Amy cuddles into Edward, flicks her Pip-Boy on and starts to read something.

Edward leans into the wall to get as comfortable as he can, and it's not long before he's making soft, nasal sighs in his sleep.

The ship lifts off remarkably gently, a low nuclear thrum somewhere behind the walls. It stays airborne, going out over the sea, until morning.

Amy is awake first, and while she is sorely tempted to go picking through Nick's stuff, she is also very aware of the bots in the room with her. 

Plus, Nick's useful. She doesn't want to piss him off. Right now, anyway. 

So she stays where she is, playing a game on her Pip-Boy.

The bots are definitely watching her. They notice she's awake and wake up Nick.

Half an hour or so later his voice comes through an intercom. "Good morning, sunshine. Where am I dropping you off, again?"

"God? Is that you?"

Edward startles to life, gurgling worriedly.

His eyes then wide in wonder, and he gets up to shuffle over to the nearest window, making very excited noises.

Amy laughs, and follows him over, watching fondly as he bounces.

"Well, we've got two options. Either you can help me out and go into the Citadel to bargain with the Brotherhood for information, or you could take me to the Vault-Tec headquarters. That's in DC."

They've over the ocean. The coast is visible in the distance.

"DC it is. I told you yesterday, I do not want to remind the Brotherhood I exist. I'll come get you to point it out more exactly in two hours."

Intercom clicks off. Zeppelin starts to turn.

"Either do I," she mutters quietly. Not that it really matters, everyone who knew her was probably dead by this point. "Just thought you might like to make my part easier," she says to Nick.

"No. I don't go up against the Brotherhood, the Enclave, NCR, or any other organization with the power and reach to squish me if they care too much, without an extremely good reason. The thing you're looking for information on, which may or may not actually exist, is not a good enough reason yet."

She would love to argue the validity and existence of the information, but Nick hasn’t been around as long as she has. He hasn’t delved into Vault-tec history like her. So why would he know? 

“Smart way to be, especially with the way the Enclave seems to be mowing down settlements.”

"Well, you know me. If I don't have four different ways to get the hell out of dodge I start getting anxious."

"And that's probably why you've lived this long and will outlive us all," Amy laughs.

"It's a contributing factor."

“Yes, the chem-free lifestyle. You’ll tell me you’re vegan next.”

"Red meat is a cancer risk factor."

Amy throws her head back and laughs. “Yep, cancer. The number one risk out there.”

She looks out to the wasteland. “Don’t worry about that too much, you got free chemo anytime you go near a detonation site.”

"I have a lead suit. And scrubbers, and rad-away."

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. The wildlife is more likely to kill you than a tumour.” 

She strokes Edward’s head, as if to say sorry. 

"It might well be heart disease or stroke or pneumonia or me cutting my hand off by accident, going by the incredibly boring actuarial tables I got out of a New York skyscraper once."

New York. Wow. She hasn’t thought about that place for a while. 

“You do get around,” she says. 

"I have a blimp, what do you expect me to do, putter around the same fifty miles of coastline forever?"

“You’re speaking to someone without that privilege. Takes me a lot longer than 36 hours to get to California.”

And why would she leave the Capital? It has the only safe and hidden ghoul sanctuary she knows of.

"Speaking of which, I'm assuming Vault-Tec HQ is pretty obvious from the air? Going in from the roof might be an option, depending on things."