#crazililwabbit

“Well, that’s part of what is good about being in a large group right?” he offered a comforting smile, “we can look out for each other.”

“Yeah, well if we had left you idiots in Diamond City like I thought the plan was, we would be able to move a lot quieter, and might even be home by now,” Bo growled at the talking pair.

“Bo,” Lou sighed, “we voted, it was two to one…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” she gritted her jaw.

“And…?” Lou prompted her friend.

Bo sighed heavily, “once a vote is made, everyone accepts the outcome, no questions.”

“That was your rule,” Lou smiled.

“Never thought the bastard would come back to bite me in the ass so hard.” She caught Dean out of the corner of her sight, “hey!” she hissed at him, “don’t go somewhere we can see you!”

“Oh,” Dean backed away from the doorway he was crouched in, “I just thought maybe there would be something in there.”

“That’s fine,” Lou joined him near the doorway, “but she is right, if you go out of sight we might not realize something happened to you.”

“I know,” Dean frowned, “I wasn’t going to go in alone.”

“Alright then,” Lou smiled, “let’s go take a look.”

“There is no chance there’s anything left in there,” Bo grumbled as she sat down on the sidewalk.

“We should rest while they’re in there,” Ellie sat next to Bo, “we are almost home though.” She craned her neck to look down the road, “only a couples miles left.”

Sam joined Ellie on the sidewalk, “Cas?” he glanced up at the angel who was trying to look in one of the boarded up windows of the building Dean and Lou had gone into.

“I should have gone in with them,” the angel gave up and sat down.

“They’ll be alright,” Ellie handed them water, “Lou knows what she is doing. The only person better suited to go in there would be Boden.”

Bo chuckled to herself.

The four sat in silence for almost twenty minutes before Castiel broke the silence.

“I am going in to find them,” he stood up.

“They’re fine,” Bo rolled her eyes.

“It’s been too long…” Castiel began to protest but was interrupted by Lou appearing in the doorway.

“Sorry that took so long,” Lou grinned, “Dean found a safe that needed opened.”

“Really?” Ellie elbowed Bo. “What was in it?”

“Someone’s cap stash, and a 10mm pistol,” Lou held up the metal tin and shook it, “seems like someone was hiding their backup goodies here.”

“Good find!” Ellie grinned at Dean who emerged from behind Lou.

“Here,” Lou handed him the tin, “you found them, they’re yours.”

“You picked the lock,” he looked at her, “you should get some of it too.”

“Nah,” she winked at him, “you keep it.”

“Let’s go, radroaches, I wanna get home,” Bo stood up and began walking down the street again.

“Yeah, we need to get back before it gets dark,” Lou followed her, “this isn’t the place to be when the sun goes down.”

“What time is it? What time is it?” Ellie pulled on Sam’s Pip-Boy.

“Um,” Sam pressed a small black button, causing the screen to flicker, “I don’t know.”

“Well, we have about…” Ellie looked up at the sky, “an hour of sun left.” She looked at the little green and black screen. She reached up and turned the top dial, the screen flickered again and a small map appeared. “Ah, there, it’s 7:00. So the sun sets at about 8:00!” she grinned from ear to ear.

“How did you do that?” Sam looked closer at the screen.

“We will take a better look at it when we get home,” she began to follow the group, “we’ll make a real vault dweller out of you yet.”

“This is where you live?” Dean leaned back staring up at the huge skyscraper in front of them.

“Sure is,” Bo walked towards the front doors. “Oh, and you see that little piece of rebar there?” she pointed to a piece of the twisted metal about a foot long sticking out of some concrete.

“Yeah, what about it?” Dean followed her.

“Those are all around the outside and inside of the building,” she stepped through the entrance, the doors hanging useless on their hinges, “they mark where we have buried landmines, so be careful.”

“Not much to look at, is it?” Dean stopped in what used to be a gigantic foyer to the building. The wallpaper was peeling down the walls, and the once red carpet had faded a long time ago.

“That’s the point,” Lou passed Dean, “it’s supposed to look abandoned. Less it looks like someone lives here, less likely you are to get raided.”

“Makes sense,” Sam nodded passing Dean as well.

The group crossed the lobby making their way to the elevators to the right side of the lobby.

“Does that even still work?” Sam looked around the lobby as Bo pressed the button to call the car.

A hissing and popping from the intercom by the button console prevented Sam from getting an answer.

“What is the music of life?” an electronic voice came over the intercom.

“It’s us Handsy, skip the bull-shit and just let us up,” Bo sighed.

“That is incorrect, the elevator car will not be deployed,” the voice replied followed by silence.

“Damn it, Ellie!” Bo glared at the grinning girl, “I hate your fucking robot, I’m tired and I just want to get home.”

“If you’d just answer the question, he would send the elevator,” Ellie continued to grin.

Bo angrily pressed the button again.

“What is the music of life?” the voice asked again.

Bo rolled her eyes and sighed deeply, “silence, my brother.”

“Very good, ma’am, the car is on the way,” the voice replied before cutting off again.

“What is that from?” Sam rubbed his chin, “it sounded familiar.”

“It’s from a comic I read when I was little,” Ellie smiled up at him, “added precaution, you know.”

The elevator creaked as it settled and opened the doors for them.

“I don’t think…” Dean took a step back, “how about you just tell us what floor to meet you on, and we will take the stairs.”

“Dean, I don’t think…” Sam began.

“You can if you’d like,” Bo stepped into the car, “but all the stairwells are collapsed at the third floor, and we are going to twenty-four.”

“Come on,” Lou patted him on the shoulder, “it’s perfectly safe, I promise.”

She followed Ellie, Sam, and Castiel onto the elevator.

“This is insane…” Dean mumbled as he joined them.

The elevator lurched as it began to slowly climb the shaft. It rocked back and forth, the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling seemed to pop and fizzle in time with each lurch. By the time they reached the twenty-fourth floor, all the color had drained from Dean’s face.

“See?” Lou smiled at him as the doors shuddered open, “perfectly safe.”

“Welcome home, ma’am!” a cheerful voice with a thick English accent called from the other room.

“Thank you, Handsy!” Ellie set her bag down by the elevator door and sighed heavily. “It’s good to be home.”

“Hell yeah it is,” Bo grinned as she hurried across the room and through a doorway, “I’ll see you suckers later.”

“Dinner in an hour,” Lou called after her.

“Roger!” Bo’s muffled voice could be heard from beyond the walls.

The guys slowly filed out of the elevator, taking in their surroundings.

“This looks like it was a waiting area,” Sam glanced around the large room, his eyes resting on the receiving desk opposite the elevator.

“Yeah?” Lou set her bag and the wrapped bundle on the desk. “Ellie thinks it was an extension of Robco before the bombs fell.”

“I don’t think it was,” Ellie sighed, “I know it was.”

Lou chuckled, “right.”

“Welcome home Miss Louise!” the accented voice called again as a slow moving robot rounded the corner.

“Hello, Handsy,” Lou was pulling items out of her back and sorting them on the desk.

“Miss Elenore,” the robot’s frame slowly began to turn towards Ellie, but froze when its sensors picked up the three men clumped in front of the open elevator. “Intruders!” the mechanical voice raised in pitch as the machine gun end at the end of its right arm began to spin.

“Abort!” Lou screamed, “abort, abort!”

“Handsy!” Ellie jumped between the robot and the guys, “initiate protocol 46, Newcomer Input.”

The machine gun slowed to a stop as the arm lowered back down, “protocol initiated, awaiting Input.”

“Handsy, input three new profiles, security level…” Ellie glanced back at the three men before returning to the robot, “blue.”

“Profile four created, input identifier,” the robot stood motionless as it awaited information.

Ellie motioned for Dean to speak. “Say your name, full name is best,” she whispered

“Uh, Dean,” he hesitated, “Dean Winchester.”

“Input received, profile identifier, Uh Dean Dean Winchester saved.”

“Override profile identifier,” Ellie rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger.

“Profile identifier overridden, awaiting profile identifier input,” the robot whirred, the motion could be seen through the clear covering on its shoulders.

Ellie motioned again.

“Dean Winchester,” Dean stated, his voice stern.

“Input received, profile identifier, Dean Winchester saved,” there was a pause, “input pronoun preference.”

“Male, or female…” Ellie whispered.

“Male, for sure male,” Dean smiled, “all male.”

“Input received, pronoun preference saved for profile, Dean Winchester.”

“You next,” Ellie motioned at Sam.

“Profile five created, input identifier.”

“Sam Winchester.” Sam shrugged.

Ellie gave him a grin and a thumbs up.

“Input received, profile identifier, Sam Winchester saved. Input pronoun preference.”

“Male,” Sam nodded.

“Input received, pronoun preference saved for profile, Sam Winchester.”

“Now you,” Ellie smiled and motioned at Castiel.

“Profile six created, input identifier.”

Castiel cleared his throat, “Castiel.”

“Input received, profile identifier, Castiel saved. Input pronoun preference.”

Silence.

Lou put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at the angel.

“Input received, profile identifier, Castiel saved. Input pronoun preference,” the robot repeated.

“Neither, I am not male or female,” Castiel shifted on his feet.

“Response not recorded, input invalid, awaiting pronoun preference input for profile, Castiel.”

“I am not…” Castiel was interrupted by Dean grabbing his arm.

“Just tell the robot what to call you,” Dean whispered, “so we can get this over with.”

“Dean, you know I am not innately male or female, as an angel I…” Castiel was cut off by Sam this time.

“I think the robot only has two input values for this command, Cas.” Sam smiled an encouraging half smile, “maybe you could go with the gender of your vessel.”

“Jimmy identified himself as a human male,” Castiel looked down at his body, “I suppose in this case it is not untrue that I am a human male.”

“Awaiting pronoun preference input for profile, Castiel,” the robot repeated.

“Male,” Castiel answered.

“Input received, pronoun preference saved for profile, Castiel,” the robot began to move again, walking slowly towards the three men. “Welcome home, Sirs.”

“Uhhh,” Dean grimaced as the robot approached him and began to reach an arm out to him, “thanks.” Dean extended his arm for a handshake.

The robot’s claw moved past Dean’s extended hand and around to behind him, “good job!” the robot exclaimed as it gave Dean one quick swat on the butt.

“What the!?” Dean jumped back and raised both hands in the air.

Lou erupted in laughter.

“No, no, no, no…” Sam held his hands up and began to back away as the robot turned towards him.

“Handsy, you can skip the formalities,” Ellie giggled.

“Very good Miss Elenore,” the robot began to whirr again as it turned back to face her. “While you were out there was a glitch in the power grid. No security features were affected, however, I believe the water heater is offline.”

“Thanks Handsy,” Ellie sighed as she opened her bag and began to pull items out, “I hope no one had their heart set on a shower tonight, the water heater is going to have to wait until tomorrow.”

“What was that?” Dean was still standing with his arms in the air.

Lou chuckled, “Mr. Hansy is a bit of a…” she paused, “project.”

“Handsy is just fine the way he is,” Ellie sniffed.

“When we first found this place she found that old Protectron bot still in its power station,” Lou began to pile some of the items back into her bag. “The only thing she couldn’t manage to fix was the fried personality-interface card. The only viable one she was able to find was a card from a Mr. Handy, the bots made for helping in homes a long time ago.”

“It was an excellent find!” Ellie’s eyes lit up, “the Mr. Handy bots are rare to find in a semi-functioning state anymore, and to have one that wasn’t owned with a functioning personality card was amazing luck!”

“But,” Lou sighed, “there was a problem getting the card to fit.”

“It took some finesse,” Ellie grinned.

“She used a hammer,” Lou rolled her eyes, “it messed up some of the basic interaction parts of his personality matrix. If you don’t tell him that he can forgo the formal greeting with you, that’s how he will greet you every time.”

“How do I do that?” Dean frowned.

“Just tell him,” Lou smiled, “now that the three of you have profiles with him, he will respond to you like he does us.”

“Mostly,” Ellie zipped her bag up, “you only have blue level clearance, so you can’t alter anything outside of your personal interaction specifications.”

“That’s okay,” Sam gave her a half smile, “thank you for everything you guys have done for us.”

“People look out for people out here,” Lou zipped her bag up as well, “it’s the right thing to do.”

“Yeah, but you have shared your food, kept us alive, and now you’ve invited us into your home,” Sam walked over to Ellie and took her hand in his, “seriously, thank you.”

“Oh,” Ellie’s cheeks turned red, “like Lou said,” she pulled her hand from his and quickly made her way across the room to where Lou stood, “it’s the right thing to do.”

“We will go make dinner,” Lou took Ellie’s arm in her own, “you three make yourselves at home. The whole floor is ours, with a few exceptions.”

“Basically,” Ellie grinned, “if a door doesn’t open, it’s not meant to.”

The two girls turned and disappeared through the door way.

“Okay, okay, okay,” Dean rubbed his temples, “does anyone else understand any of what we have been through today?”

Castiel shrugged, “I must admit, I have a hard time keeping up with what is going on with humans most of the time anyway.”

“You are a human now, Cas,” Dean frowned, “no more of this, ‘I am not this,’ and ‘you humans’ crap, alright?”

The angel nodded.

“What about you Sammy?” Dean held his arms out, “are you managing to understand all of this?”

Sam also shrugged, “I don’t really understand most of it, but that’s how most of our lives have been Dean, always surrounded by things we don’t really understand.”

“No,” Dean pointed firmly at Sam’s chest, “I understand vampires, and werewolves, and, and, and even demons. I understand demons, Sammy, but I don’t understand any of this…” he motioned to the room around them.

“It’s survival, Dean,” Sam made his way over to where Lou had laid her items out on the table, “pure and simple survival. I don’t understand a lot of the jargon, but I understand the struggle to stay alive. I can see it in their faces, and the faces of those people living in Diamond City…”

“Fenway Park,” Dean corrected him.

Sam sighed, “I recognize the fight to survive, I just figure the details we will pick up along the way.”

“You don’t think we can find a way home, do you?” Dean stared at his brother.

“Dean, look around,” Sam pointed to a dirty window, “there is nothing anymore. I don’t even know if any of the supernatural things we are used to hunting are still around. I don’t see a way home… all I see now is survival, which like I said before, isn’t that different from how we lived back home.”

“Unbelievable,” Dean shook his head, “Cas, are you buying this?”

“It does seem as though a way home is impossible,” Castiel looked at the items Lou had laid out, his fingers lightly touching each item, “even as a human I should be able to sense any angels around, and I haven’t felt anything.”

“Come on,” Sam patted Dean’s shoulder, “let’s look around, see if we can find anything we can make sense of.”

Dean turned around to follow his brother before pausing at the table the other two had been standing next to. The items on the table looked all too familiar, the countless amounts and kinds of ammo, the barrage of weapons, and the non-perishable foods. Perhaps Sam was more right than he cared to admit, survival had always been a large part of their lives.

“I am sorry we don’t have enough sleeping bags,” Lou unrolled the spare rolled up sleeping bag, “we really only anticipated it being a backup for one of us. Honestly, we were lucky to have that spare mattress as well.”

“They will work just fine,” Sam smiled, “thank you.”

“Yes,” Castiel gave her a small smile as well, “thank you.”

“Alright nerds,” Ellie leaned on the doorway, the single lit lantern in her hand, “technically it’s lights out after dark, but we are making an exception for you. I would suggest getting it out as soon as you can manage though.”

“If you need light for anything though,” Lou joined her in the doorway, “the room with the double doors will have a fire going all night. There aren’t any windows in there so we are able to keep light going in it all night.”

“Noted,” Dean nodded at the two girls, “we really appreciate you guys.”

“Just know that we will put you to work,” Ellie grinned, “you three gotta earn your keep.”

“Lights out!” Bo yelled from down the hall, “if I can’t have lights on in my room to read my Silver Shroud comics, then you radroaches don’t get light in yours!”

Lou sighed, “see you in the morning.”

“Night,” Dean winked at her.

Once the girls were out of sight Sam shoved his brother. “No, Dean,” Sam glared at him, “just no.”

“What?” Dean shrugged.

“We live with them!” Sam whispered angrily, “the last thing we need is for you to mess around with one of them and get us all kicked out.”

“Or worse,” Cas sat down on the floor, “I think in the case of those girls, it would be worse than just getting kicked out.”

Sam pointed at Cas in agreement.

“Alright, alright,” Dean held his hands up in the air, “I hear ya, loud and clear.”

“Good,” Sam fiddled with the latch on his PipBoy, “now, how are we doing this with only two sleeping spots?”

“I will sleep on the ground,” Castiel rested his head in his hands, “I am not used to needing sleep, so I will not notice the difference between a bed and the floor.”

“Cas you’re still getting better,” Dean frowned, “you shouldn’t be the one to sleep on the floor.”

“I am fine,” Castiel wadded up one of the blankets Lou had given them and rested his head on it as he lay down, “you both carried bags today, you should rest.”

Sam sighed, “if you start to get too uncomfortable, wake us up, alright?”

“Okay,” Dean sat on the sleeping bag, “but tomorrow night you get the mattress.”

Castiel nodded.

“Better put this light out before Miss Tightwad comes after us,” Dean leaned forward and turned the handle on the lantern until the flame was snuffed out.

Castiel rolled over on the hard floor, he didn’t want to admit it, but his chest still hurt. He was having trouble falling asleep. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the dark had settled into the room, but it was long enough for Dean to start snoring.

He sighed as he pushed himself up from the floor. Moving as silently as he could, he made his way out of the room and followed the faint glow coming from down the hall. The doors to the large room had been sealed as best as they could be, an attempt to keep in as much light as possible. Castiel hesitated before pushing the doors open. He didn’t know how late it was, and he didn’t want to bother anyone who was using the lit room for something.

Instead of opening the doors he turned and headed further down the long hallway, making his way back to the room where the elevator had been located. As he rounded the corner his eyes caught sight of a person sitting in the window closest to the elevator. He froze, startled at first, but then he recognized the color of Lou’s hair.

She was sitting in the window sill, a leg hanging out the opening where glass used to be, her body turned mostly away from him, a shoulder leaning against the frame of the window. The heavy jacket and leather pants she had been wearing through the day had been replaced with a simple white sleeveless shirt and some shorts. Her hair that had been pulled up and stuffed under a helmet was in a loose braid that hung down her back. The moonlight was getting caught in the loose hair around her head, creating a halo.

Castiel took a step backwards, trying to back up without being detected.

Lou’s head whipped around, her eyes catching his, and for a moment he could see tears.

“Hey you,” she smiled, the sadness he had witnessed a moment before disappearing, “what’re you doing up?”

“I, uh…” the angel tried to return her smile, “I can’t sleep.”

“Me either,” she motioned for him to join her, “come over here and look at the stars with me.”

Castiel crossed the room and stood next to the window.

“Sometimes when the world seems too terrible, I like to look at the stars,” she looked up at the clear night sky, “they remind me that before the war there were people looking up at those very same stars.”

“Actually, most of the stars you are seeing died a long time ago,” Castiel looked up at the sky as well.

She laughed softly, “you’re a strange one, aren’t you?”

“I have been told that, yes,” his eyes lingered on the sky, where his home used to be.

“Well, it’s alright if they’re all dead even,” she sighed, “that’s almost more comforting.”

“How so?” his eyes left the sky and looked at the woman sitting next to him.

“It makes it seem more normal that I can still see all the people I love that have died when I close my eyes,” her gaze seemed lost in the sky.

He stared at her. She was smiling, but there was deep pain buried in her expression. He suddenly felt as though he was glimpsing a part of her he wasn’t meant to see and forced his eyes from her face, they settled on a scar that was coming out from under her shirt. It was like a welt, a deeper color than the rest of her skin, it stretched over her shoulder blade and arched up towards her shoulder.

“You have scars,” he mused, wishing he had the power to heal it for her.

“What?” she looked at his face, and realized he was looking at her shoulder, “oh, yeah.” Her fingers reached up and ran over the smooth surface of the damaged skin, “we all have scars here, some are just more obvious than others.”

“It’s hard living here, isn’t it?” Castiel looked back out the window, “I had no idea a war would make the world look like this.”

“War is a terrible thing,” Lou stared at him, “but you would know that, wouldn’t you, soldier?”

Castiel’s eyes met hers, “how did you know that I was a soldier?”

“It’s etched into your face,” she smiled softly, “my father was a soldier before he met my mom, he had the look too.”

“Where is he now?” his eyebrows knitted together.

“He died when I was nineteen,” her smile faded, “raiders came through our area and killed everyone on our farm.”

“But you survived,” Castiel sat on the edge of the windowsill next to her.

“I was gone when they came through,” she pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, “I’m the only one from my family left.”

“There was a time when I thought I had no family. I felt they had turned away from me,” he smiled, “but a wise man once said, ‘family don’t end in blood.’ It might not be any of my business, but while those two girls don’t look like blood, they sure do look like your sisters.”

She returned his smile, “you’re right.” She released her legs and let them dangle over the edge of the windowsill, “even though you’re a bit odd… you’re a good guy.”

A moment passed between the two of them before Lou’s eyes suddenly tore away from his.

“I…” she was flushed, “I’m sorry, I…” she stood up and wrapped her arms around herself, “I shouldn’t be here, not with…” she paused when her eyes met his again, “with you.” She began to back away, “it’s not you, please don’t think it’s you… I just…” she turned away from him, “it’s me, I just shouldn’t be here.”

Before Castiel could stop her she hurried from the room.

Lou closed the door to her room behind herself as quietly as she could. The moonlight coming in through the boards nailed over the window on the far side of her room gave everything a beautiful blue haze. She wrapped her arms around herself.

“What are you doing, Louise?” she whispered to herself, “you know better.”

The sting of tears filled her eyes as they welled up and spilled down her cheeks.

“You know better!” she scolded herself.

She let her body slide down the door until she was sitting on the concrete surface. Her fingers wrapped around the silver locket that hung around her neck, her thumb running over the etching on the front.

“I am so sorry baby,” she breathed, “I am so, so sorry.”

“You feeling better?” she winced in sympathy watching him struggle.

“Despite what it may seem,” he finally sat down, “yes.”

“Good,” she rested her cheek against the gun, “then it wasn’t a wasted stimpak.”

“Anything out there?” he looked out towards the other empty homes on the street.

“A ragstag and his doe came through about an hour ago,” she pointed towards the blue house across from them, “they left that way. Other than that, nothing. But I think the storm we got last night would’ve kept most of the critters and people out of the night air.”

The pair sat in silence as the sky slowly grew brighter.

“I should wake everyone up,” she sighed, “if we don’t get moving by sunrise, Bo will be angry. And trust me, you don’t want to start the day with her angry.”

Castiel stared at the girl, his face serious, “thank you.”

She paused in her adjustment to stand up, “what for?”

“Helping us,” he rubbed his arm where she had injected him, “helping me.”

“This place is a real shit hole, and it’s hard for seasoned veterans of the wasteland to get by,” she patted him on the shoulder, “if we don’t do everything we can to make it better, then who will?”

“Still, you didn’t have to help us,” he watched her stand up.

“Yes I did,” her face grew serious, “you will probably never know why, but just know that I did have to help you.”

He nodded.

“Time to get up!” she hollered as she kicked Ellie’s boots, “gotta get up and moving, so we can make it back to civilization today!”

Ellie groaned, “just five more minutes, please!”

Dean jerked awake, “I’m here!” he looked around, “I’m awake!”

“Shut up, Dean,” Sam rubbed his neck as he sat up slowly.

Bo groaned, but sat up, “she’s right,” she twisted her back, warming up her muscles. “If we don’t want to have to camp out again tonight, we need to get movin’ asap.”

“I’ll go take down the parameter for you Ellie,” Lou slung her rifle over her back.

“Thanks Lou!” the sleepy girl grinned, “I’ll carry those land mines for you as payment.”

“I will take you up on that!” Lou grinned before ducking out of the doorway.

“So, how far are we walking today?” Dean stretched his arms into the air.

“Oh, no…” Bo shook her head, “I told you yesterday, it was only for one night!” She finished pulling on her boots.

“Oh, c’mon Bo!” Ellie whined, “they were helpful last night, and look at them!” she waved a hand in the air, “they won’t make it to Arlington, let alone anywhere they will be safe!”

Bo glared at Ellie, “I swear to GOD, if one of them causes any trouble, I am holding YOU and LOU personally responsible!”

“Quit yelling in there!” they heard Lou’s muffled voice from outside.

“Shut up!” Bo stuffed her blanket into her bag and pushed herself up from the floor. Dean’s eyes widened as she crossed the room and stopped in front of him, “I assume Lou gave you a gun.”

He nodded.

“Do you know how to use it?” her jaw tightened.

He nodded again.

“When I say get down, you get down,” she leaned into his face, “when I say shut up, you shut up.”

He nodded again.

“That goes for all of you,” she swung back around looking at Castiel and Sam.

“Bo calm down, you are going to rattle them so bad they’ll become a liability,” Lou stuck her head in through the doorway, “now, if you’re all done alerting everything within a half mile radius that we’re here, we’re ready to head out.”

Bo slung her bag over her back and stuck her chin out before turning around and stomping out of the house.

They all gathered on the small carport as the girls all adjusted their gear.

“Here,” Dean held out a hand, “I can carry that duffle for you.”

Lou looked up from where she had been wrapping up a large bundle in waterproof fabric, “oh, are you sure?” she smiled.

“Yea,” he returned her smile.

“Alright,” she stood up and slung the wrapped bundle onto her back, next to her rifle. “We have to show Bo how useful you can be, right?” she winked at him.

“I’ll carry the leftover meat,” Sam slung the pack from the night before over his shoulder.

“I can help too,” Castiel offered.

“No, I think you would do better to just keep working on getting better,” Ellie smiled and handed him a small pistol, “but you can take this, and help fight of any baddies.”

Castiel smiled, “thank you.”

“Alright, molerats, let’s head out of here,” Bo slipped on her black aviators, “I want to sleep in my own bed tonight.”

“So,” Dean whispered to Lou, “how far are we going today?”

“Um,” she clicked her tongue a few times, “from what I am guessing, at least sixteen miles.”

“Sixteen miles!?” Dean’s voice raised in pitch.

“That’s not too bad,” Sam smiled.

The group crouched up against the wall; Bo in front, followed by Ellie and Sam, Dean right behind them, and Lou with Castiel taking up the rear. Bo motioned for them to all stay low as she peeked around the edge of the boarded up house.

“Why are we moving so slow?” Castiel asked Lou.

“This area is known for feral ghouls, and if we can avoid them it’s better than trying to fight our way through them,” she replied, keeping an eye on Bo.

Bo waved them on to the next building. The group moved in this manner from building to building along what was obviously a once prosperous residential area.

After about twenty minutes of the intense shuffling from one building to another, Bo motioned for them to sit down and pulled out a canteen.

“Here,” Ellie said quietly as she handed Sam her own bottle of water.

“Thank you,” he nodded and gave her a small smile.

“I have an extra one you two can share,” Lou handed a full canteen to Castiel and glanced at Dean, “we are almost out of ghoul territory.”

“What is a ghoul, exactly?” Dean accepted the canteen from Castiel and swallowed a mouthful himself.

“That is a long story,” Lou tucked her own canteen away, “I will tell you later.”

“Alright, let’s get going,” Bo whispered, “once we get to Diamond City we can stop long enough for food.”

The group stood back up and worked their way down the final street of the residential area. Bo leaned around the corner of the second to the last building, but quickly jerked back, her back pressed firmly into the wall. She looked at Lou, her eyes wide.

Holding her right hand up, Lou motioned across the street once and then in the direction they were headed.

Bo glanced at the others in their party and shook her head. Holding up her right hand, Bo made an L shape motioned across the street once, down the street in the direction they were going twice and then pointed her thumb up. Bringing her hand down, her open palm facing the ground she motioned in a circle and then pointed to the ground.

Lou nodded before quickly making her way across the street and behind the buildings on the other side.

“What is going on?” Dean leaned in and asked Ellie.

Ellie pressed her finger to her lips, “there is something over there and Bo sent Lou to take care of it. Whatever it is, it is too close for us to sneak past, and we should be ready for it to come around the side of the building.” She let her assault rifle fall from her shoulder and held it ready.

It was quiet, so quiet that when the crack was heard overhead it startled all of them.

Bo held her hand out, five fingers up.

There was a second crack.

Four fingers.

A third crack.

Three fingers.

A fourth crack.

Bo held her rifle up and began to back away from the edge of the building.

The gurgling moan that came from the thing that stumbled out from between the two houses was unnerving. The shriveled humanoid was lumbering towards them, it’s mouth hanging open and an arm missing. It seemed to lock onto Ellie as it launched itself towards her at unbelievable speed, plowing her into the ground.

“Z… z… zombie!” Dean yelled as he held up his pistol.

There was a bang from Bo’s rifle as she shot at another one coming around the corner of the building. “Shoot it!” Bo yelled as she rounded the corner, standing between the two buildings and fired off two more shots.

A fifth crack resounded through the air as the head of the monster on top of Ellie exploded.

“Dean!” Castiel shouted as a third one pushed past Bo and ran towards the brothers.

Dean fired twice at the approaching threat, removing one of it’s legs. The thing tumbled to the ground, continuing to reach for Dean and Sam.

“Ugh, what are these things?” Sam frowned as he fired two shots into it’s head.

“Ghouls,” Bo sighed heavily as she pulled Ellie to her feet. “I don’t see any  more, but we need to wait quietly until Lou comes back to be sure.

The group returned to standing against the building, waiting. Only two more of the loud cracks were heard followed by a length of tense silence before they saw Lou emerge from behind one of the buildings and cross the street towards them.

“That’s all of them,” she smiled at Bo, “from what I could tell we are actually clear for a while, until we get to the city at least.”

“Good,” Bo’s shoulders relaxed and a small smile appeared on her lips, “good.”

“Alright, so,” Dean kicked the lifeless body of the withered green thing. “Now you get to tell us what the hell these things are exactly. Zombies, right? I vote zombies.”

“Not exactly,” Ellie slung her gun back over her shoulder, “zombies are humans who’ve died, and come back right? I read about them once when I was little in a Grognak comic book.”

“So, these things aren’t zombies?” Dean looked back at the corpses.

“No, they are humans that have been affected by the radiation that can be found in various areas around the wasteland. Their brains rot, leading to madness, and they try to kill anything that moves,” Ellie leaned over and turned the body at Dean’s feet over.

“They look like monsters,” Dean’s face scrunched up.

“They are not monsters,” Lou’s voice was serious, “they are victims, they should have our pity.”

Silence fell over the group.

“Alright,” Bo turned around, “we are only a couple of hours away from Diamond City, and I am hungry, so let’s get going.”

“Welcome to the biggest piece of civilization in the Commonwealth,” Ellie spread her arms out wide, “Diamond City.”

“Wait,” Dean frowned, looking at the statue in front of them, “this is Fenway Park.”

“As in,” Sam smiled, “the Boston Red Socks?”

“Isn’t Old Cronin always going on about the Boston Red Socks?” Lou raised her eyebrows.

“Yea, they played baseball, right?” Ellie looked at Bo.

“Oh man, I have always thought baseball sounded like fun,” Bo grinned, “meeting a whole other team of people, and seeing who can beat the other team to death first, sounds like my kind of game.” She raised her arms and mimicked swinging an invisible bat.

“What?!” Dean looked at the three girls in disbelief, “that isn’t baseball at all!”

“Sure it is!” Bo nodded her head excitedly, “they used baseball bats, and the best ones were called Swatters, Cronin sells some in the marketplace.”

“I’ve never bought one,” Lou sighed, “feels like you would just need to get too close to use one for my comfort.”

“Oh man,” Bo’s eyes were full of fire, “there is nothing like the feeling of bashing in the skull of something that was trying to kill you.”

“Oh my god,” Dean eyes were wide.

Sam snickered.

“I am confused,” Castiel frowned, “I thought I understood baseball, but I don’t remember anyone being beat to death.”

“Let’s just,” Dean began walking towards the stadium, “let’s just get inside so we can eat, please.”

The group walked through the entrance and only paused briefly for Dean to chuckle at the guards in their umpire gear.

“This is…” Sam paused and looked at the small town that had been built into the stands and through the field of the stadium, “amazing.”

“What is?” Ellie stopped and looked down at the buildings.

“All of these people, crammed in here,” Sam motioned to stands and the marketplace below, “people are trying to survive, despite everything going on out there.”

“I guess so,” Ellie watched the rest of the group descend the stairs, “but don’t let all the flashy buildings and propaganda pull you in, this isn’t a good place.”

“Oh,”he tensed up, looking around nervously.

“No,” she smiled, “not like that.”

“Oh,” he relaxed.

“It’s just not a good place to live,” her face was downcast. “But,” she perked up, “it is the best place to get lunch!”

“Get your free copy of the newest issue of Publick Occurrences here!” the girl called out as the group passed. “Get it before we run out!”

“Hey Nat!” Ellie smiled at the girl, “long time no see!”

“Elenore!” the girl hopped down from her wooden box and hugged her, “it has been too long! Why don’t you come back to visit more often?”

“Oh, you know,” Ellie wrapped her arms around the girl, “life gets busy.”

“Yea, yea,” the girl pulled away and held out a copy of the small paper she had been handing out. “Here, take a copy.”

“What’s going on in the Commonwealth that we need to know about?” She took the paper and glanced it over.

“Some Super Mutants have moved in just outside of the patrol zone,” Nat flipped the first page over, “the Mayor is looking for someone to take them out. We have already lost several security troops trying to clear them out.”

“What are Super Mutants?” Sam glanced at the paper over Ellie’s shoulder.

“Monsters,” Nat looked at Sam, her eyes focused on the bright blue jumpsuit. “What are you wearing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Ellie grinned at Nat and pushed Sam forward, “we need to catch up with the others. Thanks for the paper, Nat!” She waved as she pushed Sam towards the marketplace.

“What...?” Sam craned his head around to wave at the girl who just stared as they walked away. “What are you doing?”

“You don’t want too much attention from them, they will make a story out of just about anything,” she continued to push him forward. “They are nice people, just always itching for a new story.”

“Oh,” Sam leaned forward, “you can stop now, I‘m capable of walking for myself.”

Ellie chuckled, “sorry.”

The pair approached the outdoor seating for the small noodle shop where the others had found places to sit.

“I promise,” Lou was whispering excitedly to Dean and Cas, “this will be the best thing you’ve ever eaten!”

“Hey, Takahashi!” Bo waved an arm in the air, “over here!”

The tall robot slowly with a chef’s hat perched on top made it’s way over to where they had sat down.

“What,” Dean leaned back on his stool, “what is that?”

“What do you mean, ‘what is that?’?” Bo scrunched her face at him, “don’t tell me you have never seen a Protectron.”

“You know,” Ellie rested her finger on her chin, “they wouldn’t have seen most of the tech that we have now that I think about it…”

“What do you mean?” Bo turned in her seat to look at the pair that was standing behind them.

“Well, Sam and I figured out yesterday that they’re from almost 272 years ago!” Ellie nodded, “and given that most of the advancements in any field filled with technology, such as robotics, medical, military, and even just home technology didn’t start taking off until about 2037 with the first release of household robots, it would make sense that they haven’t seen… well, most of the tech that was released to the public after when they were placed in the vault,” she inhaled deeply, a huge grin on her face.

“My god,” Bo just gaped at the other girl, “you are a HUGE nerd.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Dean threw his arms in the air, “what did you say about 275 years ago?”

“We were cryogenically frozen,” Sam sat down next to Dean, “and left there for 271 years. Which is rather fascinating in itself, as I have never heard of a case of successful cryo-freezing.”

“You sound like a huge nerd too,” Bo turned back around in her chair.

“Oh, he is,” Dean slouched on the counter.

The robot finally arrived in front of the group. “Nan-ni shimasho-ka?" the robot stood in front of them.

“I would love one,” Bo pulled a metal tin from her bag and counted out twenty of the old, crushed bottle caps.

The robot collected the caps before placing a bowl filled with hot noodles and broth on the counter in front of her.

“Us too, Takahashi!” Ellie waved her arm in the air.

“Nan-ni shimasho-ka?" the robot turned towards them.

“Two please!” Ellie placed a whole bag of caps on the counter.

Again, the robot collected the caps and placed two bowls of noodles on the counter.

Ellie slid one to Sam, “here you go, enjoy!”

“Three please, Takahashi,” Lou pushed the pile of caps she had counted out previously over the counter to the robot.

“Nan-ni shimasho-ka?" the robot slowly collected them.

“Thank you,” Lou smiled and waited for the bowls to be presented before sliding one to both Cas and Dean. “Eat up!” she smiled.

Dean smelled the hot broth, “this smells familiar.”

“Oh, it’s sooo goood!” Bo closed her eyes as she ate her noodles.

“It’s like ramen…” Sam smiled as he finished his first bite.

“Ramen?” Castiel raised an eyebrow.

“Yea, like, instant noodles,” Sam took another bite.

The robot turned and began to walk off, the gears inside his torso whirring.

“Oh my god,” Dean swallowed his first bite, “this is delicious.”

“Power noodles are the best thing you can buy fresh in the whole commonwealth,” Ellie nodded in agreement.

Dean’s face was buried in his bowl as he gulped down the broth and noodles. Dropping the bowl to the counter he gasped for breath.

“Can I…” he looked at Lou, “can I have another one?”

Lou laughed, “sure.” She pulled her own tin from her bag, “Takahashi!”

The robot turned to face them.

Sebastian looked down at his feet. "Do you?" He smiled. "I saw them in one of your magazines."

"There is one place I can think of to begin." She changed the subject as she pulled several bottles of various ingredients from the chest. "It's only about seven hours away, so we can get there by morning." She checked her handgun to make sure it was loaded and then her pockets for ammunition.

"What might we be looking for?" He leaned against the table and cupped his chin in his hand.

"It's the only other place Castiel might be." She checked her backpack for water and a granola bar. "He has a, um, friend that lives there." She glanced up at him awkwardly.

"Friend?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Normally friends don't make people feel as uneasy as you seem."

"It's not that he makes me uneasy. I actually love him. It's just that his relationship with Castiel is…" She paused again. "Complicated."

"Most relationships are." He mused.

"Well, it's just that Castiel spends more time there than he does here, where he supposedly lives. He insists they aren't a couple, but I don't know…" She shook her head. "You'll understand when you meet him."

"I see." Sebastian chuckled. "I noticed you are packing several weapons."

"Yea. You never know what you'll need." She closed her bag. "My dad always insisted that I carry a knife and gun, it's become habit." She looked down at her preparations. "What do you want? You can pick whatever you'd like."

"Oh, I am set." He patted the black pouch that was hanging from his belt.

"Oh, okay." She glanced at the pouch. "What are they?"

"Throwing knives." He grinned wickedly. "If I need to use a weapon, they are my preferred choice."

"Alright, I think we are set then." She looked away. The smile on his face was making her uneasy.

"Very well." She heard the table shift as he lifted his weight off it. "I will carry your bags."

"Oh, um…" She glanced up, blushing. "You don't have to."

"What kind of partner would I be if I allowed you to carry them?" He flashed her a quick smile that made her stomach tie itself into a knot.

"Th… thanks." She stammered and turned back to grab her dad's keys. She paused for a moment, running her thumb over the smooth metal keychain her dad kept. "I will find you Dad. Hang in there." She whispered to the keys.

She hurried after Sebastian, who was already halfway up the stairs. "Normally I would take my bike, but since we are going pretty far and I don't think we can both fit on it with all our stuff we are going to take Baby."

"Baby?" He turned and looked at her one eyebrow raised.

She held up the keys. "My dad's Impala."

The ride was quiet. She let the music pour from the speakers and he was content to stare out the window. Rides in the Impala very rarely had conversation anyway, so the silence wasn't new to her.

"We're here." She said as she parked in front of a large apartment building in downtown St Louis.

Sebastian strained his neck to look out the window. "This doesn't seem like a very safe area." He mused.

"It isn't…" She smiled and unlocked the car. "But that's why he lives here, plenty of work to keep him busy."

Sebastian only pursed his lips.

He followed her silently through the stairwell that led to the sixth floor apartment. She hesitated before knocking on the door. "Now, I am warning you. This guy is a little… weird." She turned to face him. "Don't take anything he says too seriously."

Sebastian nodded. "I promise, I will be nothing but courteous."

She laughed. "Sure. Just wait." She turned back to the door and knocked.

The door creaked open, but Sebastian wasn't able to see who was on the other side.

"Oh, it's only you Miss Lizzie!" A sing-song voice cooed.

Sebastian stiffened, even after a hundred years of being apart, he would recognize that voice until the day he died.

"What can I help you with?" The man pushed his red glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Have you heard from Castiel recently?" She expressed her concern. "The bunker was all messed up and my whole family is missing."

"Oh, dear." The man rested his chin in his hand. "I am afraid I haven't seen him in days. You don't think something happened to them, do you?" His eyes widened slightly.

"Well, I am sure my father and uncle were taken. Castiel hasn't replied to any of my calls or prayers, and I know he was home the night it all happened." She glanced over at Sebastian. "Oh! I am so sorry, I didn't introduce you two."

The man's green eyes turned to look at her partner. "Oh, my." He smiled. "You brought quite a handsome young thing, didn't you?" His cheeks flushed and he batted a hand at Sebastian.

Sebastian frowned. "Do keep that dribble to yourself, Grell." He looked away.

"Wait." Elizabeth looked back at the reaper. "You two know each other?"

Grell's eyes grew wide with excitement. "I knew I would see you again someday!" He was almost dancing with giddiness. "Oh, Bassy! It's been too long!" He threw his arms out as if to wrap them around the irritated demon.

Sebastian's frown deepend.

"Oh, but I must remember… I am a claimed girl now! I can't go letting myself get carried away by old sentiments." Grell clasped his over his cheeks. "Besides, I wouldn't trade my Cassy for all the handsome men in the world." He sighed and straightened his red button down shirt.

Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "I knew it! You and Castiel are dating!"

"Well," Grell looked away, blushing. "I like to think so, yes."

"Castiel never talks about your relationship, it's like pulling teeth to get him to say anything!" She took his hands in hers. "You will have to tell me everything!"

Sebastian glanced down at the girl who was excitedly smiling at the reaper. There was something in her expression he couldn't place, but he enjoyed, it reminded him of his promise to her, that he would remain polite. He sighed quietly and rolled his eyes. "Forgive my rudeness Mr. Sutcliff. I had forgotten a promise I had made." He bowed slightly towards the pair.

"Oh, Bassy." The reaper blushed and squeezed the girl's hands. "You are all formality and courtesy aren't you?" He looked back at Elizabeth. "You two should come in. Tell me all about what is going on and I will get you some tea."

"Thank you." She smiled at him. "I appreciate it."

"I am sorry I don't have anything to tell you…" Grell pouted as he held his tea cup near his mouth. "I honestly haven't spoken to Castiel in several days now." He took a sip of the warm liquid. "I hadn't really even noticed, I've been busy with work." He jumped to his feet suddenly. "Speaking of!" He set his cup down. "I had a soul that required my attention this evening!" He frantically grabbed his long black coat and bag. "I am so sorry dear!" He patted Elizabeth's shoulder. "Feel free to stay until I get back, and under no circumstances are you allowed to leave without me! I am coming with you. I would be completely distraught if something happened to my poor Cassy and I didn't do anything to help." He was closing the door behind himself. "Help yourself to anything! Toodles!" He gave a little wave as he closed the door behind him.

"Finally…" Sebastian sighed and rubbed his temples. "I detest that reaper."

"Awe," Elizabeth smiled up at the frustrated demon. "He's not so bad. I think he's fun."

"You have a tolerance for stupidity that I admire." He returned her smile.

"Oh, I don't know about that." She yawned and slumped back in the couch. "I do know that I am tired though." She glanced at the clock. "I can't believe we have been here for eight hours already."

"I can." Sebastian stood from where he had been leaning against the wall. "You should get some rest. When he returns I think it would be good for us to return to your home so I can take a proper look around."

"Right." Her eyelids were already growing heavy. "What about you?" She looked back up to him.

"I don't need to sleep." He smiled softly down at her. "I will stay here and watch over you."

"That's, um…" She pressed her eyebrows together. "creepy."

Sebastian's smile faded into mild shock and then returned with laughter. "I think that is the first time I have been told that."

"Really?" She chuckled. "Well, it is." Her eyes were getting to be too heavy to open. "Don't let me sleep too long, three hours tops."

"Yes." She could hear Sebastian's voice as she slowly faded into unconsciousness. "My lady."

"No!" The woman's voice cried. "I can't!" She was crying.

"Please." The man was begging. "You will be the only thing I will regret leaving."

Elizabeth couldn't see their faces, but she could hear the sorrow in their voices. It was almost palpable in the air around them.

"This…" The woman was stammering, overcome with grief. "All of this. You have gone too far this time, Azrael. You have gone somewhere I cannot follow."

"Leora…" The man began.

"No!" She yelled as she sobbed. "I can't believe you would choose this over staying here with me!"

The woman's sobs began to fade from Elizabeth's mind as she began to return to consciousness. The first thing she saw when her eyes opened was the sunlight pouring through the living room curtains. "What time is it?" She groaned.

"Ah. You're awake." Sebastian lowered the book he had been reading and smiled at her. "It is a quarter past nine."

"In the morning!?" She sat up quickly, feeling the blood rush to her head. She placed her hands on either side of her head to try and steady herself. "Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"You needed it." He continued to smile. "Besides, I did try and wake you. But you would only wave your arms in the air and mumble 'Not now Dad, I am about to meet Paul Bettany…' before rolling over and returning to sleep."

Elizabeth's cheeks burned with blush. "Sorry." She narrowed her eyes and looked to the side. "I am a heavy sleeper. It's from growing up learning to sleep in cars."

"Like I said, you needed it." He returned to reading his book.

"Is Grell back?" She stood and stretched.

"Yes." Sebastian's eyes didn't leave the page he was on. "He is back in one of those rooms." He jerked his thumb towards the back of the apartment. "Has been for about two hours."

"Thanks." She patted his shoulder as she walked by.

She tried to quietly make her way down the hall to the bathroom, but as she got closer to passing by the open bedroom door she could hear the reaper humming to himself. She peeked around the edge of the doorway to see him ironing some tan colored dress pants that were most likely Castiels. He would iron them and then fold them neatly before placing them on top of the pile of similar pants. Beside the pants were some light blue shirts hung on hangers and laid out flat on the bed.

"It helps me to act as if he could show up any minute." Grell mused without looking towards her. "Like he'll just waltz in with some greasy hamburgers he picked up from some rundown mom and pop restaurant and show them to me with a grin on his face. Like a child who has found a butterfly and caught it in a jar." His voice hitched slightly.

"We will find him." She crossed the room and placed her hand on the tall man's shoulder. "I promise."