors."

 

With that, she told me to stay still and then set about putting on her own suit. While she worked, she, well, didn't exactly talk with me - more talked at me - about the function of her suit. She explained that she'd actually pieced together hers from three heavily damaged A-02 suits that she pulled out of a vertibird wreck. Many of the more delicate components were seriously damaged, and many of the easily removed parts were missing. Almost all the exterior connectors were absent from her suit, and she'd had to source her backpack separately in a process that took months. 

 

Finally, he ended her monologue to swallow a truly prodigious-looking segmented tube before reaching around behind her helmet to adjust some dials.

 

 

"Alright, systems coming online now." She said, her voice tinny and robotic. The indicator lights on her backpack started to glow, and a moment later she added, "there. Perfect."

 

Cain turned back to me and looked at my enema bag. Nodding with evident satisfaction she said, "alright, all the saline has been administered. Let's get your connectors in and then suit you up. Do me a favor and warn me, by the way, if you don't think you can hold in the fluids."

 

The whole process was significantly less uncomfortable with Cain at the helm. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that... there was something raw and exciting about Winter's more forceful approach. With Cain, the process was clinical and efficient. But it was also quick. As soon as I finished choking down my breathing and feeding tubes, Cain gave me a quick examination and then checked my backpack again.

 

"Normally we'd need to wait for your kidneys to re-release the saline, but I'd rather keep a fast timetable. We should try and get those fluids over to your bladder."

 

"Why didn't you just inject the saline directly then?"

 

Cain shook her head. "The medical system needs the additional trace minerals and biological material that your kidneys will flush out with the saline. It would have actually taken longer if we'd gone with bladder irrigation. If you don't mind me asking, Ellison, do you ejaculate when you have an orgasm?"

 

The non sequitur caught me off guard, and I laughed. "That's kind of a personal question?"

 

"Its a legitimate medical question, I promise."

 

"OK, well, sometimes - but only when it's a really powerful orgasm."

 

Cain nodded, "that's fine. I just wanted to know if your body produced enough fluids before climax to cause a noticeable emission."

 

"Why does it matter if I squirt?" I asked, seriously.

 

Cain kind of tutted in a way that made me think she felt I was wasting her time, but she explained: "when orgasm approaches, the kidneys quickly release fluid into the bladder. While it isn't as concentrated as normal urine, it still contains trace minerals, creatine, uric acid, and so forth. Then that mixes with your Skene fluid to dilute it when you ejaculate. If you put a plug in your urethra before you, ah, squirted, you'd find yourself releasing a thick white fluid, similar to semen."

 

"Well," I chuckled, "I guess you learn something new every day."

 

"So what's your preferred method of masturbation?" she asked, "do you own a vibrator?"

 

"These days, its mostly sex with Piper."

 

Cain cocked her head at me, but then nodded. "I understand. Unfortunately, she's busy elsewhere. What about that device over there?" She pointed at the torture device we'd used to try and orgasm the Gunner into submission.

 

"That... was a bad idea that I haven't finished taking apart."

 

"It looks like it has a vibrator attached to it. And... oh, are those electrical leads attached to it?"

 

I nodded, "uh, huh."

 

"Do you experience more powerful orgasms when you're feeling pain?"

 

"Now that you mention it..."

 

"Perfect, I'll help strap you in, and you can use that device to stimulate kidney activity. We'll get your biosaline tank filled in no time."

 

Cain led me over to the torture device and locked my wrists and ankles into the restraining loops, then turned on the vibrator. Despite the presence of the pelvic shield, the vibrations carried into the cage holding down my clit, and I gasped as my arousal quickly built.

 

"OK, Ellison, I'm going to monitor your saline tank level and I'll tell you when you've finished processing the fluid from your proctoclysis bag. I need you to tell me each time you experience an orgasm, all right?"

 

"Mmmf, mmmmm, yes," I grunted.

 

I was just starting to enjoy this process when the first electric shock hit me. The suit dampened the shock a bit, but it still stung. I let out a little yelp, and heard a matching squeak off to my left. Looking, I could see Piper standing there, in a heavy helmet and a completely transparent full-coverage suit.

 

 

"Blue? Are you OK?" she asked.

 

"Ah, ah, I'm fine. Just getting, ah, some exercise."

 

"I... can see that," she mused.

 

"What... about... AHHHHHH!" another shock, this time stronger than the last, hit me. "What is that outfit? Uh, uh, uh! Ah! Ah!" I shouted as I rolled into an orgasm, and Cain checked my backpack monitor.

 

"Three or four more of those and you'll be all done," she said.

 

"Ah, ahhhhhh, three or four?" 

 

"For the record," Cain added, "I designed that tecasint plastic environmental suit to match the color of the helmetron system you already had in the Workshop. Winter, however, was insistent that you'd want it to be transparent."

 

I was too busy riding the vibrator to offer a comment on that, but being able to see every inch of Piper's soft body on display in the suit certainly helped hit the accelerator on my libido. I was cumming again in no time, and Cain nodded, evidently pleased.

 

"You got excellent volume there. One more, and I think you'll be ready."

 

I rode on that pole for another... what? Five? Ten minutes? Before my back arched and I felt like my brain was exploding. Just as I hit the peak of that orgasm, another electric shock hit me, and it just launched me into orbit, so to speak. 

 

 

After checking my levels, Cain gave a curt nod and announced, "good work, Ellison. Your biosaline tank is at one hundred percent. Let me get you out of those restraints."

 

"No, hold on," Piper said. "I think she wants a little more time."

 

"Yes," I choked out. "I'm so close to another one. Just a little longer!"

 

"We're on a timetable, Ellison," Cain argued, but in that time I hit another peak, crashing into a screaming orgasm, and with that done I didn't protest when Cain shut off the machine and started to release me.

 

Once I was free - and my wobbly legs allowed me to get upright, Cain looked me up and down. "For an improvised machine, Ellison, that's pretty impressive. Do you mind if I make some small modifications? Mostly just positioning and angle? I think I can make it a much more exciting experience for you next time."

 

"Fuck, Blue," Piper whispered, "that was hot. You never told me that thing was so... interesting." 

 

"Ugh," I groaned, "you probably wouldn't like the story behind it. It's kind of fucked up."

 

"I bet," she practically purred. "I think you owe me a detailed explanation and demonstration, in the very near future."

 

Cain cut in, "speaking in demonstration, there might be some value in manufacturing another one of these. Some A-B testing would let us optimize performance and avoid any potential safety issues."

 

"Hot about we all table this chat for another time. You really put me through the ringer, and now I just want to find that reactor and then go to bed. Shall we? Please?"

 

Despite some good-natured pouting from the two women, we finished our preparations fairly quickly and proceeded to the tunnel entrance. Even without the warnings from Jake, I would have been expecting trouble, so we went in with guns ready, scanning for threats.

 

 

Initially, the main problem we had to contend with was molerats. They seemed to be everywhere, and the tight confines often made it challenging to line up shots. But we took our time, made sure we were covering each other, and followed my Pip-Boy compass as we pressed towards the location of the plutonium well. At length, I spotted what looked like a below-ground access point for the main spire of the well. One at a time, we climbed up the low retaining wall before venturing deeper into the facility. We saw several mirelurk shells as we progressed, but only more mole rats actually attacked us - and by this point we'd greatly improved our molerat-hunting skills.

 

 

I experienced a brief moment of excitement as I turned into an abandoned control room. Unfortunately, water had flooded the chamber almost to waist height, and the electronics were clearly rotted out and ruined. What had for just a moment seemed like an easy win now warned that we might find ourselves unable to activate the well just because of the intrusion of nature into the tunnels. Still, it was premature to give up, and we continued moving deeper into the well's offices and engineering spaces.

 

Past the control room, we found ourselves in a long, straight tunnel that was similarly partly flooded. On the far side I could make out a barricade of sorts fashioned from wooden plants, and I realized that there might be human threats down here as well as animal onces. I signalled to the others to stop and doubled back, pointing out the barricade and telling them to move up with caution. 

 

The planks turned out to be more than a barricade, but the outer wall of a small underground settlement, complete with a dining room, sleeping areas with many beds, and a rudimentary metal shop. I didn't find any signs of human habitation, but the place seemed relatively recently abandoned, so I kept a close watch for any hint of an ambush.

 

 

After we cleared the abandoned settlement, Piper stopped me for a moment.

 

"Blue, what was that place?"

 

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "It looks like people tried to build a town down here in the tunnels."

 

"Tried? It looks lke they did a pretty good job. That place was huge!"

 

"Huge, but empty too," I pointed out. "Something must have gone wrong. Maybe the raiders found them and chased them away."

 

"Maybe," she agreed, "though it worries me that some other group could get so far along and then just disappear."

 

"Me too," I said. "Me too."

 

 

A little further, and I spotted a door a plate labeled 'maintenance.' I pointed it out, and my companions and I carefully slipped inside. We passed through a small office and then out into a storage room flanked by a large water tank. Unfortunately we weren't alone, but after blasting through a small infestation of giant roaches we were able to cross through that area and into down into a drainage chamber for a series of large pipes.

 

 

More radroaches scurried up to attack us, but between the three of us - two of us in power suits - we made short work of them. Cain and I surveyed the room and eventually found a large pipe that looked like it led off in the direction of the well. We clambered up inside and then helped pull Piper up to join us.

 

 

That pipe, it turned out, was the final hurdle we had to overcome. While it took us some time and required care to avoid potential pitfalls, inevitably the pipe led us closer and closer to the spot my inertial navigation system said was the bottom of the well. At last, I led our group out through a partially eroded brick-lined hallway and into the control center itself.

 

 

"Overall it's in better shape than I expected," said Cain. Why don't you head down into the control pit and see if you can start it up. I'm going to take a look at the APUs."

 

I did as she suggested, taking stock of the different switches and controls until I found the master power control. It looked like the workers had executed a safe shutdown when the war started to protect against power surges backflowing through the grid, and then turned the control room into their private survival bunker. If all the trash on the floor was any indication, they'd been here for months - maybe even years.

 

Unfortunately, when I hit the switch nothing happened. I called up to Cain, "I found the master switch, but it's dead."
 

"No," Cain corrected, "the switch is probably fine. It's the APUs that are dead. They've been cannibalized for parts. See if you can find a battery or some other power source. Maybe a generator?"

 

 

"Blue, what about this?" asked Piper from where she was standing around the far side of the well. 

 

I walked over towards her and saw what looked like a big diesel generator.

 

"Is it fueled up?" I asked.

 

"Uh... looks like it. Hang on... fuck. No luck, it won't turn over." Piper gave it a kick with her tall acrylic heel once, then twice. Letting out a groan of frustration she spun around, only to hear the generator knock loudly and then purr to life.

 

 

"Okay!" she said, "I definitely knew that would work!"

 

I tried the master switch again, and this time the well lit up with a whoosh. I could see my Geiger counter jump a little bit, but not enough to trigger any alerts on my helmet monitor. 

 

"OK," I said, "I think its working - but I'm picking up some radiation too. It's probably time for us to get out of here."

 

No one questioned my suggestion, and we retraced our steps as quickly as we could until we were back up on the surface. It was dusk when we reached the top, but one by one the town's street lamps were switching on, banishing the gloom in a way this place probably hadn't seen since the war.

 

 

"You should have all the power you need now," I said as I walked through the door to Jake's workshop. Even in there were signs of it - some overhead lamps I'd assumed we busted had flickered to life.

 

"Yeah, I noticed!" he said, "you blew half the bulbs in here! It's going to be a pain in the ass to replace those."

 

"The important thing," Cain cut in, "is that we now have power."

 

"So the next step is...?" I lead.

 

"Next step is we try turning on the comm hub," Jake answered eagerly.

 

 

Jake fiddled with a few pieces on the hub, then asked me, "why don't you stand back, just in case..."

 

And at that moment, the comm hub belched forth a wave of heat, followed by thick, black smoke. Coughing, Jake said, "Okay, that didn't go exactly to plan."

 

"That's the fucking understatement of the year," Cain hissed. "Did you wreck my comm hub, Evans?"

 

"Your comm hub? Excuse me, lady, but I'm pretty sure this is our comm hub. Concord's that is."

 

"Settle down, you to," I interrupted. "What went wrong, Jake?"

 

"Ah, could be a hundred things. The hub's been sitting around for so long, so many parts degraded. I thought I'd got them all taken care of, tuned them all up, but... I guess not. Still was worth a try, right?"

 

Cain just shook her head. I suspected that I didn't want to see what facial expression was hidden behind her helmet.

 

"Can you fix it?" Piper asked.

 

"Of course!" he answered with an implausible level of confidence. "Give me a day or two, I'll swap some more parts, clean some tubes, it'll be good as new."

 

"Not on your own, you aren't" Cain added. "I'm going to be much more hands on with the hub from now on, no repeats of this crap. And give Ellison that holotape you made."

 

"Holotape?" I asked.

 

Jake shrugged, "we pulled some data off the comm hub back when we were trying to run it with the generator. You gotta understand, it's not much - just a fraction of the contents of the database."

 

"Just give her the tape, Evans," Cain hissed.

 

"Fine, here, here. It's some of that defense data that Susie was looking for. I hacked it so the ASAMs will think its free plots, no special license required. But it should help settlers build guard posts and watchtowers."

 

"That sounds like exactly what they need at Ridge," Piper said, and I nodded in agreement. "I wish you'd told us sooner, Jake, this is a big step forward."

 

"So what's next?" I asked. 

 

"A lot of elbow grease from me and Susie," he conceded. I'll call you on the radio when we're ready to try again.

 

I could hear Cain undoing her suit while Jake told me this, and I glanced over to her just in time to see her pulling the thick tube out of her throat with a noise something between the sound of a cough and a retch. Then the clamshelled her helmet open and, sniffing the air, wrinkled her nose.

 

"For fuck's sake, Charley," she said, looking like she was about to spike her helmet on the floor in frustration, "why didn't you tell me I forgot my butt plug."

 

"Shit," I said, "um, no pun intended, I didn't even notice. I was suited up too, and I think I was a little scatterbrained after my session on the rail."

 

"Next time," she said, "you absolutely positively must make sure I have that plug inserted. But if you'll excuse me, it seems I have some laundry to do."

 

Folding the suit over one arm, Cain didn't even bother stepping into her heels before she trudged out of the workshop.

 

 

Piper had taken off her giant helmet and kept a straight face until Cain left, then she snickered. "Did you do that on purpose, Blue?"

 

"No," I said, "I actually feel bad that I forgot it. Cain took really good care of me, got me in the suit faster and gentler than ever before. I need to think of a way to make it up to her. Shit, I wish I knew what her favorite drink was or more about her hobbies. I feel like a little thank-you gift for everything she did's in order."

 

"Welllll," Piper drew out, "I can poke around at my connections and see if she dropped any hints."

 

"You mean poke around with Lily?"

 

"Not just Lily, though she's the best bet. I wasn't there to see how she treated you, except at the end, and... now that I think of it. She wasn't making fun of you at all, she was just encouraging you and being nice, even while you were getting shocked on the rail. So... wow, I think I saw a whole new side of Doctor Cain and didn't realize it. Fuck me, I'm discovering people have hidden depths left and right."

 

"Aren't we all," I said with a little smile.

 

Piper leaned in and hugged me, the plastic material of her environment suit squeaking a little as it met the shell of my powersuit. "I'm so glad I met you, Blue."

 

"And I'm glad I met you, Piper. You're exactly the kind of good trouble I need in my life."

 

 

"How do I kiss you when you're wearing that thing?" she asked, urgently.

 

"Grab the tab on the front of the filter, turn it a quarter turn to the right, and then when I count to three, pull hard."

 

Piper did as I instructed, then waited as I said, "one... two... three!" I exhaled hard as she pulled, and the tubes ran up my throat and out my mouth behind the filter.

 

No longer able to speak, I wiggled my tongue at her, hopefully conveying the invitation. She leaned in, bringing our heads together as first she tried to catch my tongue between her lips, and then met me inside the helmet with her own. It was an awkward kiss, more just a matter of the tips of our tongues meeting, but it still felt good.

 

 

"Ready to head home?" Piper asked. I nodded in asset, and we returned to my apartment, where Piper helped me slip out of the suit before removing the connectors one at a time. The rectal connector was the easiest, just requiring some wiggling and pulling to get it free. Next (I'd removed my helmet by then), I told her how to retract the hormone monitor so she could pull out the vaginal probe. The catheter took the most explanation, but at length Piper got the foley drained and then pulled out the long ribbed tube from within me. I warned her that when she pulled it out she was going to get wet and she stopped, considering.

 

"Can I suck everything out first?"

 

"Sorry," I said, shrugging, "like Winter said, it's a one-way valve."

 

"Oh well," Piper said, "I guess we'll find out if this environment suit is waterproof."

 

She pulled the last couple ribs of the catheter out of my peehole, and a predictable gush of urine followed from the dilated and relaxed meatus. It spattered against Piper's suit with a noise like wind-blown rain spattering the hood of a car, with only a few droplets landing on her face.

 

Laughing, Piper waved towards the shower. "I'm going to wash off, then I'll meet you in bed."

 

I watched her as first she cleaned the suit, and then as she peeled it off and washed her body. It was, somehow, incredibly calming to watch her bathe. When she finished, she padded back to the bed and asked, "Blue, you got a minute to talk?"

 

 

"Always," I said.

 

"Just... I'm thinking about Nat. I've been feeling, well, for a while. Even before I met you, that I'd run away from her. First emotionally, and then for real. I don't know what to do. I want her to be the same cute, smart paper girl she's always been. To live her life inside Diamond City and away from the big scary world. But... I don't think she wants that. I think she wants to be, well, me. She wants to be out there in the world, finding out the truth and reporting it no matter who gets mad about it. And I don't know. Should I disappear from her life, let her be who she wants to be? Is that the right thing to do? I guess what I'm saying Blue is... what do I do?"

 

I pulled Piper down to sit next to me on the bed, and I put my arm around her shoulder. "You love her, Piper. You're her big sister, so love her, trust her, and be there for her."

 

"Is it really that simple, Blue?"

 

I nodded, "yeah, I think it is."

 

She let out a long sigh. "I know you're right. Family's precious... what kind of a life is she going to have if I never see her again?"

 

"It's just... sometimes I feel like all I've got in my life are Nat, and the paper. And then I realize, I've got you too. Having someone I can rely on, that I can really count on. It means a lot. "

 

"I'm glad. You mean a lot to me too."

 

"Even with all your other lovers?" she asked, a little plaintively. 

 

"None of the other girls are like you, Piper. Even Winter, who was the first person I fell in love with after I woke up in this world, she's nothing like you."

 

"Ha," Piper laughed, "that's for sure!"

 

"So what's eating at you? Still not sure if you should go back to Nat?"

 

She paused, squeezing a little closer to me. "Ah, goodness Blue, I don't know what to say. You're everything I could ever ask for. I guess, what I mean is, I don't want to leave you."

 

"Then don't," I said. Somewhere along the line we'd gone from sitting on the edge of the bed to lying next to each other, and Piper leaned over to look at me with a pensive face.

 

"What do you mean? I have to leave if I'm going to go back to see Nat. If I'm going to have her be part of my life."

 

"You could bring her here," I suggested. "Build a newer, better print shop, enjoy some real journalistic independence? Not like there's much McDonough can do to censor you if he can't get at your press."

 

"You'd do that for me?" she asked. 

 

I nodded. "I'd do that for you, that and more. You shouldn't have to decide between having me in your life and having your sister in your life."

 

 

"I love you, Blue," she said.

 

"I love you too, Piper."

 

"Tomorrow, let's find that dog and head back to Diamond City. Sounds like you've got a reunion to enjoy."

 

"I think we've both got one to enjoy," she corrected.