Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Nurse Batshit! Where’s my fuckin-”

(Y/n) rolled her eyes, moving down the hallway towards the voice. The man yelling was Frank Woods, an ex-marine who has been causing hell here for over a decade. He had a reputation amongst the staff and residents for being difficult and unfriendly to most people. He did have his favorites, and thankfully (Y/n) was one of them.

“Frank, would you stop calling Kelly that? We’ve talked about this.” (Y/n) holds the door to his room open with her hip, crossing her arms over her chest as she looks at him like a stern mother scolding her son.

“I’ll stop calling her that when she stops acting like a damn psycho.” The man grumbles, rolling his wheelchair over to the window. “I wanted my damn drink.”

“I’ve got it here.” The woman sighs, handing a glass over to him. “You know, Kelly would be a lot nicer to you if you were nicer to her.”

“What’ll it take to get you to be nicer to me?”

“I’m the most pleasant motherfucker here.” (Y/n) smiles as Frank snorts at that. She takes an orange medicine bottle out of her bag, carefully checking over the label to ensure it’s the correct one. Satisfied, she set it down on the low-standing dresser, next to another near-empty bottle. “Refills came in.”

“Thanks, kiddo.” The man nods. “You gonna stick around here today?”

“As much I love spending time with my favorite asshole, I have other residents to see today.”

“You know, one of these days you won’t run off before my nephew gets here.” He turns his chair to face her fully. “I’ll introduce you two all charming-like, and then you can tell the story at your wedding.”

“I look forward to that day.” (Y/n) plays along sarcastically. “But for now, I have a job to do.”

“Yeah, get the fuck out of here, miss independent.” Woods waved her off, turning back to the window. “Go clean up the piss and shit of a million other old farts.”

“You’re so gross,” (Y/n) whines, leaving his room. “Keep it up and I’m not dropping in to say goodbye when I leave tonight.”

“You’d miss me.” The old man laughs as she waves and closes the door behind her. She chuckles to herself as she moves down the long hallway to her next stop. The Vault is never a bustling place, usually quite empty and lonesome. Occasionally a nurse will pass by, sometimes with a resident alongside them. Even rarer are visitors coming to see loved ones who resided here. As (Y/n) turned a corner away from Woods’ room, she wasn’t expecting to see anyone there, much less run face-first into them.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” She backs up, catching her balance, and holding out a hand to support the man she just bumped into.

“No, don’t be sorry. I should’ve watched where I was going.” The man also reached out to steady her. He smiled kindly, though something about him left a chill trailing down her spine. He spoke in a thick accent, and his right eye was milky white and scarred.

Suddenly lost for words, she smiled awkwardly and nodded at him, sidestepping out of the way. The man returned the nod, continuing down the hallway where (Y/n) had just come from. The woman brushed off her blue scrubs, picking up the pace to drop off the next bottle of meds she was tasked with delivering this morning.

She knocked on the next resident's door, smiling her hellos and leaving the bottle of medicine in its place. After a bit of small talk, she moved to leave the room, and her hand grazed what felt like another bottle in her bag. She pulled it out as she stepped back into the hall, glancing at the label and reading the name.

Frank Woods.

Oh, did he have two bottles of medication? Shit. Shaking her head at her obliviousness, (Y/n) started trekking back to Woods’ room. At least she hadn’t gone too far when she realized her mistake. And it was an excuse to say hello to Frank again. (Y/n) smiled softly. She was rather fond of that old man.

As she turned the corner of the hallway, the same one where she had just bumped into that man, she ran face-first into yet another person. This time the body she collided with was harder. She bounced off of this person, landing on her ass with a grunt. It was the eerie sound of a gun clicking in front of her that brought her to focus.

“Hands where I can see them!” The man yelled, covered head to toe in tac gear. He was holding a very intimidating-looking rifle, pointed straight at her.

(Y/n) threw her hands up with a yelp, wincing as another man behind the first came and roughly grabbed her arm. He lifted her to her feet, and she cried out.

“What the hell is going on?!” She asked, and before the men could answer, a familiar voice called out down the hall.

“You better not be fuckin with the only competent nurse we have in this hellhole.” Franks Woods wheeled himself out of his room, looking down the hall at the men with a glare of fury. “Let the girl go, she ain’t a threat to you dipshits.”

“At ease.” Another voice spoke up, moving to stand behind Frank. The two soldiers let go immediately, and (Y/n) moved to rub at the bruise already growing on her arm.

“Why don’t you come here?” Frank beckoned, moving back into his room. A third voice spoke up from inside.

“This isn’t a matter for civilians to be involved in-”

“Will you just quiet down, already? Jesus fucking christ.” Frank groaned. The man standing in the doorway nodded to (Y/n) as she got closer.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled, letting her enter the room. She stood there, looking at the suddenly crowded space they were occupying. The third man, who was also dressed head to toe in tac gear, was scowling behind Frank, who looked absolutely unbothered. The other man behind her was dressed casually. He stepped in front of the door, blocking (Y/n)’s way of leaving if she wanted to escape.

“I uh,” She reached into her bag, grabbing Frank’s second bottle of medicine with shaking hands. She was trembling so hard that the bottle audibly rattled as she removed it from the bag. “I forgot these earlier, Frank. Came by to drop them off.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.” Frank nodded, taking the bottle from her. “Don’t let these fuckers scare you, they look meaner than they are.”

“Listen, old man-” The guy in the gear started before Frank interrupted him.

“I told you someday I would make you meet my nephew?” Frank wheeled himself closer to her, gesturing to the man standing behind her. “This is David. I was hoping to introduce you two a little nicer, but..”

(Y/n) awkwardly turned back to look at David. She raised a still-shaking hand and whispered out the most pathetic-sounding ‘hi,” she’d ever heard.

David nodded. “Sorry again for startling you, miss.”

“It’s alright. May I ask what happened? Is everything ok?” Her eyes moved to Frank as she said this.

“Yeah, they’re looking for some asshole who just stopped by. Could’ve done it without disturbing the goddamn peace around here.”

(Y/n) wanted to joke about how there was no peace with Frank around, but she wasn’t feeling up to the joke with the given company.

“Someone was here?” Her thoughts floated back to the man she had run into the first time. “The uh, guy with the eye?”

“You saw Menendez?” David asked, moving to stand in front of (Y/n). She flinched back just slightly.

“Is that who he was?”

“What did he say to you?” The man in the gear spoke up, and she shook her head.

“Nothing, really. We bumped into each other earlier, I mean I ran right into him. All we did was apologize for that.” The two men shared a glance, but Frank looked pissed.

“Is that all that happened, (Y/n)?” he rolled his chair right up to her, looking at her with a grave seriousness she hadn't seen before. “That fucker is a dangerous man. He didn’t do or say anything to you-”

“No! I bumped into him, we both apologized, and that was that. I went back to doing my job.”

Frank visibly relaxed, but the other two men seemed more on edge. David stepped closer, lifting a hand towards her.

“I need to search you real quick, miss.”

“Search me?”

“Menendez may have planted something on you when you bumped into him. Just a precaution.” The other man spoke.

“I’ll try to be respectful.” David tried to look comforting, but instead, he just looked uncomfortable. Breathing deeply and bracing herself, (Y/n) dropped her bag with a nod.

It felt incredibly weird, having a strange man put his hands all over her. She felt tense under his moving touch, but she tried to remind herself it was for an actual reason and not just some dude feeling her up. Frank let out a low whistle.

“I knew I liked the idea of you two together, but Jesus Christ, you only just met!”

“Frank.” (Y/n) hissed, sending him a glare.

“Alright, sorry!” He laughed, clearly not apologetic in the slightest.

Sure enough, David reached his hand into her pocket and pulled a small black… thing out of it. Her discomfort was quickly replaced with shock.

“How did he put that there? I didn’t even feel it.” She mumbled.

“He’s a tricky bastard.” David squeezed it, popping the thing like it was a bug. (Y/n) supposed it was. “Unfortunately, that means Menendez has his eyes on you, now.”

“Why me?”

“He knows who you are, kid.” Frank looked down at the ground with a huff. “He knows I like you, and he wants to use that to get to me.”

“Wait, what do you mean-” (Y/n) can’t finish her sentence before David looks to the third man in the room.

“Harper, tell Briggs we’re bringing a plus one back.” The third man, Harper, nods, and David looks back at her. “I’m sorry, I know this isn't how you planned your day to go. Come on, we’ll get you settled for the ride.”

“But what about-”

“Don’t worry about any of that, kid.” Frank waved his hands. “You go with David, and do as he says. He’ll take care of ya.”

Before she can argue any further, Harper leads her out of the room and into the hallway. David and Frank start up one last conversation behind them, one that's drowned out by the rustling of many soldiers filing through the hall. (Y/n) wonders where her quiet little job went to.

“We’ll get you settled in somewhere safe, Miss (L/n),” Harper speaks, guiding her onto a small aircraft parked outside the vault. “Someplace as comfy as we can manage, alright?”

“You, uhm,” (Y/n) tries to let her mind catch up to what's happening around her. More soldiers are moving back and forth. “You know who I am.”

“Yeah. Frank Woods has mentioned you to Section in the past.”

“Section?”

“David Mason.” he clarifies.

“Oh.” She says lamely.

“And I’m Mike Harper.” He holds out a hand to shake hers, which she accepts. “I hear you’ve made quite the impression on the old man.”

“Frank?” She practically has to yell to be heard over the aircraft's engines. “I seem to be the only person he can tolerate. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fond of him.”

“That’s sweet.” Harper smiles. “I’m sure Section would be glad to hear it.”

Then David Mason exits the vault, making his way up and onto the aircraft as well. He settled in next to her, glancing to make sure she’d properly fastened in with a nod. The ramp closes up, and it becomes much quieter aboard the craft. (Y/n) grips onto the edge of her seat as she feels it lifting into the air.

“You ever flown on anything like this before?” David asks. She shakes her head. “It’s a smooth ride. You’ll be just fine.”

For some reason, (Y/n) felt anything but fine.

Chapter Text

“Welcome to the U.S.S. Barrack Obama.” Harper stretched, standing from his seat. The ride was indeed very smooth, just as David had said. (Y/n) had settled into the ride easily, despite her fear of flying.

“The admiral knows you’re here with us.” David placed a hand on her shoulder as they both stood. “We’re gonna get you set with as private quarters as we can.”

(Y/n) just nodded, grateful for anything at all. The closest she had ever been to any kind of military operation was hearing Frank tell stories of his time on the battlefield. She knew aircraft carriers were big, but setting foot on one was an entirely different story. It was immediately overwhelming. Stepping off the ramp, (Y/n) stood in awe for a moment.

“Isn’t she a beaut?” Harper clapped a hand on her shoulder, not roughly but less gently than David had.

“It’s so big.”

“That’s wha-” David whacked Harper across the chest.

(Y/n) chose to ignore him. Waiting to fall in step behind the two men. It was so incredibly busy on the carrier. People were moving every which way, much like back at the vault. It was fascinating to watch them go. It was like a colony of ants; Too much movement to perceive all at once, but each person moved with a purpose. They all had a goal in mind. Not one of them was wandering aimlessly. It was very different from the kind of busy of a shopping mall.

(Y/n) followed in behind the soldiers, the three of them moving towards two other men who were walking calmly towards them. They met in the middle, standing toe to toe. She was suddenly aware of how much taller than her they all were.

“(Y/n) (L/n), this is Admiral Tommy Briggs.” David gestured between them. “Admiral, this is the young lady we told you about.”

(Y/n) quirks an eyebrow at that. David was only a year or two older than her, wasn’t he?

“Hello, Miss (L/n).” Briggs smiled, nodding curtly at her. “We’ll do our best to accommodate you during your stay.”

“If I may ask,” She started, nervously. “Why am I here, specifically? Shouldn’t I be put in some kind of witness protection or something?”

Briggs took a deep breath, though his overall demeanor told her he expected this question. It filled her with dread.

“I’m afraid it’s a bit more complicated than that.” He told her, turning to walk back the way he had come from. (Y/n) got the memo, quickly falling into step beside the man. “Raul Menendez is a very dangerous man. The fact that he has eyes on you puts you in grave danger.”

“There’s nothing special about me, though.” (Y/n) laughs, but it’s more from nerves than anything. “I’m just a caregiver in a retirement home.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not about you, but rather who you’re friends with,” Briggs responded. “Menendez has a vendetta against Frank Woods. And he has a history of harming people Woods is fond of. That includes you.”

Even though she knows the situation is grave, hearing someone point out the obvious- that Frank Woods is fond of her- fills (Y/n) with pride. She loved that old man, very dearly.

“That’s why it’s important we keep you close right now,” David said, trailing just behind her. “Frank wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

And then she understands. David asked for this, for his uncle's sake, just as much as hers.

The men lead her down into the interior, immediately launching into a conversation she didn’t quite understand. A minute or two in, she began to grow suspicious they were using code. Honestly, that was fine. (Y/n) may not have met David before today, but she had heard a lot about him. And she would trust Frank Woods with her life (to a degree. He was still an old man in a wheelchair). She chose to trust that David Mason would have her best interests in mind.

“(L/n)! With me.” The unnamed man who walked up with Briggs calls her over as he comes to a stop. (Y/n) ducks out of the crowd of men, standing off to the side of a foreign hallway with him.

“Javier Salazar,” He introduced himself. “I’m gonna take you to where you’ll be staying.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He leads her down a different hallway, to a flight of stairs, and it flashes through her mind that if she tried to navigate this carrier on her own she’d definitely get lost. The halls of the vault were just as guilty when it came to being blank and repetitive, but she had been there for so long that she knew the place like the back of her hand. The Obama is an entirely new and foreign place. The hallways looked the same and she had no clue which direction was which. Not to mention it was a ship. It moves.

“Am I just gonna have to… stay in my spot or?” (Y/n) felt stupid for asking, but she was genuinely unsure. This was an unconventional situation.

“I don’t know,” Salazar spoke honestly. “I think Section’s gonna be lookin’ after you personally. I would recommend having someone with you at all times, just so you don’t get lost or wander into the wrong place. I’m sure he’ll handle that.”

“Alright.” (Y/n)’s face burned red. So he was aware she was already confused? If he asked her to go back the way they came right now, she’d never be able to. Then again, what could they expect from her?

“Here we go!” Salazar opened a door to the room. It looked like some kind of small office space, but the desks and equipment had been moved out, and a bunk placed instead. The only light in the room was a single dim lamp by the door. It was tiny and barren, yet somehow (Y/n) didn’t mind. “It’s no five-star hotel, but, you know.”

“It’s great. Really, it’ll do nicely. I’m just grateful you all are going this far to help me.”

“You can thank Section for that. Speaking of, I’ve got some stuff I gotta do, but he should be here to grab you in a bit. I’ll leave you to settle in.”

Salazar left the room, and (Y/n) moved the whole three steps to get over to the bunk. Brushing her hands slowly on her pants, she sighed. Settled in. Right. She didn’t even pick her bag up off the floor of Frank’s room back at the vault. She quite literally had nothing but the clothes on her back right now.

With another, even deeper sigh, She let her mind wander to Frank. While (Y/n) did have a few gal pals around her age that she was friendly with, the only person that she felt connected to was Frank Woods. He would often tell her stories about his life. His time spent fighting, often alongside his best friend. He’d tell her about raising said best friend’s son as if he was his own. In return, he’d ask her about her day, and if she had anything to complain about, he’d throw in his own opinion, which was often crass and caused (Y/n) to laugh. He was the only person she would talk in depth to, and she enjoyed every moment of it. The idea of not seeing him for a while felt truly saddening, though it paled in comparison to the realization that this dangerous man who had forced her into hiding had been standing face-to-face with Frank right after she left him. She couldn’t bear to think of what he could’ve done to the man then.

Shaking her head, (Y/n) sat on the bed, smoothing down the sheets beside her. She couldn’t spend time on the what-ifs. Frank was staying at the vault, though now with heightened security via the military. She was here, where that Menedez guy couldn't possibly touch her.

She just had to wait here until they caught the man.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, how long has Menendez been active?”

“Uhh, 1972, I think.” David’s brow furrowed in thought as he spooned more food into his mouth. “But he wasn’t really on the radar until 1986.”

(Y/n)’s face fell at that. She looked down at her tray of horribly bland-looking food. “Oh. That’s… a bummer.” She was gonna be stuck here for a while, wasn’t she?

Before she could ask David any more questions (which there had been a lot of), Harper sat down beside him with a loud sigh.

“It is dinner time!” He cheered triumphantly. “How’s our little damsel in distress hangin’ on?”

“I’m, uh, certainly hanging in there, that’s for sure.”

“We’re supposed to be getting some supplies for you soon,” David spoke up as if he just remembered. “We’ll need your clothing sizes and such.”

“Okay, cool. Thanks.” She mouths another sad spoonful of tasteless potatoes. That seems to be all she’s done since she got here: ask questions and say thank you. As much as she genuinely means it, (Y/n) is growing tired of saying it. And she’s sure the men are tired of hearing it.

“And if there’s anything specific you want or need, let me know. I’ll try to get whatever I can, within reason.”

“Thank you.” She repeated, growing tired of her own voice.

“How come you never get me anything, Section?” Harper practically pouts, already nearly done with his plate. (Y/n)’s barely touched hers.

“You know damn well why.” The two men start bickering in good fun, and (Y/n) feels herself zoning out. She absent-mindedly continued to eat her food, occasionally hearing something that caught her attention for a moment or two. After a while, it seemed the men were done.

“See ya tomorrow, girly.”

“Bye, Harper.” She waved politely.

“Ah, you can call me Mike, sweetheart.” He winks at her before David shoves him away with a “yeah, yeah.”

“Ignore him.” David stands as well, stretching before picking up his tray. “You ready?”

(Y/n) nodded, shoveling the last bite or two of food into her mouth and standing as well. They go to leave their trays where they belong, and (Y/n) wonders what's happening next. Her heart sinks as she realizes it’s probably just back to the room for her. It would seem her reaction was at least partly visible because David looked at her for a moment.

“You like to work out?” The question throws her off guard, and she whips to look at the man quickly. He raises his hands in surrender. “I’m not, like, trying to come onto you, I swear. I just thought maybe you’d like to use the gym. You know, give ya something to do.”

“Hmm.” She considers it for a moment, but using a gym where the only other patrons would be strange men… strange military men. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll pass for now.”

“Alright.” David nods, looking away from her as fast as possible. It almost makes her laugh.

“So, I have one last round of questions for the day.”

“Go ahead, I’m all ears.” (Y/n) is grateful for the lack of annoyance in his tone.

“Frank raised you since you were like… what seven?”

“Yeah, about.”

“How did you end up like.. This?” She gestures to him vaguely.

“What, you mean not a complete asshole like him?” David jokes.

“Yeah, exactly! And I mean it with all the love in the world for Frank.”

David chuckles at that. “I’m not so sure of that myself. But you know what they say, never look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“Fair enough.” (Y/n) laughed softly as well, falling into a comfortable silence next to him as they finished the route back to where she was staying.

“And here’s your stop.” He states, standing next to her door. She moves a hand to open it but hesitates.

“I know I’ve been saying it a lot, but thank you, David. I know all of this was your doing, and I really am grateful you’d jump through so many hoops to keep me alive. Especially considering we’ve never met before.”

“Don’t stress it.” He looked away, almost shyly. “Frank spoke very highly of you every time I visited. Honestly, I was always kind of hoping I’d get to meet you.”

That came as a surprise to (Y/n). Frank had been trying to coax her into meeting David for years, but it was always so obvious he had wanted to set them up together. The thought of it kinda pushed away any desire to meet David, just out of pure awkwardness. Now that they had met, though, in rather unfortunate circumstances, (Y/n) was kicking herself for pushing it off for so long. David really did seem just as nice as Frank had told her.

“Well, I’m glad it finally happened.” She smiled.

“Yeah, em too.” David smiled down at her. Neither person moved for six… ten… fifteen seconds. Then, as if realizing he was just staring, David had a start. He cleared his throat, and (Y/n) felt herself leaning away as her face grew warmer. “Have a good night, (Y/n).”

“You too.” She opened the door, shutting it behind her as she entered. Quickly, she moved to flop down onto the bed.

Damn you, Frank. You were right all along, weren’t you?