Fallout: Born Unto Trouble

7. Selfishness

The man begging for purified water in front of Rivet City nearly cried when James gave him a few bottles. Gloria scoffed and rolled her eyes; he was probably trying to get on her good side.

It wasn't like she was mad at him. Yeah, she was irritated that he left, but she found him again so she should be happy, right?

No, no, she was wrong. She was angrier than ever.

Whether it was from resentment or normal teenage angst she never grew out of, she couldn't forgive him.

He never hurt her with words or physical violence, but this selfish act reminded her of... herself.

It was frustrating because they were so alike. To his very core, leaving her and going off to fuck knows where, he was selfish.

And so was she. But she was proud of her nature. She never tried to hide it. Unlike her father who tries to be some kind of Saint to the wasteland. He wasn't anything special.

Back in the Vault, it was his job to be accepting and help her through hard times. Accepting she was a lesbian and giving her medication and therapy was what he was supposed to do.

She thinks back to Jonas and sighs. He didn't deserve to die because of her father's selfishness. He should have been alive now, happy. It wasn't fair; so many people died because of him—because of both of them. She couldn't place all the blame on him.

Harkness looked surprised to see James and Gloria walk through the bridge into the main ship. Word had probably gotten around that Gloria was looking for him; no one was sure if they would return.

She wished she hadn't, but that was a thought for another time.

Li looked even more surprised that James found his way back to Rivet City. She briefly wrapped her arms around him, pulling away and then slapping him across the face. Gloria tried to suppress a snicker as the other scientists looked on in shock.

"I guess I deserved that," James said, rubbing his cheek to quell the stinging pain. Li also shook her hand and said, "You're damn right you did. What were you thinking! You put yourself and your own daughter in danger!"

"I didn't expect her to escape the Vault-"

"Hey," Gloria interrupted, giving them both a mean look, "I'm right here. Now's not the time to argue."

"You're right. Did you find what you were looking for?" Li asked. James nodded, "We can use a G.E.C.K. to use with the purifiers."

"And so you have one?"

"Well, no. There wasn't one in 101 or in 12. We use a computer in the Jefferson Memorial to locate one, though."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Li looked between James and Gloria; the latter shrugged, "I already cleared it of Super Mutants. Should be fine."

James looked proud. Gloria couldn't care less.

The walk to the Memorial was uneventful; James had spent the majority of it tell Madison about his time in Vault 101, how Gloria turned out (much to her displeasure) and then finally asked Gloria about her hair. She had almost forgotten it'd been shaved off.

It had been 4 months since she left the Vault. So much had happened that she didn't have time to sit and think. She replied with "I wanted change. Then there was too much change."

James stopped his daughter, encouraging everyone to go on without them. He placed his hands on Gloria's shoulders, a feeling of guilt bubbling inside his chest as he felt how much weight she'd lost. "I'm sorry I left."