Catch a Wink - A Fallout 4 One Shot

You wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of drafts I have... And should finish... Oh well. And I'm alive now! So hi, hello! Long time no see. Angst is still 🧑‍ :egg: :kiss: and I'm still a sucker for a happy ending. I'm finally writing about four! Also, Nick Valentine >>> Everyone else... so here we go :)

This thing is very very old... So I'm rewriting all of it :,) yayy! But ofc you can't see the draft and can only see the finished version I post so boom lmao

Catch a Wink

And Nick had always considered himself a workaholic; however, it seems you had given a new meaning to the word. To a point where things were on the verge of taking a worrisome turn.

The first place he should have checked was the last place he thought to look: the Valentine Detective Agency. None other than his own home and his place of work. He had sent you on some errands a while ago, errands you weren't supposed to be back from yet, but here you were. The both of you were working on this case together, your case to find your son, and things weren't looking too hopeful.

But you were both determined, and he had just gotten back from checking out a promising lead. His whole plan was to come in, pull you away from work, and force you to relax. To eat something. Maybe even to shower, if it had been long enough that you needed to... But that all went down the drain the moment he stepped through the door and found you face-down in a pile of paperwork.

He sighed, one of his usual deep-seated, old-man sigh, and peeked around for his secretary –

sometimesbabysitter –

Ellie. She wasn't here either, which was odd, but it didn't take the detective long to piece together what happened. Looking over at you once again, he knew surely you had made a deal with her to pay her back later if she ran the errands you were supposed to have done. And, being the kindhearted soul who was just as worried as Nick had been, she accepted it. She probably believed it was the only way in which she could possibly help, the poor girl. Always selling herself so short.

"Alright kid, you've won this round," Nick muttered under his breath, defeated.

Sliding his jacket off of his shoulders he placed it over your own, creaking over to the bed on the other side of the building and pulling the pillow off. He used the hand that was mostly covered in his synthetic skin to raise up your forehead, gently, and clear the papers out from under you. He then replaced them with the pillow, gathered them up, and made his way over to the over seat in the room. You needed this rest, it was long overdue. The least he could do was look over your progress so you wouldn't panic first thing when you awoke.

•─–—–─⋅☾ • • • ☽⋅─–—–─•

Some time later Ellie made her way through the door, a few things in tow and a bag over her back. She stopped in her tracks the moment she saw Nick, and when he held up a hushed finger her eyes trailed over to your sleeping form, completely still save for the rising and falling of your back, out cold on the desk. In a hushed tone, she began to explain herself to Nick.

"They just seemed so worried... I couldn't bring myself to pull them away from their work. I mean... It's their kid on the line, you know?" Ellie whispered as she began to put a few items down and slipped her bag off of her shoulder.

"I get where you're coming from, I do. Really, I just can't believe they're as stubborn as they are," Nick replied in a hushed tone.

Ellie couldn't hold back a grin, "Reminds me of somebody else I know."

Nick chuckled quietly, "Yeah, yeah. But I don't have certain bodily needs or limitations. Just wished they'd give themselves a break. Running ragged like this is only going to burn them out."

Ellie looked unamused, "Maybe don't try and send them on a few hours worth of rather useless errands."

"Errands that were an excuse for them to clear their mind, get fresh air, and be easy for me to find and take them away from. I was trying to get them away from the case and, well... Away from everything for a minute. Guess we know how well that went over."

Ellie nodded, "I guess we do."

•─–—–─⋅☾ • • • ☽⋅─–—–─•

Eventually, you stirred awake to the lights off, save for a lamp, and the front door cracked. It was dark outside, too, because you could see the distant glow of a cigarette and faintly smell it's smoke. You sat up, rubbing your face, and looked down at the desk... Only to see a pillow in place of the papers and documents. Your notes... Where were your notes???

Just before you could begin to panic the door pushed open just a bit more, Nick's glowing irises peering in towards you. Once he noticed you were awake he put out the cigarette out and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind him.

"It's all in that chair over there, I've looked over it while you slept," Nick replied, seeing the flash of panic over your expression.

You relaxed and moved to rub your face, eyes still heavy from sleep, as you spoke once more. "How long was I out for?"

"Not long enough, I figure. Look kid, I understand what you're feeling. You've woken up in a world that isn't the one you knew and now you're chasing down someone close to you... It's a lot. You're carrying burdens almost nobody else around here could ever dream of even in their worst nightmares, but–" Nick replied.

"I need to slow down and take care of myself, I know. I know I'm still adjusting to everything, and I'm pushing my body too much but... I can't sleep, Nick. I can't sleep knowing my Sean is out there, but not knowing where or with who or how he's doing," You interrupted, tone pleading.

"I'm in no way askin' you to turn around, eat three meals a day, take multivitamins and catch up on years worth of sleep," Nick replied simply. "But you can't keep going like this, and everybody knows it. It ain't easy, but we can take things one step at a time."

"Nick, I–" You began to retort.

"Ah– No. You took a nap, about three hours. *That's* a start, the next step would be fresh air and food, so why don't we get some noodles and I can discuss with you my findings for the day? Who ever said you couldn't do two things at once?"

You couldn't help a small smile that snuck across your face, one of relief as he returned a similar looking one.

"Thank you, Nick. Really."

"You can hold the thanks until you've got your kid back. Until then, I'll help you take care of things, even if things is you."