Jake admired Tess's profile. Her hand was so soft in his, delicate even. She was delicate as well. Not frail, but slight in stature, with curves in just the right places. But damn was this woman fierce. If he hadn't already liked her before, he did all the more now. She was so easy to be with. To talk to. Up til now he'd been just fine on his own. His mind was focused on his one and only mission here in the Commonwealth and that took most of his time, his thoughts.
But now he felt connected to this woman. He didn't even know her, and yet it felt as if he always had. His heart was saddened for her. He knew only too well the pain she was in. For now he'd just do what he could to help her. He hoped that with the work they were planning to do it'd take her mind off things a bit, ease the burden a tad, even if only for moments at a time.
A breeze blew over them and he watched as brilliant copper waves bellowed behind her. That hair! Fuck. He wanted to bury his hands in it, have her lean back on his bare chest and feel it glide over his skin. His heart started jogging at just the thought of it. But now was not the time. Not now. Maybe never. He would hold out hope that there might be a 'one day.'
He closed his eyes, sighing internally. Jesus, Jake. Get a grip.
♦ ♦ ♦
They were nearing the Rosa house and Tess could see Preston speaking with Sturges. Right in front of her old house stood Mama Murphy, looking directly at her. Jesus. She was as precognitive as Dogmeat. How could such a dead world hold such strange magic, she wondered.
She stopped and Jake looked at her, his hand gripping hers slightly tighter. Their eyes met and her heart did a little ballet in her chest. Good grief. All at once she wanted to just grab his face and kiss the shit out of him and also run for the hills and hide and cry.
Was she feeling these things out of a need for closeness with another person? Was it actually Jake himself that made her react that way? She was so confused, so heartbroken, so... broken. It wasn't hard to see he was feeling something similar and, true to his kind nature, would never dream of advancing on her. She truly, in her heart of hearts, right then and there, had no idea what to do.
And then Jake did it for her. He slowly slid his hand from hers. "I take it we're here then. Umm, what's the plan now?"
His eyes were so beautiful, but they were tinged with something she hadn't seen before. It was like the glassiness right before tears well up, and the faraway look of a forlorn soul lost somewhere they can't recall.
She blinked and looked down for a second, trying to pull it together. "I think it might be nice if you go talk to Preston and Sturges about the ASAMs. I need to have a chat with Mama Murphy, all right?"
"Of course, darlin, I'd be happy to." He stood there for a moment, stuck in neutral but finally got it in gear.
"Hey, Jake," she called. "When I'm done with my chat I wanna show you something."
"Sounds good, see you then." His smile was as bright as a night game at Fenway Park. She watched him as he headed for the other men.
Yep, in another world... wait, this was another world... Well, in other circumstances, that'd be the ultimate keeper right there. That Jake Evans. An anomaly in a world that made no sense; a harsh land with harsher people and no order. A man she hoped she could at least call friend. Her heart felt like it was going to explode as she watched him but finally turned to go meet Mama Murphy.
"I knew you'd come here kid. Your energy is tied to this place. Come, let's go talk." The woman linked arms with Tess and they entered her old house. She almost passed out as they crossed the threshold. The memories were like things, and the things were attacking her all at once, an attack she had no way to avoid nor weapon to fight.
Her breath began to hitch and her body was nearly convulsing. Mama led her to the couch which was actually still there, but definitely far worse for wear. They sat down and Tess involuntarily began sobbing so hard she was hysterical. Mama Murphy ran her hand up and down her back. "I know honey, I know."
After some time, Tess finally stopped, but her body kept jerking as short, choppy intakes of breath spasmed through her. Blinking her swollen eyes she slowly turned to face the woman, her long locks disheveled and clinging to her wet face. The old woman took one of her hands and smiled at her. "You know I brought you in here on purpose, don't you."
Tess's eyes grew larger. Fuck. She really is for real. All she could do was nod and sniffle.
Mama nodded back. "I know this is so painful for you. But incredible loss always is. There's no getting around it. I already knew you were from here before we spoke. I saw you leave that pod, I saw Nate, and I saw your baby. Like I told you, he's alive and I feel his energy. I just don't know where. That is the part you have to figure out," she paused.
"But if you're going to make it, if you want to find him, then what just happened walking in here is just the beginning. I'm so sorry you had to wake up to this world instead of your own, but this is the world you're in, and you're here for a reason." She pushed some of Tess's hair from her face.
Tess just sat silently, drinking in Mama's words. Speechless.
"And there's one more thing," Mama continued, squeezing Tess's hand. "I need you to look at me." Tess complied. "This is going to be hard to hear, but you need to hear it. While I was outside waiting for you I spoke to Nate. He is so sorry for what happened. He loves you but he wants you to have a life. He wants you to be happy. How you become happy is up to you, but know that he said 'it's all right,' and that you would understand. And he added that he doesn't want you to hammer out that bent corner of his holotags that you two joked about."
Tess jumped up so fast she almost fell backward into the now decaying stereo system. The shock of what she just heard was almost too much, even after everything she'd been through the last couple of days. She stood there, shaking, jaw dropped, eyes as big as saucers, unable to move, to speak, to think. Her hand went to her chest, feeling for the holotags under her shirt, the bent corner pressing into her finger. Her eyes slowly went back to the old woman. "What... what are you!"
Mama Murphy chuckled softly. "Kid, there's no name for me. I'm just an old woman who's had a gift since she was five years old. I'm so old now I can't even remember when I was born. All my children have already grown old and died. My grandchildren and probably their children and so on, moved to the New California Republic. It's just me now, and these fine people I found that took me in. I'm not a what, I'm just a person with a burden that others call a gift."
Tess was still in shock, staring at her. "But how could you know?" It was not sinking in that Mama Murphy's abilities were actually real. She'd heard tales of psychic abilities, but most of them were relegated to science fiction stories and the corner charlatans who ripped people off to have their fortunes told. She'd never actually encountered someone that possessed such a powerful ability. Slowly she started relaxing her body and returned to the couch, sitting on the edge as if positioned to bolt.
"Kid, I get it. What you're feeling right now, how you're reacting? That's all I've seen my whole life. It's at least the easiest reaction to deal with. I've been beaten up, had rocks thrown at me, shot at, even got stabbed one time now that I think on it. Point is kid, this gift is as hard for me to deal with as it is for you to hear what it tells you," she paused, looking deeply into Tess's eyes.
"I thought on it for a bit while you were out there with that handsome Jake fella, thought about it, whether I should even tell you. But Nate is looking for release. He is trapped between worlds, trapped in time, and only you can let him free. Understand?"
Tess sat silently for some time. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to die. Every time something had happened since she woke from that fucking ice box she thought nothing else could possibly be as hard to deal with. But this? This took the fucking cake. This was the brass ring of what the fuck. This was the god damn Pulitzer Prize of scrambled brains.
Her head throbbed from the stress of sobbing, from hearing a message from her dead husband, from sitting in her house with all its faded and decayed memories. This was it. This was her breaking point. She fell against Mama Murphy and began to cry again.
"That's right child, you get it all out. Release it all, because there is so much coming for you to fill it all back up again. Promise." Mama hugged her and rocked her until she was done.
♦ ♦ ♦
As Jake was talking to Preston and Sturges, he could hear crying behind him. Was that Tess? His heart started pounding and it took everything in him not to bolt straight over to the house she was in and see what had happened. But he knew she was in there with the old woman and figured that maybe it was good for her to talk to another female, what with all she was dealing with. But it was so sad to hear her in such pain.
He heard fingers snapping. "Hey, Jake, you with us?" It was Sturges.
"Yeah, sorry fellas, I'm here. Now like I was sayin," he continued, "you just set this one here down wherever you want and it'll scan the area for materials, then it will auto build a small house of sorts that someone can live in, easy peasy."
Preston and Sturges looked at him like he had just spoken Martian. "It builds it... for you," Sturges said slowly.
Jake sighed softly. "Look guys, just go set it over there," he instructed, pointing to an area between the ruined houses that had enough room. "Trust me," he finished. They did as he asked and then stood in stunned silence as, after a laser beacon had scanned the area, the shack begin to build itself.
"No one ever believes me," Jake whispered to himself, shaking his head.
It was late afternoon now and starting to cool off. Jake looked around and saw Tess and Mama Murphy emerging from the house across the street. Tess looked so pale and even from where he stood he could see the rings around her eyes. Damn! He didn't like how she looked.
His heart ached for her. Not sure what he should do he just watched them walk the short path from the door to the sidewalk, but as soon as Tess look up at him and their eyes locked, he trotted over to her and took her in his arms, protocol and manners be damned.
He felt the old woman's hand on him. "You take good care of her, she needs you"
He thought, you're damn right I will.
And child," Mama Murphy added, looking at Tess, " Dogmeat is going to stay with me." Then she toddled off.
Jake looked into Tess's eyes, "Tell me what I can do, darlin."
She smiled up at him, her eyes were swollen and red, so was her nose. She leaned into his chest and said, "Come with me, I want to show you what I was talking about."
"Of course, whatever you need."
Tess led Jake to the bunker. He was immediately impressed with the entryway. He even knew the brand of the lock mechanism and the solar panels. Once inside he whistled. "Wow, this is a nice setup. And he did this all by himself?"
She smiled wanly and nodded. "Well, we did hire contractors to dig the place out for us, but yeah, "she said with a sniffle. "I helped, of course, but I'm more of a gun nut than a carpenter." This time her smile was more like her. Beautiful and inviting.
"I have to say, this is mighty impressive." He had his hands on his hips looking around at the bunker. "Shit, you guys shoulda just come in here back then."
Tess smiled sadly. "We thought about it, but when the actual day came it was such a panicked rush to get somewhere safe and the Vault Tec rep had just come by to sign us up for a spot, plus we weren't sure how long you'd actually have to stay under before it was safe and even with all this, I doubt our supplies, or we, would have lasted."
He looked at her for a moment and decided he'd let her lead the conversation, let her decide what she wanted to do. She was so fragile right now he felt that the wrong touch would shatter her.
"I figured we could move all this to the vault," she began, motioning around at the crates and lockers, "you know, have at least the basics for move in and then you could educate me on where to find stuff, what to do next. Is that all right?" she asked.
"That sounds like a solid plan, darlin," he nodded and smiled. She was so fierce, so smart, but so delicate and fragile. She was her own woman yet he could sense she needed someone that would be there for her. He prayed that he would be that someone, some day in the future. Maybe. Hopefully.
"I know it's a bit early, but I'm exhausted," Tess stated. "Would you come lie with me till I fall asleep?" Her eyes were sad but hopeful.
Oh fuck. He gulped. How could he say no to that the right way? She was too vulnerable right now, he couldn't... Damn. "Umm, well if we're beddin down here tonight, I can just roll out some blankets on the floor next to you."
"Jake. Look at the bed please. There is enough room on that thing for three of us. I'm not going to bite you," she paused, "hard."
He actually laughed and hoped she didn't take it the wrong way. But she chewed the end of one finger and smiled, glossy post-sob eyes gleaming at him. His body ached, his head swam, his heart wanted to leap out of his chest and do a dance. He was terrified.
"As the lady pleases," he replied, giving her a proper bow.
Dear god help me. He joined her at the bed. She got on and scootched over to one side and he gently moved next to her. They both lie there on their backs looking up at the rough hewn rock, packed dirt and tree roots - the silence was deafening. She spoke first.
"You are the kindest person I've ever met, you know that Jake?" A moment passed by. "I am going to share something with you that is even harder for me to deal with than everything else I've experienced since I left the vault. I'm going to share it with you because I trust you. And I don't think you're going to believe it until the end." Her fingers gripped tightly to something inside her shirt.
He had absolutely no idea what she was going to say, but from what he'd learned about her so far, she wasn't the type to make up stories. He would listen and he would be a friend to her. And for now, that was enough.