The Cure For Curie (Complete!)

Plain Jane

Curie and the others had been tucked away inside the small city of Jamaica Plain for days now. She was still haunted by the flickering images of the devestation still sprawled over the grounds of Castle. She couldn't wait to finish this war and try to rebuild, not only their homes but her broken heart as well. She had wanted so badly to forget the twisted bodies of those settlers, that she had even tried to drink for the first time in her life. She had witnessed humans do it to forget the horrors they had seen and thought it was worth a try. Unfortunately, the effects of alcohol did nothing to numb her synthetic mind. She would be left to remember all of it.

She knew the others were growing restless here, anxious even. This settlement had been an olive branch of sorts to those left alive after the Institute fell. John had allowed the surviving scientists and a handful of synths to put up roots here. They had brokered a truce that day and allied themselves with the Minutemen. The scientists had been more than grateful for their lives and the land they had been given. They had promised to never lift a finger in anger against the good people of the Commonwealth.

They had more than held up their end of the agreement. Jamaica Plain had quickly became one of the largest producers of healing chems in all of Boston. They sent their synths scavenging throughout the hospitals daily bringing in supplies. They took in anyone that needed aid. Raiders, gunners, synths, ghouls, and mutants were all welcome to seek help provided they left their guns at the door.

Curie helped the doctors as needed, but she was also becoming restless. She missed John and anxiously awaited his arrival. He had sent word that he was headed this way shortly after the group had arrived here. John had told them, via holotape, that he found Valentine and they were bringing him to the scientists in the settlement. What had her the most worried about his message is he told them they would need to find a decommissioned synth body, and fast. She hadn't the slightest idea as to why he would need another synth when he already had Nick and her. She hoped all would be revealed soon.

Hands slipped around her waist softly, pulling her from her thoughts. She went stiff at the touch, unaware anyone was close by. The hands pulled her close as soft lips kissed her neck. She smiled, her heart swelling with joy. She turned to meet the gaze of the man she adored.

Curie threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a deep kiss. Her world swam with color as her soul reunited with it's twin. Finally she could feel his warm body pressed against hers. She had to wait no longer. She kissed him until she could barely breathe. Her hands explored his tight form as she took in every second of the experience.

"General! Oh..um...excuse me." Preston interrupted, pulling the pair from their moment. John's eyes never left Curie's as he asked his friend what he needed.

"Well, the rest of us are waiting inside the clinic. We need to know how to move forward with Nick. None of us are sure of what to do. You do know it's just his head, right?"

"Yes Preston, I am aware of the state he is in." The Sole Survivor answered as he turned away from Curie. "I brought him here because of the people from the Institute. They are going to need to put him in a different body. Were our people able to find one?"

"I'm sorry General but no. They were only able to find bits and pieces of synths. Certainly not enough to build him a whole new body."

John sighed heavily as he ran his fingers through his hair. He needed this to work. They couldn't do it without Nick, at least, he didn't want to do it without him. Valentine was his friend, and he was determined to do anything he could to get the detective on his feet again.

"Do the scientists have any idea on what to do?" John asked.

"Seems like it but they won't tell us anything. Said they would only speak to you directly about it."

"Alright then. Lead the way."

With that, they were off across the small settlement. Leaving the guard post took the trio down into a small parking lot the settlers had converted into a thriving mutfruit farm. The smell was intoxicating. The large ripe purple fruit smelled like blueberries and grapes, but they tasted even better. Curie loved them most picked right off the tree. Past the farm and down the stairs stood the makeshift clinic set up in an old residential property. It was a cramped area for sure but served its purpose well enough.

Curie followed the men past the doctors and up the stairs to the second floor. What was once most likely a cozy bedroom had been converted into a small lab with a number of Chem workstations. The lab was empty of its usual residents and had been quickly set up into their own personal war room. A place for the Minutemen to plan out their next phase of attack against the Brotherhood of Steel. It lacked Castle's pile of intel but with the slew of papers piling up, it wasn't far behind.

As soon as John reached the top of the stairs the room fell silent. The team taking a moment to process the relief of seeing their leader alive. Their silence was quickly replaced with an eruption of joyful greetings. Each taking their turn to welcome him back, glad he made it out of Diamond City. He let them all get their sentiments out and waited calmly for them to finish. Once the room settled once more, the Sole Survivor pulled the room together.

"Now, I know you all have many questions. I will try to answer them as we go forward. Time is not on our side. Elder Maxon has pushed the line too far with his massacre at Castle. Enough is enough. I plan to end this soon but we need Valentine. His role is important. So I need you to stow all your questions for now and focus on fixing our friend." He waited for their nods of approval before continuing. "Now, the scientists from the Institute, where are we on fixing him?"

A small group of three men in white coats stepped forward. They looked nervous, as though their response would get them in trouble, or worse. They fidgeted for a moment, looking between each other and back to John. After what seemed an excruciating amount of time, the one in the middle finally spoke.

"The scavengers have found no viable bodies to restore him. Mr. Valentine is a much older model and it is proving very difficult finding spare parts, let alone a whole new body."

"Can't you just stick his brain in a newer one?" Ellie asked from behind them.

"I suppose it could be possible, but my associates and I aren't experienced with the older models. We couldn't even begin to guess how to properly transfer and format his data."

"There has to be something we can do, yes? You aren't telling all of it. I was transferred from a completely different machine altogether. I know it can be done." Curie said.

"Yeah but you guys had the help of Doctor Amari. Since Goodneighbor got shut down, no one knows where she is or if she is even alive." Hancock added.

"Alright, alright. What are you not telling us?" John asked to the scientists.

"Doctor Jane Williams is the only one we know who has experience with the older model synths."

"Well why is she not here? Someone needs to get her up here in this meeting." John said gesturing around the room.

The men standing before him became even more uneasy. They looked between each other, having a discussion in their eyes. None of them wanted to be the one to explain. John slammed his fist on a Chem station rattling the glass beakers and causing the room to jump. Finally the man on the right piped up.

"Doctor Williams came here with us from the Institute but she didn't stay long. None of us knew she was sick until it was too late. She was shortly diagnosed with dementia but something was wrong."

"What do you mean wrong? What happened?"

"The radiation in the air had a peculiar effect on her mental state. She had never been outside the walls of the Institute. She started mutating into something we've never seen before."

"A ghoul? They are all over the Commonwealth. Has she gone feral?"

"Not exactly. It's hard to explain."

"Can she help or not?" The Sole Survivor asked, frustration starting to saturate his tone.

"We aren't sure but you're welcome to try."

"Do you at least know where this woman is?"

"She lives a few miles from the settlement. The provisioners send her care packages and check in on her. Last we heard, she was still alive."

"Fine. Let's go get the good Doctor."