Crawled Out Through The Fallout

Chapter 34

We made it out of ArcJet relatively unharmed. When we got outside, Paladin got my attention.

"You performed honorably in there. You made tough calls, and proved your worth in battle. I have an offer for you."

I chuckled. 

"Alright, let's hear it."

"I would like you to join me in the Brotherhood of Steel. You would be a valuable asset to our cause."

"I'll think about it."

"Right. Come back to the police station when you have made up your mind."

"See you around, Paladin."

With that, we headed our separate ways.

...

I walked over the bridge to Sanctuary Hills. Dogmeat came barreling in and jumped on me. I wrapped my arms around the dog and gave it a hug. 

"Good to see you too, Dogmeat."

I let go of the dog and continued walking through the old neighborhood to the main house. I walked in and began sorting out all the things I had gathered. As I stood at the workbench, a pair of arms had wrapped themselves around my middle and gave me a hug. I laughed and tried to wiggle out of the grip.

"Dee, I'm busy. Give me a minute."

I heard feminine giggling and I turned around.

"Piper?! I thought it was-"

She cut me off with a laugh.

"I know perfectly well who you thought I was."

I felt my face flush with embarrassment as I tried to stop her laughing.

"That wasn't that funny. I made a logical assumption on who was behind me."

"So he often comes up behind you like that?"

I blinked, thinking that I just made it even worse.

"You know what, I'm gonna just not say anything to you until you get a grip."

I watched her with raised eyebrows. She was laughing so hard her eyes were watering. 

"Sounds like I'm the one who needs to get a grip, considering what I just saw. On you, preferably."

The voice came from the doorway, where a smirking Deacon leaned with his arms folded.

I shook my head at him.

"And how long have you been there for?"

"Longer than you'd like."

He chuckled and moved to sit on a chair. I put my face in my hands. I wasn't expecting my day to go like this.

"General, I have word of a settlement-"

"Not now, Preston! I will find you when I m ready."

I put my hands down and watched as Preston walked dejectedly from the room. I looked at Deacon.

"Anyway, I have news about our friend who was in trouble."

He looks interested. 

"What happened?"

"Well after saving them from a pack of ghouls, I helped them retrieve a transmitter for their radio. And now they want me to be a part of the Brotherhood."

"What?! Those military stiffs? Blue, that's a bad idea. They're dangerous."

I looked at Deacon for his opinion.

"I think it would be dangerous. But if done right, it would really help the Railroad gain insight on their plans."

I nodded, agreeing.

"We can ask Desdemonda what she thinks the best course of action will be."

Piper left the room, muttering to herself about the Brotherhood.

I sat on the couch and put a paper on the table in front of me.

"Time to make a game plan."

I looked up at Deacon. He rolled in the chair over to the table and looked at the paper.

"Game plan: Take down the Institute, find your son, rule the Commonwealth together."

I raised my eyebrows as he started to laugh.

"Okay, maybe we don't have to rule the Commonwealth. But the other two are a must."

I tried to keep myself from smiling.

"Right now we need to find a way into the Institute. We know they use teleportation, and we have the frequency of travel. What we need now is the teleporter itself. And that's why we go back to Virgil. He can help us with that."

Deacon nodded.

"Time to go back to the Glowing Sea?"

"Yep."