Max Affinity
by Magnus Prime

Chapter One: Twisting the Knife

"Sir? May I speak with you for a moment?"

Nate ducked down under a hail of gunfire but still managed to flash an incredulous look at his traveling companion. "Can it wait 'til later, Ada? We're kinda busy right now."

"Of course," she replied before calmly firing her laser rifle at the Gunners advancing on their position.

After another quick survey of their attackers, Nate popped up over the wall they were using for cover, sighted through his customized sniper rifle, and shot through the massive Sentry Bot in the midst of the attackers, hitting its fusion cores. He ducked down again and, a few seconds later, a huge explosion rocked the area, sending debris, flaming or otherwise, everywhere. "Wait here," he ordered his companion, before peeking over the short wall, narrowing his eyes to try to see through the thick smoke.

The smoke eventually cleared, showing Nate what he expected to see: The flaming wreckage of a Sentry Bot, surrounded by dead Gunners. As was routine, the pair picked through the mess of bodies, looking for anything salvageable.

"Would now be an acceptable time, sir?" Ada asked as Nate packed the last of the loot in their travel gear.

"Let me just…there!" Nate finished, stuffing a piece of leg armor in his backpack. "This should give Cait a little better protection the next time we're out."

The former Automatron bristled slightly at the mention of the gladiator but shoved it down, knowing from her time with Curie that her feelings were those of jealousy and would do her no good to obsess over them.

"All right," the Sole Survivor said as he clapped his hands together to clear off the dust before focusing his attention fully on Ada. "Sorry to keep you waiting; what's up?"

Ada shuffled her feet hesitantly. "Sir, we've traveled together for quite a long time, and…from the time you saved me from the Mechanist's attack on our caravan – I mean, Miss Cruz…I mean-"

"Ada? You okay?" Nate interrupted as politely as he could through the barrage of words. "You don't normally have this much trouble speaking your mind."

"I'm fine, sir," she blurted reflexively, then sighed. "Perhaps I should have waited until Curie could help me."

"You don't need anyone else to speak for you," Nate said consolingly. "Just think about what you want to say. If it's hard to say, take a deep breath first; that usually helps to clear my mind."

"Thank you, sir."

Nate watched as his synth friend closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling once, then twice. He was still amazed at what the Institute had been able to create. Part of him wished he hadn't destroyed the place, but…decisions have consequences.

Finally, her eyes opened. "I will admit that it's hard to describe precisely what I'm thinking or feeling right now. All I know is that I'm very glad to have met you. From rescuing me from the Mechanist's attack on my creator's caravan, to facing down Ahab by yourself to protect me, to finding that back door to her lair, potentially saving us a lot of trouble…" She cast her gaze to the ground. "I've realized that I've grown quite…fond of you."

"Thanks, Ada," Nate replied with a warm smile. "It means a lot to me to hear you say that. You've come a long way in such a short amount of time, and you've adjusted really well. I'm really glad you got to be a human…well, as close to one as you can."

She glanced up at him with an awkward smile, and his own smile faded as her smile took him back to his early days dating Nora. "I was…hoping to get closer to a…particular…human," she said, gazing at him meaningfully.

A sudden heaviness nearly overwhelmed him. Even though Kellogg was dead the pain of his loss remained. In fact, with Shaun's death, the pain had gotten worse. "Ada? Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm not sure, sir," she replied, but the look on her face…

Nate sighed heavily, trying to flush some of the fresh pain away. "Listen, uh…"

"Do…Do you not desire companionship, sir?" She was really 'sir'ing him a lot more than usual today. "You've had many opportunities to get closer to one of us. Curie, for one, has been-" she cut herself off with a gasp, clapping a hand over her mouth.

"What about Curie?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"N-Nothing. Please forget I said anything," the blue-haired girl said, pointedly avoiding his gaze.

He sighed heavily again before coming to a decision. "Ada, follow me, please."

"Yes, sir."

She followed him as he headed northeast to Graygarden. After a brief conversation with Supervisor White, they followed the tracks north for another stop by the Starlight Drive-In, where they spent some time meeting the new settlers and assigning them responsibilities. Finally they went northwest through the ruins of Concord until they reached Sanctuary.

"Why are we going this way, sir?" Ada asked as they stood at the northern path leading out of the settlement. In front of them she could see the path lead around the side of the hill in front of them, and she assumed that it led to the top.

He didn't answer, but started down the path and she followed. When they reached the top she noticed what appeared to be a large, metal, circular platform near a small hut. She knew from conversations with the others that Nate had come from a Vault, but… "Sir? Is this a Vault? The one you came from?"

"Stand on the platform," he ordered, though not unkindly. "I'll be right there."

She obeyed, and watched as he entered the hut. Through the window, she thought she saw him interact with something inside, and then quickly hurried outside to join her.

"Sir-AH!" She had started to say something, but was interrupted by the floor beneath them suddenly lowering into the ground. She looked over at him with surprised eyes, but relaxed when she saw his calm demeanor.

Eventually an opening came into view, and the floor stopped behind a wire mesh-type wall. The wall lifted, and Nate stepped from the elevator, heading toward a nearby flight of stairs. Ada looked around in wonder; she had never been in a Vault before, so everything was so new to her. But… "Something's not right…"

Nate said nothing but led her through several doorways, and Ada realized that something must have malfunctioned, locking the doors in their open position.

Finally, they arrived at a series of tubes, and Ada gasped as she saw people in them. "Oh my god…"

He stopped at the last tube – a pod, she realized – and leaned against it with one hand as he looked up into its window. He glanced at her as she hesitantly approached the pod before returning his gaze to its occupant. She came up next to him and looked in as well. "Ada…meet Nora. She's…my wife."

Her hands flew to her mouth as she took a step back from him. "Oh, sir, I'm so sorry! I never knew…"

"It's okay," he said softly.

"We have to get her out of there!" Ada exclaimed. "If you-"

"She's…dead, Ada," he said in an unusually husky voice.

"How….?"

"Did any of the others tell you about Kellogg? Nick would have been the most likely; he was with me when I killed the bastard."

"N-No, sir. They've mainly told me about how you've helped them…and, of course, I know about your fight against the Institute."

He drew in and released a shuddering breath. "When the bombs fell over two hundred years ago my wife and son and I were brought here, thinking we would be living underground until the worst of it blew over. Instead, Vault-Tec stuck us in these cryogenic pods. About sixty years ago our pods were deactivated and Kellogg came and took my son from Nora, and…" he bit his lip as he turned his face from his friend. "…when she resisted, he shot her." He thumped a fist against his wife's pod. "And all I could do was watch as he stole my baby and killed my wife."

"Sir…" she whispered, dumbstruck.

"After he took Shaun, he activated our pods again, putting me back under. I didn't wake up again until Shaun deactivated them again just a few months ago."

The pressure in her eyes told her that tears were starting to form. "Oh sir, I'm so sorry…I don't know what to say."

He allowed himself to look over at her, and she could see the moisture in his eyes as well. "Thanks, Ada. Just…thanks for listening. Now you know why I haven't gotten closer to Curie," he said with a humorless smile.

"Sir?" she asked somewhat cautiously. "If she's dead, shouldn't we…bury her?"

"Yeah, I should," he admitted. "But…I guess, for some reason I'm still holding out hope that she can be brought back. Maybe if I hadn't blown up the Institute…"

"You did what you believed was right, sir," the blue-haired girl said as she carefully laid a hand on his shoulder. "All of us believe in you."

"I know," he said. "It's just…hard."

As they headed back to Hangman's Alley, a tickle of a plan started to form in the young synth's mind…