"Hey, Takahashi!" Piper greeted as she, Cait, and Nathan entered the Diamond City market. "Mind whipping up three bowls'o noodles for me and my friends?"

"Nani ni Shimasuka?" The protectron quirred. It was all he ever said, of course, so it wasn't surprising when he just turned around and started preparing said noodles.

"Thanks, buddy!" Piper chirped, before fixing Nathan a pointed look of concern. "You feelin' any better, Blue?"

"A bit. Probably better once I eat." He answered, turning to Cait as he sat down. "How are you doing, Cait?"

"It's...really fuckin' odd, being free." The brawler admitted, drumming her fingers on the bar idly. "Still, I'm not complaining. I really do owe you for gettin' me outta the Combat Zone."

"You don't owe me a thing, Cait. You deserve to live your life on your terms." Nathan assured here, receiving a hesitant smile in response. A few moments later, Takahashi returned with three cups of noodles. Piper pulled out a bundle of caps, only for Nathan to fork over the required amount, plus some extra.

"Could you throw in a Nuka-Cola and two purrified waters, please?" He asked politely, receiving another reply of "Nani ni Shimasuka?" as the protectron waddled away to fetch the drinks. As he waited, Nathan glanced at Piper and realized she was staring at him. He shifted slightly in discomfort, chuckling nervously. "What's that look for?"

"Nothing. It's just...you don't meet too many gentlemen in the Commonwealth these days." She replied, a grateful smile rising on her lips. "Most fake it till they get a few drinks in you, but you're the real deal, Blue."

Nathan didn't really know how to respond to that. He always thought he was a good person, but ever since he emerged from Vault 111, he'd been grappling with the concept more and more. Was he still good? Hell, would he stay good? In a world so terribly fucked up as this one, would he still remain morally upright?

"Uh...thanks, Pipes." He muttered, before returning his focus to his noodles and drink. Piper and Cait once again exchanged knowing looks, before also returning to their meals.

An hour or so passed, with the three switching between eating and bantering. Nathan and Piper discussed how Diamond City had changed swinch the bombs dropped, with Cait occasionally chiming in about other hotspots in the Commonwealth.

"It really is strange, seeing this place again." Nathen confessed, finishing off his Nuka-Cola. "I mean, look at this place! Even if it's not what I remember, it's still a welcomed sight. Really shows how humanity could come back from everything that's happened."

"Heh, good to see there's still optimists in the world." Piper quipped, grinning at the vault dweller before glancing up at the yellow-pink sky and whistling "It's starting to get late. What's the plan, Blue?"

"Oh. I uh...hadn't thought of that." Nathan admitted, blushing slightly as he rubbed his neck awkwardly. "What'd you say chances are that the Dugout's got any rooms available?"

"Well, it's a Friday night, and most of Diamond City's in there drinking so...probably not." Piper replied, getting off her stool and dusting herself off. "Lemme guess, you're crashing at my place?"

"I-I mean, if it's no trouble." Nathan confirmed, still feeling awkward. "I'd hate to be a burden-"

"I wouldn't." Cait interjected, getting up from her own seat and stretching, flashing the reporter a bold grin. "I don't feel like sleepin' on the ground, so I'm gonna just pop the question for Nate here: Ya mind if we stay the night, newsy?"

Piper glared at the Irishwoman for several seconds, before her facade broke and she cracked a smile, nodding in confirmation.

"Sure, since you convinced me." She snarked, before turning to Nathan and waving him over. "C'mon, you two. You're lucky I have more than one couch."

"Thank you, Piper." Nathan sighed, still feeling a bit embarrassed. "I'll find a way to repay you, I promise."

"You don't need to repay me, Blue." Piper assured him, flashing him a golden smile. "We're friends. We help each other out. As for Cait...eh, I tolerate her."

"Ha, Ha. Very funny, Piper." The red head scoffed, playfully bumping the journalist's arm with her own. The three laughed as they entered the Wright residence, hoping to get a good night's rest before the...stressful events of the next day.

—

Line Break

—

It was early when Nathan woke up. If he could trust his Pip-Boy's internal clock, it was around 6 am. Earlier than he expected to wake up, but it worked all the same.

He sat up, cracking his neck as he rose up. God, only 28 and his bones sounded like they belonged to a man in his eighties. He decided to blame it on Vault-Tec's shitty cryogenics, and not anything he did to himself.

He checked his Pip-boy again, and frowned as he contemplated his options. He didn't really want to wake Piper or Cait up, but he definitely wanted to visit Nick's office and get back on the path of finding Shaun.

The more he thought on the subject, it was best to leave them behind. Piper had already done so much for him, with so little in return, it didn't feel right to keep accepting her help free of charge. And Cait? Well...he didn't know her. He'd only met her a few hours ago, and in that time he'd determined she was very impulsive, to a dangerous degree. He wasn't even sure if her company was any better than Pipers.

He felt a little guilty with the prospect of leaving them behind, but he made up his mind hastily. It was better this way. Less risk of them getting hurt, or...worse.

He strapped on his armor and packed his bag as quietly as he could, hoping not to wake anyone. He slung the bag over his shoulder, taking a few cautious steps towards the door...and pausing.

I can't just leave without a word. He thought to himself, guilt creeping up on him with a vengeance. They're my friends! Well, Piper is anyway. Cait...I still gotta figure her out.

Making up his mind, he decided to creep over to Piper's nearby typewriter, and after finding a blank sheet of paper, picked it up and started writing out an explanation for his absence. As he wrote, however, he didn't notice the sound of creaking furniture, nor did he registar the following footsteps...until they were right behind him.

"Whatcha got there, darling?"

Nathan wasn't ashamed to admit he jumped, hastily crumpling the paper and turning around to face Cait, who was watching him with tired eyes.

"Wha-uh, nothing." He sputtered, dropping the paper into a waste bin. "Just...writing my thoughts down. You know, to...relieve tension, and stuff."

"Mhm?" Cait hummed, her lips curving up into a seductive grin. "I can think of better ways to relieve tension."

She inched further, closing the gap between them and looking up into Nathan's eyes, batting her eyelashes playfully and biting her lip.

"Want me to show you?"

Nathan's brain completely froze. He...didn't know what to do here. Brush it off as teasing? Tell Cait he wasn't interested?

...flirt back?

His blush had intensified more at that thought. W-why would he do that? It's not like Cait was interested, and even if she was, why would that matter to him? God, he wasn't prepared for-

Nathan's thoughts were yet again interrupted as he realized that Cait was laughing. She had backed away now, her lips curved up into an amused smile as she shook her head, still chuckling.

"I'm just messin' with you, Natey." She clarified, before winking playfully. "Offer's still on the table if you're interested, though."

Nathan rolled his eyes, but felt his previous nervousness melt away. This was just what Cait was like. Nothing to worry about.

"Oh, it's tempting, truly." He deadpanned, shooting her a smirk. "I don't think I'm your type."

Cait's eyes flashed deviously, but any further banter was halted as Piper descended the stairs, glaring at the two wastelanders tiredly.

"You two realize it's only 6, right?" She grumbled, before noticing Nathan's packed bag and frowning. "You going somewhere, Blue?"

"Uh, yeah. I was just gonna run over to Nick's office." He admitted, scratching his neck anxiously. At this point, there was no sense in lying. Looks like he was stuck with them.

Piper blinked, before her eyes went wide and she slapped a hand over her face.

"Dammit, I completely forgot, I'm so sorry Blue!" She apologized, practically sprinting back up the stairs. "Give me a minute, I just gotta get dressed. I'll be right down!"

"So, we're headin' to the robot's office, are we?" Cait asked, her expression becoming...well, not quite serious, but closer to it. "You really think he'll be able to help ya find your son?"

"I honestly have no idea." Nathan admitted, grabbing his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder, and fixing the brawler with a determined look. "But I'll be damned if I don't try."

—

Line Break

—

Nick was scanning the Earl Sterling case notes for what felt like the thousandth time when Nathan and his posse entered. He regarded them with a smile, putting down the file and standing up.

"Ah, there you are." He greeted, nodding politely. "Figured you be swingin' by soon enough. Ellie's been wanting to thank you for breaking me out of Skinny's clutches."

"No thanks needed, Nick. It was the right thing to do." The vault dweller assured him, earning him a chuckle from Ellie, who entered from behind him.

"Well, all the same, I think you deserve a reward." She retorted, before placing a small bag of caps in his hands, smiling warmly. "Please. You earned it."

"I...ok, fine." He relented, pocketing the caps and flashing the woman a grateful smile. "Thank you, Ellie. I'll put them to good use."

"I'm sure you will. Oh, and I have one more thing!" She declared, walking over to one of the filing cabinets and plucking a battered fedora off it's roof, before striding back over and placing it atop Nathan's head. "From what Nick's told me, you've got quite the knack for detective work. Figured I could help you look the part."

"Er...thanks, Ellie." Nathan sputtered, visibly flustered. Piper at least tried to stifle her laugh, while Cait chuckled openly at his discomfort. Nick just flashed another smile, yellow eyes glowing slightly in amusement.

"It's a fitting look." He commented, before his expression became more serious. "Now, I think it's time to get to work. You ready to give me your account, Nathan?"

"As ready as I'm gonna be." Nathan confirmed, before gesturing to the seat before him. "I just sit here?"

"Yup, that's fine." The synthetic detective confirmed, before glancing at the two women behind the chair and gesturing towards the door. "You two mind stepping out? Typically, these interviews are kept confidential."

Both Piper and Cait frowned, but before they could respond, Nathan waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't mind if they stay. I guess it's...better they hear this now." He muttered, shooting his friends a weak smile. "Besides, I trust them...mostly."

"You sure, Nate?" Nick asked, before shrugging following the man's nod. "Alright, it's your choice. So, getting to business; when you're trying to find someone who's gone missing, the devil's in the details. Tell me everything you can, no matter how...painful it might be."

"We're...we're looking for my son, Shaun." Nathan started, his tone softening slightly. "He's less than a year old. I...I just don't understand why anyone would take him."

"A good question. Why your family in particular, and why an infant?" Nick mused as Ellie jotted down notes. "Someone would be taking on all of his care, and a baby needs a lot of it. What else can you tell me?"

"There was a man and a woman. They...didn't say mush, but I remember they called me "The Backup"."

"Hmm. We're talking a small team, professionals." Nick observed. "The kind that know to keep their lips tight when they're on the job. Not quite sure what "The Backup" means, though...anything else?"

"Well, I think I mentioned it earlier, but we were in a Vault when it happened, specifically Vaunt 111." Nathan mentioned, drumming his fingers on the chair arm. "It was some kind of cryo facility."

"You were on ice, huh? More importantly, you were underground. Sealed up. That's a lot of obstacles to get through to take one person." Nick pondered, taking a puff of his cigarette and taking a puff before continuing. "You got anything else for me?"

Nathan paused, shifting in his seat and staring at his hands. He...he didn't want to talk about this again. It felt like a repeated stab in the chest to even think about it, but if it helped find Shaun…

"There is one more thing." He muttered, shifting again. "They, uh...my wife was...killed. She was trying to keep them from taking Shaun and they just...t-they just…"

Nathan's voice gave out, and he turned his gaze down again, desperately fighting to keep his composer. He raised a hand to dry his eyes, and felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Nathan." Piper whispered, feeling tears threaten to spill from her own eyes. Cait wasn't much better, leaning against the wall behind Nathan with a look of remorse on her face, arms crossed in discomfort.

"Fuckin' hell...I didn't think...fuck."

"I'm...I'm sorry." Nathan started, wiping his eyes hastily, sitting back up. "I didn't mean to break down like that. D-do you need any more information?"

"You don't need to say anything more on this subject." Ellie assured him kindly, before turning back to Nick. "So, what do we have?"

"Well, with everything we've assembled, I got a few ideas." Nick admitted, putting out his cigarette. "We're talking about a group of cold-hearted killers who waited till something went wrong to resort to violence. Given everything else, I think this confirms the fact that this wasn't random kidnapping. Whoever took your kid has an agenda. Question is, who? Super Mutants, Raiders, the Gunners, and of course, the Institute."

"The Institute...Piper mentioned those guys." Nathan remarked, tilting his head curiously. "You think it could have been them that took Shaun?"

"Well, they're the boogeyman of the Commonwealth." Nick confirmed. "Something goes wrong, everyone blames them. It's easy to see why, considering those early model synths of theirs stripped whole towns for parts, killing everything in their way. And then there's the newer models, good as humans, that infiltrate cities and pull strings from the shadows. Worst of all, no one knows why they do it, what their plan is, or where they are. Not even me, and I'm a synth myself. A discarded prototype anyway."

"You're a prototype?" Nathan asked, eyes widening slightly off Nick's nod.

"As far as I know. Never seen any other synths like myself." Nick confirmed. "The older ones are dumb as rocks and all metal, while the newer ones that are almost human. I'm somewhere in between."

"Either way, I need to find Shaun. It's a start, right?" Nathan asked hopefully, receiving a thin smile from the detective in response.

"You're right, this speculation is getting us off track." He agreed, interlacing his fingers on his deck. "Let's focus on what you saw. What did these kidnappers look like?"

"Well, the woman was dressed in some kind of...hazard suit?" Nathan asked, jogging his memory. "The man had some kind of...metal brace on his arm, and he was bald, with a scar across his left eye."

Off that last description, Nick sat up a little straighter, eyes glowing yet again.

"Wait. It couldn't be...you didn't hear the name "Kellogg" at all, did you?"

"I...I might have?" Nathan answered cautiously, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, it's just all foggy still."

"Hmm...it's way too big a coincidence." Nick mused, turning to Ellie. "What notes do we have on the Kellogg case?"

"The description matches. Bald head, scar, reputation for dangerous mercenary work, but no one knows who his employer is." She listed, paging through her notes.

"And he bought a house here in town, right?" Nick asked thoughtfully. "And he had a kid with him, didn't he?"

"Yeah, that's right! The house in the abandoned West Stands." Ellie confirmed, before scanning her notes again and frowning. "But...the boy with him was around 10."

"That...doesn't sound like Shaun." Nathan muttered, furrowing his brow. "Maybe he kidnapped another kid too. You said he lives here? He's still in town?"

"They both vanished a while back." Nick countered, standing up. "And if I'm remembering right, that house is still there. Let's you and I take a walk over to Kellogg's last known address. See if we can snoop around where he went."

"Sounds like a plan, Nicky." Piper quipped, her usual spunk having returned. "As we both know, no ones better at snooping than myself."

"Piper...are you sure you want to get involved in this?" Nathan interjected, standing up and turning to face the journalist. "Depending on where this goes, Institute or not, you could be putting yourself in danger here."

"I know that, Blue. And I'm willing to take that chance." Piper replied, shooting him a smirk. "I know you'd do the same for me."

"Normally, this'd be the point where I say that this ain't my problem." Cait chimed in, shrugging her shoulders weakly. "Considering what you've gone through, though? I'm in. An' don't even try lecturing me about the dangers, we both know I got nothing to lose. 'Sides, I guess it'd only be right to help you out, considering we're...friends."

Nathan couldn't help but chuckle at the way Cait grimached as she said friends, like a cat that bit a lemon. Still, he also felt endeered that both of these people, who he'd only know for a few days, cared enough for him to accompany him on what well could be a wild goose chase. There were no guarantees, after all.

"Thank you. Both of you." He stated, offering them both a grateful grin. "It's nice to have friends I know I can rely on."

Both women returned the smile, a new level of trust built between the three wastelanders. Nathan then turned to Nick, and nodded politely as he shoulder his backpack yet again.

"We're ready, I guess."

"Alright then." The detective acknowledged, sparking up a cigarette and nodding in return. "Let's go see what skeletons Kellogg's got in his closet."