Closure for Lucy West

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It's good to see you, madame! And your new four-footed friend," Wadsworth's voice rang out; Ellen waved him off as she trudged up the stairs. Not that she didn't appreciate the Mr. Handy's attentiveness, but just now all she wanted to do was collapse. How long had this trip been? Big Town, the mutants in the police station, the vampires, that incident in the Scrapyard, those lunatics in Canterbury Commons... agh, it was all just too much. If she could just get a little rest, she-

-oh, wait, she still had one thing left to do, didn't she? The trip wasn't done until she finished what she'd set out to do in the first place.

With a grimace, she unshouldered her backpack. "Wadsworth?" she called.

"Yes, madame?"

"Where can I find Lucy West at this time of day?"

***

Moriarty's. Figured. Well, at least the man himself didn't seem to be around; if she just didn't look towards that one dim corner, she should be all right. "Hey, Gob," she said, lifting a hand to the bartender.

"Hey there, smoothskin," Gob answered, and glanced past her. "I see you got yourself a dog out there."

"Um, yeah." Ellen glanced down at Dogmeat, who seemed more interested in sniffing the wall than being the subject of attention. "Is that a problem?"

"Long as he doesn't lift his leg or squat, I don't care," Gob said. "I have enough to clean up as it is. What can I get you?"

"Nuka-Cola's fine," says Ellen, and passed a handful of caps to him. Not that she couldn't afford beer or whiskey- Uncle Roe had been as good as his word- but after Milliways beer, she was pretty sure the local stuff would take like ash in water. "Thanks."

She turned to look around the room, noting a few faces she didn't recognize- a sallow fellow a few years older than herself, an elderly woman in a Brahmin-skin dress- before catching sight of Lucy West. The fair-haired young woman looked up and smiled as Ellen approached her table. "Oh, hey, you made it!" she said. "At least, I hope you did..."

"I made it to Arefu," Ellen confirmed.

"That's great! Did you deliver my message? Are my parents all right?"

Ellen took a deep breath. "Lucy..."

There'd been vids about the annexation of Canada in the Vault, she remembered that. When a soldier died, the War Department sent someone with a telegram to the family's door, and he took off his hat and handed over the piece of paper. Ellen had wondered, once or twice, what those men must have thought with a job like that.

"... your parents..."

Lucy's expression went from bright to sober, and then to very, very still. "Oh no," she half-whispered. "What happened?"

Have you considered telling her that her parents just got killed by mutants or something? Ichigo had said.

"Lucy, I'm so sorry. Your parents are dead," Ellen said, wishing irrationally for a hat to take off herself. Or some other gesture of respect to make, or- or something! Especially since what was coming next simply would not be denied. "Your brother..."

Lucy closed her eyes and let out a long, shaking breath. "Oh, God," she murmured. "He lost it, didn't he."

"... you knew?" Ellen blurted out.

"Well, I always suspected," Lucy said. "When we were just kids, there was this man-"

Lucy hesitated, but Ellen shook her head. "He told me," she said. "The one he-"

"Yes," Lucy said. Then: "Wait. He told you? He's still alive?"

"Well, yes?"

Lucy shook her head. "That's incredible. The other people in Arefu didn't lynch him?"

"He's not in Arefu any more," Ellen said. "Does the term 'the Family' mean anything to you?"

"No," said Lucy, "but I think I'd like to hear about it..."