[color=0072bc][i][b]Nick Valentine, Sanctuary Hills[/b][/i][/color]

A cool breeze blew through the air, shifting the leaves ever so slightly in the tree above. Nick Valentine placed his hands in his trench coat pockets, as if bracing against the chill. Being a Synth he had no need to do so, but the mnemonic impressions of his human life, or rather[i] a [/i]human life, still remained. He did things like that out of habit, he supposed, or maybe just because it allowed him a connection to a humanity he’d never truly have. All he did have were memories implanted from the real Detective Valentine and a personality that had been programmed into him. 

Nick looked down at the pair of graves before him, nestled beneath a lonesome tree in the backyard of a house in Sanctuary Hills: [i]their[/i] house. It’d been awhile since he’d last paid his respects here. In fact he hadn't come back since the burial. He'd thought to stay away because he had wondered if perhaps it wasn’t better to just let memories fade and wounds heal, but part of him knew that would probably never happen. The day he’d met Nathaniel, the sole survivor of Vault 111, was the day that things had changed forever: for him and for The Commonwealth. Nobody had really expected Nathaniel to actually reach The Institute or find his son. Yet despite all odds that's exactly what had happened. As a result of the tenacity of a father, The Commonwealth became an entirely different place. Nick knew he'd had to come back one more time, to say goodbye properly. He hadn't known what to think or say back then. Hell even standing here now he hadn't completely made up his mind how he should remember the man, but at least he could form the words. 

“Wasn’t sure what would happen when we learned you’d joined with them,” Nick muttered to the grave before him, “I suppose you tried to do the right thing at least. I don't think I can ever forgive what you did to the synths, but I guess you were just trying to set things right in your own way. Keep The Commonwealth safe. But goddamn did you make it hard to trust you after that.”

Nick felt around in his pocket for a cigarette and his lighter. He pulled them out and with a flick of his wrist he lit up the cigarette before taking a drag,

“Look at me rambling again like an old bucket of bolts. What’s done is done. You set things in motion and brought The Institute to heel. That’s worth something. Just wish you’d stuck around a bit longer to keep it all together. We’re going to try our damnedest, but it's a tangle you've left us in.” 

Valentine looked back up and stared out towards the rest of Sanctuary Hills. What used to be nothing more than the crumbling ruins of houses was now a thriving town. Caravans and traders flowed in and out of town under the watchful protection of Minutemen guards. The crops here grew tall fed by good soil and plenty of water purified directly from the stream nearby. Scavengers had begun to pick apart Vault 111 after the bodies within had been respectfully removed and re-interred elsewhere, and now the old Vault provided a unique source of trade goods and resources for the fledgling town. Nick felt a sense of pride in seeing that flag waving above it all. The flag of a nation just now beginning to form. The dream of a united Commonwealth made real.

“Well...maybe we’re on the right track at least,” Nick smiled, “Long road ahead though. Guess what I’m trying to say, badly, is...thanks for getting us on it.”

“Ayy Nicky!” The hoarse yell of the caravan guard brought Nick’s attention back to the town, “Tommy says we’re almost all loaded up. Just gotta figure out where to pack a couple more crates of those tatos. Anyways he told me to let you know we’ll be heading back to Diamond City soon. You finished with your business?”

“I am,” Nick replied as he took another puff of the cigarette, “I’ll meet you all at the gate.”

“Ok sounds good Nicky!”

Nick stared down at the grave one last time,

“I think this will be the last time I stop by here. Hope you finally found some measure of peace in the end. You deserve that if nothing else.” Nick dropped his cigarette and stamped it out in the yard. He gave one last look as he turned away,

“See ya around Nate.”