Nuka Girl, Nuka'd World

Hitched

It was blindingly bright, "there is no way I would get into heaven."

The white light fades away as Vanessa flutters her long, thick lashes, blinking several times until she adjusted to the harsh brightness of the room. The Institute. It must be. Nowhere is this clean and... bright, either that or the last almost 12 months have been a dream.

And suddenly the possibility of it being back before the bombs, or it being heaven, is violently shot down by the cold, steel eyes staring at her from across the room. A Courser. More specifically, it's X6.

He puts his sunglasses on and leaves the room, returning a matter of moments later with Father by his side.

"Mother," he says cooly, taking her hand and sitting beside her, Vanessa decided she'd never get used to that, "I'm so glad to see you're alright. You were badly wounded when we brought you in here."

Vanessa frowns, so the battle wasn't a dream.

She drops his hand and pushes herself into a sitting position, the thin sheet sliding from her body. She was only wearing a sports bra on her top half, and almost her entire abdomen was wrapped in bandages.

"The doctors here did the best they could, but stimpaks just wouldn't cut it. Evidently the wounds were left too long." The blonde ran her finger-tips along her bandages, tracing every line and crease, "how did... how did I get here?"

"When neither you nor X4 checked in, I personally joined X6 to find you both. When you were discovered a wastelander was attempting to tend to your wounds, X6 said he was fairly hostile, but agreed to let you go without causing a fuss once he explained we would offer better care."

It had to be Gage.

She needed to get back to him.

"Is X4 alright?"

She knew he wasn't. Father glanced back at X6, and Vanessa did the same. The Courser showed no expression, which was slightly disappointing. She presumed they would at least share some positive feelings towards other Coursers, but evidently not.

"I found him with severe injuries. It was fatal. His body was recovered and destroyed." She flinched, that was so... morbid. She didn't know why she expected them to bury him, and she couldn't say she felt bad because she would kill him all over again in a heartbeat.

"I see," "You know, in all my years, I've never set foot outside the Institute. Not once, since the day they brought me here," he gestures around him, "I've never had a reason. But, the trip I made a few days ago just confirmed the truth I always knew. The Commonwealth is... dead. There's no future there. The only hope for humanity lies here, lies with us."

"It's not so bad," Vanessa remarks, with her usual air of odd positivity, the kind that makes her radiate naivety, "people manage," Father cuts her off, his face looking strangely sad, "perhaps. But at a cost too great to be worth it. Standing there, I was reminded of how fortunate I was that I was spared a life in that wasteland."

He notices the change in her expression, and sighs, frowning gently, "I know that to you, I was kidnapped from that Vault. In truth, the Institute rescued me," he gazed upon her face, and Vanessa desperately tried to understand if the expression on his face was one of true warmth, or yet another broken mask, "both of us, really."

"Shaun," she croaked, her voice hoarse as she fought back tears, disgusted with how she found herself still so damn emotional, "they left me frozen... for sixty years..." He nods, and closes his eyes, a solemn edge to his own voice, "they did, and for good reason. I was the perfect candidate, an infant with uncorrupted DNA. But if something were to go wrong... if I died..." "I was the backup," Vanessa bit back with her usual venom when discussing Shaun and pre-war events.