The fact that he'd managed to go a full hour without ducking out of the courtroom for a cigarette should've been, in retrospect, the first clue that his life was about to be turned upside down. But at the time he'd been too busy brazenly staring at her stocking-clad legs to notice.

If it had been any other day in court Nick Valentine would be the very picture of a hopeless nicotine addict being forced to sit still in a strictly no-smoking locale. He'd be twirling a pen through his fingers, bouncing his heels and regaling poor Donny (his long-suffering partner since arriving in Boston) with the same tired spiel about the far greater dangers of smoking in hospitals, which weren't subject to the same anti-smoking measures as the fine courthouses of Massachusetts.

But it wasn't just another day. It was the day he'd first laid eyes on her.

Everything else that happened that day became a mere backdrop. Which he supposed, at a later date, must make him a shitty cop. Because for all the hours he'd poured into catching the slimy weasel facing the judge today all he could focus on was the pretty dame tasked with making sure he actually ended up in prison.

His out of character stillness in the throes of nicotine withdrawal prompted Donny, sitting to his right, to drive his heel into Nicks' toes, eliciting a hiss and a murderous ocean-blue glare from the raven-haired detective.

"Don't you dare!" Donny whispered as loudly as he was able in a packed courtroom. "You're on the witness list, Nicky! And she's the district attorney! If you get caught tryin' anything the whole damn case gets thrown out!"

If I get caught, he wanted to retort sarcastically, as if he'd even consider it in the first place, but one look at Donny's furrowed ginger brow told Nick that, yes, even his partner assumed that he looked at all women like a starving man would look at a buffet. He didn't know how these crass rumors about him had even started. Nick had to make a conscious effort not to thump his head on the bench in front of him in frustration.

He settled for following the young lawyers' graceful hands with his gaze as she thumbed through a novel-sized stack of papers. When she was done with that task she idly brushed a strand of chocolate-brown hair behind her ear, giving Nick his first glimpse of her face, impeded by the angle she was standing at in relation to him, but nonetheless causing his heart to lurch curiously behind his ribs.

Okay, maybe there were a few women he looked at in that way. He was a grown man with eyes, wasn't he?

Nick would reflect later with no small amount of annoyance that he hadn't heard a single thing said by anyone once the proceedings were underway, he'd been too busy drinking in the sound of her voice, not the words, just the confident and slightly sultry tones they were wrapped in, conjuring lurid fantasies to go along with them and feeling like a creep when he couldn't push them out of his head.

As absorbed as he was by his own imagination; when the gavel came down sharply, indicating the end of the days' arguments, Nick jumped noticeably in his seat, blinking as if being awoken from a trance. Donny also seemed stunned, and a little awed.

"What is it?" Nick queried, knowing that Donny would likely give him shit later for not paying attention, but he was willing to sacrifice a bit of pride for the sake of the full picture.

"It's over" Donny replied simply. "Just a sentencing hearing next week and that's it. They didn't even call you up"

What?

"How? Did he cut a deal?" He'd seen this coming. Eddie Winters' underlings were infamous for selling out their fellow crooks for less time, or even zero time behind bars, but never Winter himself. Everyone in that particular crime ring was zealous in the belief that they'd rather eat the barrel of a shotgun than sell out the head honcho, it was a tad bizarre in Nicks' opinion.

But even so … those deals took months to hammer out, and a lot more than one measly court appearance.

What just happened?

"I dunno" Donny murmured, almost to himself. "He just plead guilty to everythin', we gotta come back for the sentencing but that's all"

Nicks' attention darted back to their brand new district attorney; packing away folders into a leather satchel with a nonchalant expression, acting as if she hadn't just knocked his world off its' axis.

Nick Valentine didn't know much about the finer details of the law, a lot of it was beyond what he needed to know for his job, but he knew lawyers…

And this sort of thing just didn't happen in cases like this. Lawyers, in his vast experience, couldn't give a flying fuck about a speedy resolution, they lived for their own unique brand of battle fought with fancy words and legal loopholes. Sure, they all started out as idealistic do-gooders, mostly… but the cut-throat, power hungry nature of the world of law, not to mention the inadequacies of the justice system at large, wore them down eventually.

This lead Nick to two polarising theories; she was either as crooked as they came, using shady backroom deals to further her own ends … or she was just that good.

And he was inclined to believe the latter … despite normally being firmly entrenched south of the line separating optimism and pessimism.

In retrospect, that should've been his second clue.

Nick didn't move to leave until the pretty brunette was halfway to the door, heels clicking rhythmically against the polished wood floor. He donned his signature coat and fedora as he left his partner scowling in the dust behind him, following the woman far too closely for a detective supposedly skilled at tailing others unaware.

If asked at that moment Nick wouldn't have been able to come up with a single reason as to why he'd practically jogged after her through the crowded halls of the courthouse. And he certainly didn't have one when she finally stopped at the top of the concrete stairs leading outdoors, looked innocently over her shoulder and said…

"You're awfully obvious when you follow someone, Mister Valentine. How on earth are you even a detective?"

The amused smile that punctuated her sentence was downright charming.

"You know who I am then?"

You're an idiot, Nick. He answered himself in his own head as the object of his stupor cocked a perfectly plucked brow at him.

"Yes. You were supposed to be one of my star witnesses", she stated obviously. That round, adorable smile grew slightly wider and she laughed softly at what he assumed was an embarrassed expression taking over his mug.

"How'd you do it?" Nick blurted out. "That guy's as slippery as they come, and he just gave himself up"

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth before she answered, causing a jolt of irrational envy to lance through him at the sight.

"It's silly…" she began carefully. "But with every new case I get I like to really get to know everyone involved, even the people I'm prosecuting. Did you know that Martin Hobson is originally from Florida?"

Who? Oh yeah... the schmuck who'd just plead guilty. He'd completely forgotten that 'Hobbs' was just a nickname he'd been using while working under Winter.

"He has a mother and a younger sister there that he hasn't seen in years," she continued. "When he left home there was a bit of drama, but after everything that's happened to him since joining up with Eddie Winters' crew… he's really been missing them". She gave Nick a an indecipherable look. "It wasn't that difficult to find them and arrange a few calls between Martin and his family, they miss him as well. After that it was simply a matter of making sure that, if he confesses, he goes to a prison in Florida … with visitation rights … about half an hour away from where his family lives"

Her expression as she finished her explanation would have been devious, but the effect was ruined by the fact she was clearly an angel of redemption sent from the highest plateau of Heaven. What other explanation could there possibly be for an undeserving scumbag like Hobbs receiving such kindness and mercy? From his prosecutor no less!

Her devious grin turned downwards into an apologetic frown as she took a half-step closer to him, close enough now that Nick could see the slight blush dusting her smooth, slightly rounded cheeks.

"Anyway… I'm sorry that I dragged you out here for nothing in the end"

And it wasn't just an empty platitude, she was genuinely sorry.

"Don't go beating yourself up over it" Nick tipped his fedora forward slightly, belatedly trying to salvage a modicum of his own patented charm. "If the end result is one of Winters' thugs off the streets, and out of the state to boot, then I might be inclined to forgive you for taking an hour or two out of my day"

The smile returned, bringing a beautiful warm glow to the rest of her flawless face, which she tilted slightly… almost as if she was admiring him right back.

"You may be inclined, but how do I secure that forgiveness?"

Nicks' newly repaired composure crumbled again for another two seconds, penetrating eyes of deep chocolate-brown nearly identical to her hair meeting his from beneath a veil of painted black lashes. It was the first time a woman had ever offered him such a bold lead-in on a silver platter … and what kind of a cad would he be if he left her hanging?

"I suppose since you took roughly two hours of my time…" Nick intoned slowly, as if he were still mulling over his words. "Then it's only fair that I get two of yours as compensation"

Her smile turned slightly wolfish before she responded.

"I might just have a couple to spare this evening, between seven and nine?"

Another curious lurch behind his ribs…

"And where might I find you between those hours?" At this point he didn't care where she'd be that evening, he'd drag himself there across broken glass if it came down to it.

Nevertheless he was pleased when she named a bar a few blocks from the station, that he was aware of via accounts from fellow officers who took their girls there in an effort to look a bit more sophisticated. It was a little more upmarket than he was used to but that was just dandy with him, smaller chance of being interrupted by someone from work.

And if this beautiful woman was choosing to spend her precious time with him? Then Nick Valentine didn't want any interruptions.

He vaguely recalled agreeing to her choice of venue and accepting one of her business cards, her home telephone number hastily scrawled beneath her job title, just in case he had to cancel, she'd said. Like hell.

Then she was gone, faster than should've been possible in footwear as tall as hers, citing that she was late to catch a train. Huh… he figured she'd have a car.

Nick then mentally slapped himself; he'd been so preoccupied with not looking like a drooling idiot that he'd done the stupidest thing imaginable, he'd forgotten to ask her name.

Thank God for business cards…

Nora Fitzsimons.

On his way back inside to find Donny he unconsciously ran his thumb along the edge of the tiny card in his pocket.

And it wasn't until half an hour later, when he draped his coat over the back of his chair at the precinct, that he realized it had been almost a full three hours since he'd last had a cigarette.

Author's Note: This is my first fic in an incredibly long time, so please be gentle with me. I'd also like to apologise for the layout. I'd planned to break up the text with extra spacing between paragraphs but the Doc Manager has become surprisingly uncooperative since I was last here as a writer. If anyone knows how to sweet talk it into behaving please PM me.

Anyway, this is a 'what if?' story that's been kicking around in my head since I first finished Valentine's companion quest in FO4. It's probably already been done several times over but I've been meaning to get back into writing so I figured, why not? It's going to be one of the longest things I've ever written and will have a small Pre-War arc before we get into the nitty-gritty of Post-War Boston. I'm going to try keep the Pre-War part as short as possible though, so it's going to be an incredibly fast burn between our protagonists, so fast that you may even see some smut as soon as the next chapter! *gasp* What? Did you think the M rating was for nothing?

Please leave reviews and comments. I'll have the next chapter up as soon as humanly possible.