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She peeled her eyes open, and struggled to see through the darkness. She clicked her pipboy on and checked the time. 2:23AM, the clock read. She sighed and clicked it off, shifting to lay on her side. She screamed as her eyes met glowing yellow eyes in the darkness, and her body shot upright in bed, grabbing a combat knife from her belt and pointing it at the intruder. "Easy Doll, just me" the familiar voice said. She let out a sigh of relief, and lowered the knife. "Nick, you're lucky I didn't stab you." "Didn't mean to startle you. Next time I'll note that you're likely armed" he joked. She returned the knife to the sheath on her belt and rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing up? It's late.""It's not like I need sleep" he reminded her. She could hear his coolant pumping in the quiet of the room."Okay, but why are you here?" she questioned. Nick was an early riser, but he had never been one to wake her up THIS early. "And how long have you been here?""I don't mean to bother you, Doll, I know you need your beauty sleep. I was having trouble sleeping. And, well, sometimes I get lonely" he admitted sheepishly, and she saw him avert his eyes in the darkness. She reached for her lamp and clicked the light on, the Synth in her room now illuminated by its dull glow. She couldn't understand how some people become uneasy around Nick. From the moment she had met him, she had gotten nothing but good vibes from him. She found his presence very comforting, and, though she would never admit it, she loved hearing his voice. "I understand. Trust me, I get lonely easier than anyone."Nick raised a brow, or rather, raised the synthetic skin of his face where his brow should have been. "You? The vault dweller? Lonely?"She pushed his arm playfully. "Shut up. I'm human. I get lonely." She stood from her bed and stretched, her shirt coming up to expose the stretch marks on her belly. It wasn't until she entered the Commonwealth that she had become comfortable with her stretch marks. Before the war, she had always worried over them, doing her best to hide them, embarrassed of others seeing them. Though they came from her pregnancy and were a part of her, she had disliked them. After exiting the vault, she realized how superficial her worries had been. "Want a drink?" She asked, heading for the small fridge in the corner of her room. Home Plate was were she spent most of her time while she was in Diamond City. Nick and Piper frequently dropped in, and she was alright with that. "No thanks, Doll. But thanks for thinking about me."She grabbed a Cherry Nuka Cola from the fridge, popping the cap and taking a swig before returning to her bed and placing the icy bottle on her side table. "It's not very often a girl like me wakes up to a tall and handsome man in her room at this time of night.""If you think I'm tall and handsome, you've clearly never seen another man before" he laughed, his eyes softening. She had no trouble reading his eyes. When she first met him it had been difficult. But now, after traveling with him and getting to know him, reading him was a breeze. "What can I say? I have a thing for detectives."Nick smiled, sitting down in a chair adjacent to the bed, stretching his legs. "You sure you don't mind me being here? I understand if you're tired and need your rest.""Nick", he looked up and met her eyes "stay as long as you like."