Friends?

eleven

I felt my body aching all over. It was dull, but enough for me to decide not to move until I was ready. I forced my eyes open enough just to see that it was dark in the room I was in. I shifted slightly, only making my pain inflame. I also felt very dirty and grimy. I glanced down at myself and noticed my shirt was shredded and an awful shade that reminded me of dried blood. Then I remember what happened. Oh God.

I sat straight up, hoping that the super mutants didn't have me. I took in my surroundings. I was actually in a familiar place. Hancock's state house. I was alone in his large lounge. The chess board and chems were still out. My hand went to my neck, feeling for my husband's ring. It was caked in dry blood. My own blood. I rubbed it clean and held it up to the light. Good as new.

"Hey sister."

I dropped my husband's ring back behind my shirt and looked at Hancock. He just entered the room. "Hi." My voice sounded raspy and it cracked.

"I thought you'd never wake up. You were out for two days." I could see the concern and relief in his dark eyes.

I cleared my scratchy throat. "Two days?"

He came over to me and handed me some purified water. I gratefully took it and drank the entire thing. It felt so refreshing against my dry throat.

"I got you new clothes too, seeing as those got ripped to hell and back. You can clean off in the sink. Let me know when you're done." He gestured to the counter and left the room once again.

I only sat on the worn couch for a while. Did Hancock really bring me all the way to Goodneighbor when I was out like that? And he must have used at least two stimpacks on me. I can't believe how stupid I was. Just another mistake to add to my list. I touched Nate's ring before standing and cleaning myself off. I had almost joined him in death. I wondered sometimes if that would be so bad. But I pushed those morbid thoughts to the back of my mind.

I put on the new clothes Hancock provided for me. It was just a drifter's outfit, but I wasn't going to complain. My new boots were comfortable and it was certainly better than my old shirt that was no more than a rag.

I exited the lounge, still feeling all the aches of my wounds, plus a hunger pain in the pit of my stomach. But the bullet wounds were no more than little pink blemishes on my skin now. I found the ghoul mayor in the next room over, sitting on a big chair. Fahrenheit was with him and they were speaking, but it ended upon my arrival. "I'm sorry to interrupt. I wanted to talk to Hancock."

The other woman looked mildly upset, but she always did. She stood and headed to the door, but when she passed me she asked "Have you ever played chess before?"

I was surprised by the question. I couldn't really think of what to say so I only blankly stared at her. Chess?

"You have to sacrifice some pieces to keep the game going." Then she just left me with that. I looked at the ghoul and he didn't seem to notice. I don't know what Fahrenheit meant by that. Was it a threat, or a warning? I pushed the thought aside and sat next to Hancock, turning to face him.

As I spoke, I picked leftover, dried flakes of blood from my fingernails. "You saved me Thank you."

"I told you I had your back." He gave a cocky grin like usual.

"I sometimes don't think I deserve saving. My husband should have been-" I choked, trying not to sob. I bit my tongue and continued. "Nate should have been the one to survive. He was in the military for our first few years of marriage. He had all the survival training, I was only a housewife."

Hancock kept his coal eyes on me. He didn't ask any questions so I only continued. "I'm sure you heard the stories about me. Just a vault dweller, pre-war, looking for a kidnapped baby. Shaun isn't a child anymore. I was frozen for most of his life. He grew up without me even realizing it." I felt the tear hit my hand. I wouldn't have even known I was crying, but a few other tears landed on my lap. "I can't even see him anymore. He cast me away."

Hancock covered my clenched hand with his own, leathery, ghoulish one. "We all lose someone. It's just what we do with all our emotions from it. You can handle yourself better than I've ever seen. You're strong. I like that."

I bit my lip, trying not to cry anymore. He gave me another warm smile and I couldn't seem to bring myself to return the gesture. I pulled my hand away and twisted my wedding band around my finger. "Thank you for listening. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Well, now you're not the only one with dirt on the other, are you?" He joked. It lightened my mood a bit. Enough for me to return his warm smile.