Fallout 1. Chapter 1

**Foreword**: The idea of a how the Lone Wanderer might cope with the Wasteland upon leaving the Vault has been rattling in my mind since I first played FO3. Combine that with inspiration from several well-written fics about the Wasteland (see SickleYield's Tales From the Wasteland series and Atiaran's FO3 fics) and you get this story.

This story is intended to follow a Good Karma, Caucasian Female Lone Wanderer from the moment she leaves the vault right up to the events of _Take It Back!_ While I will not include every single sidequest available in the game, I will make reference to some of the quests being completed (or abandoned as the case may be) by other people. I doubt one individual can do in real life as much as the LW has done in FO3. Besides, if I were looking for my lost dad, I'd hardly make a detour to the Oasis to check out some trees. But that's just me. *winks*

Naturally, Fallout 3 and everything in it belongs to Bethesda Softworks. I'm just having fun with the characters and the world they inhabit. Leave me a review and tell me how I'm doing so far!

* * *

James took a deep drag from the cigarette he held and immediately began to cough violently. Damn, he thought, he was beginning to remember why he had quit these things. Breathing in nearly two decades worth of recycled air had left his lungs almost unable to cope with a single cigarette. Ah well, he had hoarded this one for years and it was a wonder that it was still smoke-worthy (1).

He took another drag at the cigarette and held his breath, feeling the smoke circulate in his lungs. Puffing out, he idly watched the smoke dissipate into the air. The reactor room was the only room in the entire vault that allowed him to smoke without fear of alerting every fire alarm in the place. Eventually the smoke would be sucked in to the air vents and filtered endlessly through the vault's complex ventilation system before being released as clean albeit recycled air. Nothing was wasted in the vault.

James laughed ironically. Well, nothing except talent, specifically his. True, he was a trained doctor but his interest was in research and _that_ was buried in the Jefferson Memorial. The Overseer and he didn't exactly see eye-to-eye over many things and for the sake of his daughter, he didn't attempt to push his boundaries too hard.

His daughter, Elizabeth. James' thoughts shifted to the one bright spot in the past nineteen years. She was the only reason why he came to Vault 101 and sometimes the only reason why he woke up in the morning. Subconsciously, he reached for the worn photo in his pocket and smoothed it out with his hands as he stared at the image. His eyes dwelled lovingly on his beloved daughter's face. Sometimes he wished that Elizabeth, or Lizbet as he affectionately called her, resembled him less and Catherine more if only to keep a memory of her.

Still, it might have been too painful for him to look at her everyday without seeing the ghost of his dead wife. In nearly every aspect, she resembled him. Her calm gaze, her long sensitive fingers, her chestnut brown hair, even her warm smile. She even shared his love for the sciences, a source of never-ending pride for him. The only trait she inherited from Catherine was her tenacity and stubbornness, reflected in her work and their few quarrels over the years. He smiled, recalling that he and Catherine had similar spats which often resulted in him capitulating to her. It had been the same with his daughter although he had occasionally pulled out his 'I'm-your-father-and-I-said-so' card with her. She would sulk and glower at him but would make peace with him before nightfall; such was their bond.

He rubbed his forehead and sighed with melancholy. It wasn't going to be easy. He never enjoyed disappointing his daughter and what he was going to do would risk utterly alienating her from him. True, he wasn't going to return but he had hoped that she would at least harbor no anger or hate against him. He winced at the thought that she might possibly hate him tomorrow but he had no choice. He had made up his mind. He had to go, for Lizbet and Catherine's sake.

James shook his head, pushing away thoughts of his daughter. He needed to go through his plan for tonight. He couldn't afford to have his wits scattered about him. It had been years since he had to defend himself against the wildlife of the Wastes and he wasn't entirely sure if he could even survive the first week on the road. He had tried his best to keep himself in shape for the journey he knew he would eventually make but jogging up and down the pristine vault was a poor comparison to the brutal conditions he would find outside. The sun alone would be a huge adjustment for him, not to mention the heat.

It was the reason why he had finally decided to leave in the middle of the night and make immediately for the town of Megaton. Not only would he be able to better adjust to the outside world again without dealing with the harsh sunlight, most of the vault citizens would be asleep, including Lizbet.

Damn, he swore. He was thinking of her again. He kept telling himself that this was good for her, that leaving her in the vault was for her sake. James took a final puff from the cigarette, trying to ignore the kernel of guilt in his heart that plainly told him that he was abandoning his daughter.

James hoped that it wasn't true. He hoped that she would understand why he couldn't bring her along. Stubbing out the cigarette, he made sure the fire was dead before hiding the cigarette butt in a dead radroach as it wouldn't do for anyone to find it. The Overseer would have a fit if he knew that such things existed in his vault. The possibility of a fire in the high-pressure vault, while remote, was an uncomfortable concept that had catastrophic implications in a confined space. There was also the fact the most of residents had never breathed in any such contaminant in their clean filtered air. He strode through the doors and up the stairs to his rooms.

After gargling half a bottle of mouthwash (2) and washing his mouth out with Nuka-Cola, James moved softly into his daughter's room. The room was dark but he could barely make out her sleeping form on her bed. Tiptoeing to her side, he stood over her and watched her silently. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could trace her facial features in the darkness. He stared at her, willing himself to memorize her features.

How innocent she looked in her sleep! His heart tugged at him, whispering to him to stay. He didn't need to leave now. He could stay a little longer and watch her grow up a little more. Maybe even stick around to see her settle down and have a child of her own. There was no need to leave the vault at all…

_James._

He started and turned, half-expecting to see her there but seeing no one else. He listened again but only heard the soft whiffling of Lizbet's breath on the pillow. He knew he didn't imagine it, he had heard her voice.

Stooping down, he kissed his daughter on the cheek and gently pushed the hair back from her forehead. Elizabeth murmured and shifted in her sleep. He tucked in the blanket close to her as tenderly as he did for her as a young child. He stared at her again, unwilling to tear himself away from the sight of her.

_James_.

This time, he turned around and walked out of the door. Jonas was waiting. Catherine was waiting. It was time to keep his promise.

There was no way he could have known that in a few hours, his daughter will be running for her life out of Vault 101 to search for her missing father.

* * *

Some brief notes on the story.

(1) – A quick search on Google revealed that unwrapped cigarettes can last almost 2 years if kept in proper conditions. It is possible to still smoke one years later but the taste would be somewhat stale. However, many NPCs smoke cigarettes in Fallout world and you can find boxes and cartons of them everywhere. I'm going to assume that they don't know the difference between a 'fresh' and a 'stale' ciggie since barely any of them were born pre-fallout and I doubt anyone's manufacturing new ciggies anymore.

(2) – Chances of mouthwash still existing are low but we're talking about the vault here. It MIGHT be possible. Let's just pretend it is, alright?


	2. Chapter 2

'_Liz! Wake up! You have to go. Jonas is dead.'_

'_You're a traitor to the vault, just like your father.'_

'_Please help me. It's my mom. If you don't help her, she'll die!'_

'_James is innocent and I don't care what the Overseer says. Go on! I'll distract them.'_

'_Your father's left Vault 101. You have to go after him.'_

'_I never liked you or your father.'_

'_You have to go before my father catches you. Please.'_

'_Radroaches! How the hell did they get in?'_

'_Come back here, you little bitch.'_

'_Jonas is dead.'_

'_Here, take this. Maybe this will help. Good luck.'_

'_Please! You gotta help me! She's all I got.'_

'_Your father's gone.'_

'_Hold it right there!'_

'_Guards! Stop her! She just killed Officer Mack!'_

'_I'm not going out there, no matter what the Overseer says.'_

'_You have to go. I'll be all right. Goodbye, Liz.'_

'_Jonas is dead.'_

'_Come back here!'_

'_Your father's left the vault.' _

'_Your father's __**left**__ the __**vault**__.'_

'_**Your father's left the vault.'**_

Goodbye, Liz.

* * *

Elizabeth awoke to a sharp pounding in her head. Groaning, she clutched her head and tried to open her eyes. A bright light assaulted her eyes and her eyes clamped shut again. She must have fallen asleep at her desk again with the lights on while programming the Pip-Boys. But the lights in the vault had never been this bright before and she could barely open her eyes. Stretching out her hands, she fumbled around for the light switch and felt something nothing but rocks. Cracking her eyes open to a narrow slit, she saw a sight that threw her into a dizzy loop. For the first time in her life, Elizabeth gazed fully upon the harsh and dry desert that was the Capital Wasteland.

I don't think I'm in Vault 101 anymore.

Close upon the heels of that thought was another realization. Her father wasn't in Vault 101. Frowning, she tried to piece together what she could remember. She remembered Amata rousing her from her bed, running into Officer Gomez, helping Butch and his mother fight off the radroaches, finding Jonas' dead body, killing Mack, leaving the vault…

'What?' She looked down at the pistol in her hand and a cold sick dread filled her stomach. It was true; she had killed Officer Mack in an act borne out of rage rather than self-defense. He had been hurting Amata, slapping her around with his baton but it was more than that. When she had burst into the interrogation room and ordered him to stop beating her, Steve Mack had looked up at her and grinned sadistically at her. She had known then, that he had killed Jonas with that same grin on his face. Enraged, she had raised the 10mm pistol and fired into his face, wiping the vicious smirk off his face. When the Overseer began to shout for help, she had grabbed Amata and they had both made a run for it.

Elizabeth closed her eyes, steeling herself to calm down. Dimly, a part of her reproached her for killing Mack but she could find no remorse in executing Jonas' murderer. Jonas is gone and there was nothing that could bring him back. She couldn't go back into Vault 101. It was too dangerous and they will surely punish her for the death of Officer Mack and her father's betrayal. Even her father wasn't there anymore.

Dad. Her eyes flew open and she stood up, brushing the dirt off of her. After a quick inventory check, she concluded that her belongings consisted of a 10mm pistol, her Red Ryder BB gun, some ammo, Butch's Tunnel Snake jacket, a pair of tinted glasses which she immediately wore to block out the sun, her Vault 101 jumpsuit and her Pip-Boy. The only food she had was a sweetroll Amata had shoved into her pocket along with the pistol. She had no other food, neither did she had any water.

The pounding in her head had lessened to a dull throb. Gingerly, Elizabeth reached up and felt blood on her forehead. Her Pip-Boy told her that the gash was nothing serious and unlikely to cause any further complications. She turned and saw a large rock to her left, noticing a dark stain on its sharp end. I must have been blinded by the sunlight and crashed into the rock, knocking myself out, she concluded. Still, there was little harm done and she needed a mirror before she could make any further examination.

Shading her eyes, she looked around her. She wasn't going to survive long without food or water and there was no telling what was out here in this desolate wasteland. She spotted a thin spire of smoke emerging from an odd twisted metal structure to the southwest. Smoke meant people and people meant help. They might be able to give her some food and shelter. They might have even seen her father.

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth took a step forward towards the road, squashing her agoraphobia as irrational and pointless. Someone out there must have seen her father and know where he had gone. She'd decide later if she should kick him or punch his stomach first when she found him.

* * *

'_Welcome to Megaton. The bomb is perfectly safe, we promise. Please hold for threat level assessment. Threat level minimal. Open the gates. Open the gates. Welcome to Megaton.'_

The Protectron's bizarre words echoed in her head as the gates closed behind her. She was still thinking about the 'bomb' before a shadow fell on her.

'Hello and welcome to – well, I'll be damned, you're from that vault, Vault 101. I ain't seen one of those jumpsuits in a long time.'

Elizabeth looked up and saw a tall man in a leather duster chuckling at her. His amusement increased as he saw her bewilderment.

'Name's Lucas Simms. I'm the Sheriff here. You look like a puppy what lost its bone. What's your name, girl?'

'Elizabeth. My name is Elizabeth.' She stared coolly at him.

'Now, now. Don't go glaring at me like that. Just enjoying a little joke on you.'

People were stopping and staring at her with gaping mouths, pointing her out to each other. Elizabeth shuffled uncomfortably, feeling exposed.

His keen eyes caught her discomfort and he dismissed them with a wave of his hand. 'Don't mind them. We haven't seen one of you Vault people in years so people get curious. Don't know why you left and I don't care either. This here is my town and I've got my eye on you. Don't cause any trouble and we'll get along just fine.' His eyes stared unblinkingly at her.

Elizabeth gazed back unflinchingly at him. 'I have no intention of causing any, Mr. Simms.'

His stern demeanor gave way to another chuckle. 'Nice to see someone with manners out here. I don't think you'll cause any trouble here but I gotta give you the speech all the same. Like I said, you play nice and I'll play nice too. So, how can I help you, Miss Elizabeth?'

She wasn't fooled by his casual words. She knew he doubted her capability as a threat to the town but didn't want to show it. She had seen him eyeing her pistol and her other belongings. Lucas Simms was anything but a fool.

'Mr. Simms, I'm looking for my father. His name is James and he wore a Vault 101 jumpsuit too. Middle-aged man. Have you seen him? He probably came by here yesterday.'

Lucas shook his head. 'I told you, you're the first one I've seen crawl out of that Vault 101 in years. The last time I saw one was in 2250 and then not a peep out of there until you come walking through those gates.'

'Are you sure? He wore one of these Pip-Boys on his left arm.' She held up her hand, pointing at her Pip-Boy.

'Hmm… I mighta seen someone wearing one of those things late last night. He came in, went to Moriarty's and left just as quickly. Tall man, short hair. Didn't get a good look at his face though.'

'Moriarty's? As in Moriarty's Saloon up there?'

Lucas nodded his head and a brief expression of irritation flashed across his face. He leaned in close to Elizabeth and spoke in lowered tones.

'Watch that one. He's a slippery bastard who'd sell his own mother for a cap if he could.'

She lifted an inquiring eyebrow. 'Thank you, Mr. Simms. I appreciate the tip.' He nodded at her. 'Mr. Simms? What did that robot meant by the bomb?'

'It's in the middle of town. Take a look and see for yourself. You might want to get that checked out too. Looks nasty.' He nodded at her wound.

Touching a hand to it, she asked. 'Is there a doctor in the town? I'd patch it myself but the clinic might be more…sanitary.'

'Next to the bomb down there but only if you have the caps.'

'Caps?'

'Bottlecaps. They're the Wasteland's cash. Paper bills are worthless out here. Seeing as you're fresh out of that vault, you might want to try fixing yourself up in the washroom. It's not 'sanitary' but it's better than nothing and Doc Church hates freeloaders.' Lucas pointed at the washroom.

She thanked him and he tipped his hat politely to her with a 'Good day, Miss Elizabeth'. He watched her as she walked into Megaton. He sighed and fingered his rifle's safety. He doubted the kid could match wits with Moriarty although it would be amusing if she succeeded.

'Sanitary, indeed' He snorted to himself and strode off.

With the uncomfortable feeling that her wound was causing as much of the stares as her jumpsuit did, Elizabeth found her way to the ladies washroom. Turning on the pipes, her Pip-Boy's Geiger counter jumped and crackled as the water gushed out. Almost everything was irradiated here. Frowning, she decided that a little irradiation couldn't be avoided. After all, not everyone was lucky enough to have Vault 101's water purifier.

After bandaging her wound and tidying herself up, Elizabeth walked out of the washrooms and headed next door to Moriarty's Saloon. She felt in her bones that she was close to finding her father.

* * *

Seeing the ghoul's rotting face had rattled her nerves and she had barely kept her wits together enough to speak civilly to the bartender. The conversation was short and Moriarty had immediately descended upon them like a vulture sensing prey. Lucas was right. The smooth smiling exterior hid a dangerous man below the surface. Elizabeth was outwitted, outgunned and outmanned in a fight she was unprepared for. It ended with an ultimatum from Moriarty; fork over a hundred caps or retrieve some stolen caps from a runaway junkie prostitute for him.

Bumping into a grumbling Walter outside of the saloon had been a stroke of good luck. Pipes were leaking everywhere around Megaton and the overworked water plan operator was barely holding them together. Her offers of help were gratefully accepted and she was generously rewarded with two hundred caps when she returned to report to him. In Vault 101, when things got broken, you quickly learnt to repair them on your own as there were few replacements lying around. Rejoicing over the large amount, in her eyes that is, she calmly presented the requested amount to the bar owner.

Moriarty however was no fool. He smelt an easy victim in the vault kid and he owed James a grudge for never buying any drinks from his saloon despite going there twice over the years. Besides, the young lass was pretty and looked almost beautiful when she was angry. This time, he insisted she gave him three hundred caps instead, claiming that information was gold. Moriarty pointed out that she still had the option of 'taking care' of Silver and reclaiming his stolen caps. Her face paled when she realized his insinuation and he took a perverse pleasure in her discomfort. The lass was too naïve and the experience would toughen her up. As far as he was concerned, he was doing her a favor by educating her about the rule of the Wasteland.

Elizabeth trembled in anger as the Irishman roared with laughter and stalked back to his room. Closing her eyes, she had counted to ten and tried to regain her calm front. The barkeeper, Gob, with a furtive glance to the back room, murmured his sympathies and went back to smacking the radio.

'Come here, girl.'

She turned and saw a well-dressed suited-up man in the darkest corner of the bar. An oddity in the ragged town where everyone wore patched hand-me-down clothes. He offered her caps to detonate the bomb in the town and she recoiled in horror at his suggestion. Hastily rejecting his offer, she hurried away and left the saloon. As she stood on the ledge, Elizabeth considered reporting Burke's offer to Lucas but shook her head. What happened to the town was none of her affair and Burke _had_ stated that he approached her precisely because she was an outsider. It was unlikely he'll be able to find anyone else with the expertise to detonate the nuclear bomb. Perhaps it was just as well that she hadn't told him that she lacked the same expertise herself.

Selling her BB gun to Moira hadn't been an easy decision. It was the only thing she still had that had also belonged to her father. Practicality, or perhaps it was desperation, won out over sentiment and Moira happily pocketed the BB gun, crooning over its pristine condition.

'You know, if you're looking for caps, I've got a lovely offer for you.'

She had pricked up her ears and listened closely to Moira who happily explained to her about her precious book that no one wanted to help with but would be so beneficial to the entire Wasteland if only she could get someone to help her with the research. She shook her head with wonder as the chirpy store owner told her how she needed to research radiation and the difficulties in finding someone willing to get himself irradiated enough for her to study them. Using medical knowledge gleaned from her father, she patiently explained to Moira the effects of radiation and was rewarded with some Rad-X and Rad-Away.

After completing her purchases of necessary supplies, Elizabeth left Megaton and headed in the direction of Super-Duper Mart. Lucas Simms watched her leave and shook his head to himself again. The vault girl was about to find herself in a very different world outside of the vault.

* * *

**Author notes:**

1) Agoraphobia is a fear of wide open spaces, usually a social disorder. I'm using it here as a fear of the sky crashing on top of her ala Chicken Little. She's been in a vault nearly all her life. A little sky-falling-on-me phobia is only to be expected.

2) I'm aware that I'm sending Elizabeth on some roundabout errands to get caps that can be easily gotten through other means. However, this is the only way I could figure out to make her meet up with Dogmeat. In fact, in my first playthrough of Fallout 3, I never found Dogmeat at all and had forgotten he even existed in the game. Heresy, I know.

Thank you for the reviews and reads! Watching the story traffic report has become my new addiction and each new review sends me into an even bigger tailspin. Keep reading and reviewing and keep this author happy!


	3. Chapter 3

Elizabeth crouched behind the cashier's counter, trying to calm her racing pulse. She heard the crunch of a boot near her hiding place and silently sucked in her breath. This was rapidly turning into a bad idea.

It had started out innocently enough. A short jaunt from Megaton to Super-Duper Mart and back again with whatever items she could salvage from the supermarket. Somewhere south of the mart, she had encountered an odd flying robot piping out what sounded like 'Yankee Doodle' from its speakers. As she stopped and stared at it, a friendly trader who had been wandering nearby spoke up.

'Don't you mind it, missy and it won't mind you. Them eyebots don't do nuthin' but fly around all day with that damn Enclave radio playing over and over again.'

She had exchanged conversation with the older trader who had noted her Vault 101 jumpsuit and was eager to gossip. She had mentioned her intention to head into the mart and was stunned at the trader's sudden change of face.

'You stay away from there, missy. That place's bad news, what with them raiders crawling all over it. They use that place to shoot up Jet and Psycho and all that crap. Stay away from there, if you know what's good for you, missy.'

'Raiders? Who are they?' She had asked curiously.

'Wasteland scum. They raid towns and whatever settlements around just for kicks. Sometimes they drag off their victims, live. They say the raiders eat their flesh, that's why them raiders are all screwed up here.' Tapping his forehead. 'I dunno about if that's true, missy but I do know that those drugs they keep taking ain't doing them any good. If you see a raider, you better hope that you seen them first or they'll turn those pretty legs of yours into target practice.'

She had listened to him with a completely serious face while privately dismissing his claims as sheer idle gossip. Surely, no one was desperate enough to resort to cannibalism just to survive, she rationalized to herself. She was wrong.

After parting ways with him, she had kept her course for the Super-Duper Mart. Pushing her way through the doors, she had walked in without any fear. The smell of blood had hit her at the same moment a voice floated out from the darkened mart.

'Who's there?'

It was the worst idea she had yet.

From her hiding place, Elizabeth squeezed herself into a tiny ball, regretting that she had not taken the older man's advice. The tinge of iron from blood was familiar to her but rather than the smell of a sanitized clinic, this was the smell of sweat, body odor and rotting flesh. She choked down the bile rising in her throat and forced herself to focus.

Her hand closed over her 10mm pistol and she thought rapidly. She had no idea how many of them there were in the mart but she was certainly outnumbered no matter what. Removing her tinted glasses and stowing them away in a pack she had bought from Moira, she softly laid her pack down. Deciding to risk a peek, she slowly raised her head out from behind the counter. Her eyes, now accustomed to the dark, made out a male figure holding a rifle of some sort near the entrance of the door.

'What the hell are you doing there, Bane?'

'I thought I heard someone come in.'

The unknown woman threw a few colorful expletives at Bane who retorted in kind to her, insisting that he had heard a noise. As they argued, Elizabeth heard another voice ordering both of them to shut up. A peculiar sound followed the third voice and she listened intently, trying to identify it but the third voice – male – drowned out the sounds, ordering the woman to go check out the entrance with Bane.

Grumbling, the woman shuffled to the front and Elizabeth watched as she came into view next to Bane, who was now walking further away from her hiding place. Deciding to take action, she slowly crawled out from the counter. The sound she had heard earlier was out of place and something in it called her attention. In later days, Elizabeth could never explain why she had not left when she had the chance but had made an almost-suicidal and certainly crazy decision to investigate the odd noise, chalking it up to her then naïve ignorance of the raiders' sadistic natures.

Keeping her body low, she half-waddled and half tip-toed further into the mart. The sounds grew louder and she pricked her ears up. There was no doubt about it. It was a wild animal's bark, almost certainly a dog. The barks were urgent and angry, frustrated even.

She was so intent upon tracing the noise to its origin, she missed a step and kicked a tin can. The can flew from beneath her foot and bounced against the nearby rack. The argument between Bane and the woman immediately ceased and she heard the telltale cocking of two rifles. Cursing herself inwardly, she looked around wildly for a place to hide and scrabbled behind a fallen shelf.

'Sounds like we have a little intruder here! Good, I've been getting…hungry.' She wasn't sure which worried her more, the pause in the sentence or the hysterical giggling that followed.

'Come out and play. We promise we won't bite.' More giggling. She swallowed hard and gripped her pistol tightly. If she was lucky, she might be able to get a shot in before they close in on her.

A slam and then a crack of light shone into the room.

'What the he-' The words were cut off as a deafening blast echoed through the whole mart. Elizabeth heard the woman scream and raise her own gun to fire back.

'Make a break for it, missy! I'll cover you!'

It was the trader she had met earlier! A pair of feet ran past her view and she immediately raised her gun and fired. It was the third raider she had heard earlier. He fell heavily to the floor, blood pouring from his right foot. She aimed again and this time, she emptied her pistol into the screaming raider. He gave one last gurgle and ceased his breathing. Trembling, Elizabeth reloaded her gun but her shaky fingers kept dropping bullets on the floor.

At the entrance, the trader was exchanging gunfire with the female raider who was screaming out what vengeance she intended to take over his bloody body. The barking from the back was now frantic and Elizabeth could hear the dog positively slavering from behind the closed door. Ignoring its barks for now, she dodged through the aisles towards the front of the mart.

'Missy? You still alive in there? Could use a little help here!' Cutting his own words off with a yelp of pain, the trader ducked back behind the walls as a bullet from the raider found its way into his arm.

'I'm going to turn your bones into my chair, old man. I'll cut your fingers off and I'll – ' She never had the chance to finish her sentence as blood suddenly filled her throat. Clutching her chest, she staggered forward before another shot finished her off.

Elizabeth ran forward to the trader who had slumped to the floor and was cradling his arm. 'Are you all right?'

He chuckled. 'Never better, missy. That was some fine shooting you did there.'

She smiled weakly at him. 'You're injured. Did the bullet enter your arm?'

'Yeah it did. I'm gonna need a stimpack before I lose this arm.'

'There's a doctor in Megaton. Come on, if we hurry, we can get there before it gets any worse. I'll help you.'

He shook his head. 'Megaton's too far, missy. I'll lose too much blood before we're even halfway. Maybe you can look in back and see if they got any stimpacks there.'

She surveyed the bullethole with a critical eye before looking at him seriously. 'I have some medical training. If you trust me, I think I can remove the bullet and bandage your wound for you.'

The trader took a closer look at her and laughed. 'Well missy, beggars ain't got the time to be picky. Not while they're bleeding all over the floor anyway. Do what you can.'

She nodded to the back of the mart. 'Come on, let's get you inside. There should be some light inside and maybe a first aid station.'

Helping him up, she walked slowly with him towards the back of Super-Duper Mart, careful not to jar his injured arm. The barking had suddenly ceased and was replaced with several whines.

'Hey, what's that back there?' The trader asked, startled. Alarm crept into his voice and his good hand fell to his holstered gun. 'More raiders?'

'No, I think it's a dog. There were only three raiders, well, that I heard anyway. I think the dog's caged up back there somewhere. I didn't see it come out but it's been barking in there since I came in.' She paused and thought for awhile. 'Wait here, I'll go check it out.'

'No, wait! It's too dangerous!

Ignoring him for the second time, Elizabeth crept cautiously to the back room. The whining had suddenly ceased and there was only silence coming from the back. Softly, she opened the door and was greeted with a sad sight.

A dead wastelander lay on the floor; his body bearing signs of cruel torture. Later on, Elizabeth learnt that raiders sometimes took their victims live to torture them before killing them. A cage stood next to it and inside was a grey dog. The dog whined when he sighted her, pawing at the cage door. Her heart filled with pity and she spoke kindly to it.

'Hello there. Did those raiders catch you too?'

The dog gave a short bark and went back to pawing the door to the cage. The trader walked in cautiously behind her and stared at the caged animal.

'Well, I'll be. How did they ever catch one of them dogs without it tearing their throats out?'

'It looks tame. Do you think we should free it?'

He shrugged and winced from the pain. 'I don't know, missy. There are wild dogs like this one out there that'll rip you apart if you turn your back on them. Better leave it here.'

'But that's just cruel! And what if more raiders come back here? They'll probably kill it too. I'll take my chances with it.' She moved forward to examine the cage door. As she reached her hands towards the bars of the cage, the dog licked her hands and she smiled. 'Pretty sure that looks tame to me.' She called over her shoulder as she worked the catch to the door.

There was no reply save for a mumble about 'young woman' and a 'don't know what's good for them' fragment. The door to the cage opened and the dog trotted out. It gave her another lick for good measure and promptly walked over to the corpse. Whining mournfully, it nudged the dead wastelander's arm and sniffed at it.

'Looks like that was its owner. Poor fella. Guess the raiders got him and his master.' The trader said.

Elizabeth pursed her lips as she eyed the torture wounds on the dead man. The raiders were a heartless bunch indeed and she realized for the first time how lucky she was to have come away from her first encounter without a scratch.

'How did you know I needed help?' She asked.

'Well, after you left, I had this feeling in my gut so I followed you. I saw you enter the mart and waited for you outside. When you didn't come out, I listened through the doors and heard them raiders looking for you. Sounded like you were in a tight spot so I came in after you.'

'Thank you for coming to rescue me.' She said, looking at the trader straight in the eyes.

'You can thank me by fixing this arm of mine, missy. I'm kinda attached to it, if you get my meaning.' He chuckled, trying to sound light-hearted but Elizabeth caught the note of pain in his tone.

'Wait here. I'll try to find something to take the bullet out and some stimpacks to ease the pain.'

Borrowing his knife, she tore some rags from the trouser pants of the wastelander and grabbed a bottle of whisky lying on the floor. Pouring the whisky on the blade, she wiped it clean and handed him the rest of the bottle. He gulped down the remaining whisky and gritted his teeth. Taking a deep breath, she dove in and began digging the bullet out of his arm.

When it was over, she threw the bullet aside and wiped the blade again. Just then, the dog which had disappeared during the operation, trotted over and dropped several items on her lap. She stared in astonishment as she held up several stimpacks in her hand.

'Well, I'll be a ghoul's mother! That dog found us some stimpacks!' The trader stared at the dog, his eyes bulging out in amazement. Quickly, Elizabeth injected one into his arm and watched as the wound ceased to bleed. Another shot and the wound knitted itself together.

'That should hold together. The stimpacks should clear out whatever infections you might get from the wound.' She said with a professional air that the raider did not miss.

'Why, thank you missy. I feel like a whole new man. You're pretty good. Vault doctor, eh?'

She winced. 'No. That was my father. He taught me everything he knew.'

'Was? He's dead?'

'No…well, I don't think so. I'm not sure. He disappeared from the vault and I'm trying to find him now.'

Tactfully, the trader changed the subject. Glancing down at the dog, he reached out and patted its head. 'Good dog, this one. Real smart. Your master trained you well, didn't he?'

The dog wagged its tail and walked over to the dead body, nudging at something in the pockets. The trader walked over and rummaged the pockets.

'Umm…I don't think you should do that.'

He glanced over at her casually. 'Missy, out here in this god-forsaken wastes, you take everything you can get. He don't need them anymore but we do.' He pulled out a leather collar with an inscripted tag. 'Dogmeat. Looks like this dog's name is Dogmeat. Funny sort of name to give a dog.'

Dogmeat barked again and Elizabeth imagined that the dog sounded offended. The trader laughed and patted Dogmeat again.

Between the two of them, they combed through the entire mart and picked up everything they could carry. Dogmeat proved to be a useful companion, retrieving useful items hidden under debris and in boxes for them. After dividing the stimpacks and food between them, the amount came to a satisfactory number. Elizabeth discovered a powered-down Protectron further in the back and with a little hacking, left it as a nasty surprise for further raiders by turning it to patrol mode. Finally, they stripped the raiders of their guns and ammunition. Stashing all her loot into her retrieved pack, she and the trader left Super-Duper Mart at last with Dogmeat in tow.

They headed in the direction of Megaton as the trader insisted that he had an obligation to see her back to the town safely despite her objections. Apparently, he had the fixed idea that she would go gallivanting off into the Wasteland to search for more raiders to run into. She gave up after the third attempt to dissuade him and walked with him. Dogmeat trotted next to them, content to follow them especially after Elizabeth handed him some cram she found in the mart.

They exchanged information about the different worlds they came from. He told her about the raiders, the super mutants in downtown DC, the nearby settlements, the Enclave and other survival tips. She entertained him with details about life in the vault, leaving out the recent events that led to her leaving the vault. She talked about how she was trying to find her father and how she was trying to get enough caps to pay off Moriarty. He, in turn, told her a few of his adventures out in the wastes. All in all, it was an interesting trip back to Megaton.

When they reached the gates of Megaton, he paused at the entrance and turned to her. 'Well, missy, this is where I leave you. I'm heading back to my hideout to put away this loot.'

'You're not coming in? It's getting late, why don't you stay the night here before you go back to wherever you're going?' She pleaded, suddenly loathing the idea of parting ways with him.

He shook his head. 'Don't like towns much. Too crowded, not like the Wastes. You've got your own journey to make, missy. You don't need an old man like me weighing you down.'

'My name's Elizabeth. But please, call me Liz. And you don't weigh me down. You saved my life, in fact.' She reached out to grasp his rough calloused hands impulsively.

Visibly touched, he shook her hands firmly. 'Call me Frank. You dug that nasty bullet outta me, so we're even. Two words of advice, missy Liz. One, people like that Moriarty are snakes. You hafta play their game at their level or bring the game to them. If not, they'll chew you alive and spit you out. Two, always watch your back, wherever you are. Them critters and even some humans out there will want a piece of you so don't let them take it. That dog here is a good one. You take care of him and he'll be your best friend.'

'Thank you, Frank. I hope I'll see you again one day.' Her grip tightened.

He nodded and beamed at her. 'Don't worry, missy Liz. We'll see each other one day. Thanks for taking care of this arm for me. You take care of yourself now.' He waved at her and gave one last pat to Dogmeat, who licked him in return. Then he turned and walked away into the distance. Elizabeth watched until she was left alone with Dogmeat. She walked slowly into Megaton, with a sinking feeling of loss.

* * *

Lucas Simms passed her as she walked into Megaton. Noting the new addition of a hunting rifle strapped to her back, the suspiciously bulging sack slung over her shoulder and the panting dog walking next to her, he lifted an eyebrow but said nothing save to greet her politely. He watched as she walked purposefully to the Craterside Supply. Damn, if he hadn't been wrong about the girl. Guess she could take care of herself after all.

After selling her hard-earned loot and passing on information about Super-Duper Mart to an over-enthusiastic Moira, she counted out her caps and found enough to pay Moriarty with a little left over for better armor. As the water treatment plant was next door, she went in and dropped some spare scrap metal for Walter who repaid her well in more caps. Next stop: Moriarty's Saloon.

Gob looked up as Elizabeth walked into the saloon. His eyes widened. He hadn't expected the girl to return so soon. Nova who had been slouching in the corner, straightened up and smirked to herself as she caught sight of the newcomer. Well, well. Guess the Vault kid was a survivor after all. Things were about to get interesting.

'Where's Moriarty?' She hadn't raised her voice but it was a command all the same.

'He's in the back. Let me get him.' He stammered out, quailing beneath her cold gaze.

Moriarty sauntered casually out and eyed the girl. 'You're back now, I see. Tell me, did you find Silver now?'

She stared at him, challenge in her eyes. He gazed back unperturbed at her, taking deep drags from his cigarette. The silence stretched, broken only by the ghoul's shallow breathing. The only customer in the bar made a hurried exit, leaving the bar empty of other bystanders. Watching the standoff, Nova swore to herself that the vault girl hardly blinked.

Without breaking her stare, Elizabeth dropped a bag of caps at the bar. 'Where is my father?'

Briefly, he shifted his eyes to the caps before looking back at her. Without looking at Gob, he barked out a command. 'Count them.'

It took Gob five minutes to count up the caps before verifying that it was indeed the right amount. At that, his face broke into a smile. 'Why thank you, lass. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Would you like a drink now? Some scotch perhaps?'

'Where is my father?' She repeated.

'Easy now, lass. Don't get your knickers in a twist. Take a seat and have a drink. We're all friends here now, aren't we?' He laughed.

Before he could complete his sentence, he was staring down the sights of a hunting rifle with the vault girl on the other end of it.

'Where is my father?' She repeated for the third time and released the safety catch.

'Galaxy News Radio station, downtown. He was looking for the radio DJ, Three Dog. Now get that gun out of my face.'

She didn't move and the unspoken challenge hung in the air. Finally she lowered her gun but continued to hold it where Moriarty could see it. Laughing nastily, Moriarty sneered at her. 'Point that gun at me again, and you'll have the whole town crying for your blood. Simms might not like me much but his sheriff badge won't let him overlook my murder.'

Ignoring his threat, she strapped her rifle to her back. Then, slowly she backed away to the door, never taking her eyes off Moriarty. When the door closed on her, all three of them released their breath. Snarling like a wounded animal, Moriarty smacked the back of Gob's head and snatched the bag of caps off the bar before storming into his room. Gob shrunk from the sudden slap but continued to gape at the door. He had never seen anyone like that stand up to Moriarty before. Awe lit up his eyes as his mind ran over the encounter again.

Nova lit a cigarette and took a heavy drag from it. The kid had more balls than your average Wastelander. She could imagine her staring down a rampaging Yao Guai with the same cold glare and not even flinch while firing at it. Something told her that it wasn't the last they've seen of the vault kid.

Outside, Elizabeth collapsed against the railing and struggled to control her ragged breathing. Dogmeat, whom she had left outside, nuzzled her cheek comfortingly. She wasn't sure if she could go through anymore events like this again today. It was time to call it a day before she headed off to the city.

* * *

**Notes**: I planned for Liz to head for Minefield and Scrapyard but decided to scrap the plan. I think this one turned out well. Hit that review button and tell me if you agree or disagree!

P/S: Removed chapter titles. I'm horrible at thinking of new titles.


	4. Chapter 4

**Foreword: **A huge apology for the overdue chapter. After posting chapter 3, I realized that I was going to be away from my computer for nearly a week for some work and social reasons. The next chapter will not take so long and will be posted in a few days. Next time, I'll be sure to inform you people when the next chapter will be late. Thanks for your patience and reviews!

* * *

She grimaced at the mirror. She had no idea who the hell the girl in the mirror was but she was sure she'll be seeing more of her from now on. Megaton's water supply only stretched so far and it certainly didn't cover a full-body bath unless you were willing to pay the obscene price. The surrounding aroma in Megaton only confirmed her theory that almost none of them ever took a regular bath, if at all. Elizabeth sighed and tried to comb out her hair with her fingers. After a few minutes of pulling out tangled knots, she gave up her hair as a lost cause and started scrubbing the dirt off her fingers. Make a mental list: one, get a haircut; two, buy a pair of gloves, clean if possible. She was already missing the vault's pure and clean water.

Thoughts of the vault made her straighten her back and stretch her stiff muscles. Today, she was going to find her father and give him what he deserved for deserting her in the vault. Late last night after a few hours of quiet sobbing, inner ranting and silent threats, she had finally decided to go with a punch to the stomach. She might even resort to using the end of her rifle to knock him down if she was mad enough. You know, just to get the point across.

She halted her train of thought as the water spluttered before drying up to a drip. Rolling her eyes, she flicked her hands up and down to dry them and replaced the tinted glasses on her head before opening the door. Outside, Walter was standing with one hand holding his wrench and the other scratching his head.

'Damn pipes. Nothing's holding itself together anymore.'

Standing beside him, she stared at the pipes for a few minutes before holding out her hand wordlessly to Walter. Taken aback, he handed his wrench over to her and watched as she bent down and tightened, hammered and pounded the pipes together. With a final _clunk_, she stood up and entered the washrooms. Bemused, he followed and watched as she turned on the taps to demonstrate free-flowing irradiated water again.

'Why, you're a marvel! I've never seen anyone fix a pipe that fast in my life and I've been doing this job for thirty-five years.' He shook his head. 'Guess I'm getting too old for this.'

'You're doing a fine job, Walter. I just have a little knack in repairing broken things.' She replied, smilingly.

'A knack?' He snorted. 'Sure, and that bomb down there's a little landmine. That's a gift you got there.' His face lighted up with a sudden idea. 'How would you like to earn a few more caps with another repair job?'

Two hours later, Elizabeth walked out of Megaton, two hundred caps richer.

* * *

The rest of Elizabeth's day was rapidly descending into hell, or as other Wastelanders would call it, just another ordinary day. After the third encounter with rampaging radscorpions, she found herself cursing at James' lack of foresight in training her to survive the god-forsaken wastes. Did he really think she could stay in there forever, especially when he knew the paranoia of Vault 101's Overseer? At least she wasn't alone.

Keeping Dogmeat had been the best decision she had made since leaving Vault 101. The grey dog had saved her life ten minutes after they had left Megaton's gates. Life in the vault had left her unequal to Wasteland life and the previous day's events had been a trial to her body. While the vault provided enough food for its residents, it had not provided much excuse for them to be physically in shape to cope with the horrors of the wastes. Elizabeth had been trudging along, nursing her sore muscles and discovering the joys of blisters. All of a sudden, a radscorpion had charged towards her in an attempt to make her into its lunch. Dogmeat, who had already sensed the danger, leapt in and distracted the creature long enough for his mistress to recover her senses and help him take it down. Since then, she had kept a wary vigil of her surroundings. In each attack, she noticed Dogmeat's ability to sense out danger before she could even see or hear them. The dog's uncanny senses were a great asset as they fought their way past each creature attack.

Another asset was her previous experience with the BB gun. While it was no longer in her possession, the hours spent in hunting radroaches down in Vault 101 for target practice had honed her accuracy skills. Her new hunting rifle was more unwieldy and powerful than the weaker BB gun but she adjusted quickly. While Dogmeat distracted the creatures, she aimed carefully and took her shot at the beasts. However, the recoil of the rifle was something she was still trying to get used to. The BB gun's recoil was significantly lesser. Privately, Elizabeth wondered if perhaps James had given her the gun as an actual present or as a way of teaching her self-defense. Yet another question to the already lengthy list of questions she had for her father.

Passing the Super-Duper Mart, she barely suppressed a shudder. The entrance of the building was empty and the mart itself surprisingly quiet. Unsurprisingly, she and Dogmeat gave the building a wide berth. East of Super-Duper Mart, she spotted towering buildings and the Potomac river. Drawing nearer to the city, she gazed upon the city of Washington, DC for the first time in her life. The crumbling buildings, the scattered debris, the collapsed walls, the eerie silence; Washington was a ruined husk, a shadow of its former glory. Comparing the pre-war pictures of Washington with the bombed-out ruins of the city, Elizabeth felt a small measure of regret for past glories.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she scanned her surroundings for immediate threats before heading for the bridge in the distance. As she crossed over the river, she stared at the towering buildings above her. Nothing in the books on Washington had prepared her for the immense height or the collapsing debris of the buildings.

Abruptly, Dogmeat began to growl and she dived to the floor, swinging her head wildly around for the danger he had spotted. The growls deepened to snarling as her ears caught the sounds of exchanging gunfire. A bestial roar caught her attention and turning to the noise, Elizabeth spotted a massive green-skinned monster standing on the side of the river behind her. Her blood froze as the word 'super mutant' echoed in her mind. Snippets of information the trader Frank had given her the day before flooded her mind, none of it reassuring or good. Briefly, she wondered if Dogmeat had fought super mutants before today.

A shout from the opposite river bank caught her attention and peeking out, she saw three raiders firing on the super mutant. Another super mutant appeared from behind the first mutant and opened fire on the opposing raiders. Realizing that none of them had spotted her yet, her thoughts shifted into rapid gear. Ordering Dogmeat to be silent, she crawled across the bridge, dragging herself nearer to the position of the raiders. Progress was slow as she carefully avoided debris and rubble by crawling around them. Overhead, she heard the raiders scream in hysterical laughter while the super mutants roared back in violent anger. Ignoring her body's reaction to flee, she steeled herself to move slowly and stealthily. Running away would only attract their attention and she had no desire to be caught in between the raiders and the super mutants.

When she had dragged herself to where the raiders were stationed, she warned Dogmeat again to keep quiet. Peeking out, she discovered that only one super mutant and one raider were left standing. Both were clearly injured; the super mutant was firing with only one hand as its other arm hung uselessly by its side while the raider was limping as he tried to dodge the incoming bullets. Quietly, she readied her rifle and waited patiently. Dogmeat, seeming to understand the situation, lay flat on the ground with every muscle ready to spring.

A final shot, a last roar, and the raider emerged victorious. As the man shouted in ecstasy across the river, Elizabeth whispered to Dogmeat who immediately leapt with a snarl from his hiding place. The ambush was successful and the raider lay dead on the floor. Rifling quickly through his and his dead comrades pockets, she grabbed everything useful including the chems. Hearing a faint thud from the opposite bank and the familiar low snarl from Dogmeat, she shoved everything that could fit into her pack and grabbed the guns before fleeing into the nearby Metro Station.

* * *

The feral ghouls in the underground were a nasty surprise. While Gob's face hadn't been pretty, he had at least been sane. The feral ghouls rushed at her with no attempt at strategy but were fueled by pure fury. After overcoming her initial shock, taking them down was no difficult chore.

When she spotted the iron grill to the exit of the underground, Elizabeth was elated. She was tired of the endless dark and there was only so much light her Pip-Boy could give. Turning the light off her Pip-Boy, she noted the time and finally realized the gnawing feeling in her stomach was hunger. Deciding that the area was safe from threats, she leaned against the wall and began rummaging through her pack.

Elizabeth tossed some Cram to Dogmeat who happily chowed down on it. She opened a can of Pork N' Beans and munched on its contents while examining her new loot. As she sorted through her loot, she laid aside the guns and examined the chems. Apparently, the dead raiders preferred Psycho, judging from the abundance of that particular chem she found on their corpses. Digging through her backpack, Elizabeth removed the chems she had picked off the raiders from yesterday. Those raiders had preferred Jet and Buffout instead. Chewing on her food thoughtfully, she considered the chems in her hands.

From the information Frank had given her about raiders, it was clear that the chems were part of the reason why their minds were often addled and their bodies abnormally fast or tough depending on what they had consumed. The chems offered great benefits but exacted a high toll on the user's health. Elizabeth had no desire to experiment with the chems, having witnessed first-hand how they could possibly mess up a person. She pondered selling them for caps but was sure her father would disapprove of that as it would only mean that desperate addicts will waste precious caps to buy their fix.

She frowned in frustration. Damn her father and his Hippocratic Oath! She was sure dad couldn't and wouldn't understand why she needed the caps. Chems meant caps, and caps meant better guns and better armor, not to mention bribes for assholes like Moriarty. Elizabeth paused in her train of thought and reminded herself that James wasn't born in the Vault. In fact, if the Irish bastard was to be believed, neither was she.

Rubbing her nose, Elizabeth mused morosely and wondered what else her father hadn't told her. Had everything he told her been a lie? Sighing, she dismissed her thoughts. Enough angsty ramblings for the day. She'll get her answers when she found James. Reaching for the rifles, she began to dismantle them to repair her own rifle. An hour later, Elizabeth stood up and stretched herself. It was time to move on.

* * *

Elizabeth ducked as the super mutant swung its nailboard at her head. Dogmeat launched himself frantically at the mutant, snapping furiously at the monster. The super mutant shouted in pain as the dog ripped a chunk of green skin from its arm. Another super mutant lumbered out to the plaza and grinned fiendishly at her.

'Found you!'

Stifling a shriek, she scrabbled backwards, trying to reach for her rifle which she had dropped in the initial panic. The second mutant began to run towards her, laughing as it peppered her with shots from its rifle.

'Over there! Shoot it!'

Stunned, she watched as the grinning super mutant's face exploded into green chunks of flesh. Three more shots and the other mutant went down. On the ground, Elizabeth labored to catch her breath, clutching her weapon to her chest.

Footsteps echoed near her and a hand reached out to hoist her up. A blond woman in strange metal armor glared at her and barked harshly.

'Look, I don't know who you are but you don't belong here. The super mutants have overrun our brothers at the Galaxy News Radio building and we're headed there to back them up. You can tag along if you want. But keep your head down and try not to do anything…stupid.'

Without another word, the blond stalked off to the nearby alley. Another one in the same metal armor followed behind the blond after a brief nod of acknowledgement to Elizabeth. She couldn't tell if the person underneath the helmet was male or female. The armor looked practically impregnable and incredibly tough. Shaking herself, she picked up her pace and followed the pair down the same alley

The events that followed could only be described as a blurred nightmare. No matter how much she tried later, she could never remember the entire fight clearly. Vague images of green-skinned brutes and the people in the strange metal armor jumbled together in her memories. Dimly, she recalled ducking behind columns and hiding behind fallen walls from the super mutants.

However, the monster that entered the plaza stood out clearly in her mind. Its roar ripped through the entire plaza and the blonde's shriek was nearly lost in the pandemonium.

'Behemoth!'

The whole area exploded in light and raining debris as the super mutant behemoth crashed through the stacked-up cars to the side. A woman whom Elizabeth vaguely remembered as being referred to as Initiate Reddin was flung aside like a discarded rag doll as the behemoth rampaged through. Elizabeth herself was knocked down to the floor, banging her head on the fountain bowl.

'The Fat Man! Use the Fat Man!'

Clutching her spinning head, Elizabeth barely heard the blond woman's screamed instructions. Dragging herself up, she reached out and grabbed the heavy weapon. Around her, the people in metal armor kept firing on the behemoth who shrugged it off easily. Dogmeat seemed to be everywhere at once, snapping and snarling at the giant but barely making any dents in the beast's tough skin.

Loading a mini-nuke into the Fat Man, Elizabeth tried to croak out a warning but her throat was dry. Forcing herself to swallow, she shouted hoarsely.

'Get back! Dogmeat, get back!'

As she aimed down the sights of the launcher, the world slowed down around her. She watched as the metal suits dove for cover and silently, she prayed that Dogmeat had heard her. She squeezed the trigger and watched as the plaza lit up in flames.

The behemoth roared in pain and turned to find the source of its pain. She fumbled frantically for another mini-nuke, loaded it and fired again. Another holler and the behemoth lifted its club to swing at its tormentor. Out of nowhere, the blonde appeared and shoved a third mini-nuke down the launcher. Then she dragged Elizabeth backwards away from the looming giant.

'Shoot! Shoot that monster down!'

The whole plaza lit up again and the behemoth bellowed in pain. It swayed back and forth before finally collapsing right on top of Elizabeth. Her world went black and the darkness swallowed her up.

* * *

**Notes: **The Hippocratic Oath is an oath taken by doctors who swear to practice medicine ethically. I'm pretty sure that an educated idealist like James would know of it and swear by it.

I refer to the super mutants as 'it' as the game and the Fallout 3 Wiki define them as asexual.

The chapter is mostly setup for events that will be happening next chapter and in the future. I'm still working on writing better fight scenes. They're harder than you think. I'm lucky Liz is such a greenie. I have no intention of making her a super fighter fresh out of the vault. Remember, it's only her second day out of Vault 101. Personally, I think it's a miracle she could survive an encounter with raiders the first day. They grow them strong in the vault, methinks.


	5. Chapter 5

The throbbing in her head increased as she glared at Three Dog. 'Are you telling me that you want me to go get you a broadcast relay? Didn't you just tell me that there are super mutants everywhere here in DC?'

Three Dog didn't flinch at her raised voice. 'It _is_ risky. I would never lie to you. But there's something behind those eyes of yours that screams 'I'm the one that can get shit done'! Your dad had that same look in his eyes too. That's why Three Dog's helping you.'

'You're not helping me. Helping me would be you telling me where my dad has gone to, right now.' Her eyes smoldered in anger.

'You want to find your dad, and I know where he went. He was here, at Galaxy News this morning. We had a great conversation. He's a real stand-up guy. If you want to know more, you're going to have to contribute to the good fight.'

Elizabeth took a deep breath and tried to get herself under control. 'He was here? This morning? And you won't tell me until I contribute to your _good fight_?'

'The good fight is important, as important to me as Galaxy News Radio. Galaxy News Radio is my baby, just like how the good fight is my mistress. Both give me purpose, give me life. I love them, I feed them, I take care of them. But no one outside DC can hear them cry. That's where you come in. I need that broadcast relay so that everyone can hear about the good fight and you need to know where your father is. We got one rule in the good fight. You want help, you have to contribute!'

She clenched her hands in frustration. Her father was so close, only a few hours away from her. And this man, this Three Dog wanted her to go on a suicide mission for his precious radio station.

'Where do I find your relay?'

Three Dog flashed an impossibly gleaming white smile. 'I sure know how to pick them! You're going to be the best thing that ever happened to Galaxy News in a long time. One of the Brotherhood guys, you know those guys out there in power armour? Well, one of them who passed through here mentioned seeing a dish in one of DC's old museums. It's the dish off the old Virgo II Lunar Lander in the Musuem of Technology. I want you to get it and bring it to the Washington Monument to replace the bad one. That's it. Ask the Brotherhood guys if you want to know more.'

Elizabeth fought the urge to pull her rifle on the smiling DJ and walked out of the door, Dogmeat trotting obediently behind her. Outside the building, she was stopped by the same blonde woman she had met earlier before the fight started. The blonde thrusted her right hand forward towards Elizabeth.

'Sarah Lyons. The Lyons' Pride owe you their lives. I'm sorry for misjudging you earlier on. Thank you for helping us take down that behemoth.'

Swallowing her anger, Elizabeth accepted Sarah's handshake. 'Elizabeth. You saved my life too. Twice. You pulled those super mutants off me back there at the Metro Station and then again just now when I was crushed under that behemoth.'

'I'm surprised you didn't break any bones. Are you sure you don't want to take a rest? I would offer you our stimpacks but I'm afraid we're already short on supplies since the attack. We lost Reddins and some of our men were wounded badly.'

Elizabeth shook her head. 'I'm fine. I can rest later. I've got something I need to do.' She paused and concern kicked in. 'Do your men need more stimpacks or maybe a doctor? I've got some medical training. Maybe I can help.'

Sarah studied Elizabeth contemplatively. After a short silence, she finally spoke. 'I'm not sure what crazy errand Three Dog's got you running for him, but my gut feeling tells me you're going to need those stimpacks more than we do. The super mutants won't be back for a while so we have a few days to rest up before we head out again. Keep the stimpacks for yourself.'

'Thank you.' Elizabeth said gratefully. Sarah smiled for the first time, transforming her into an attractive albeit battle-scarred woman.

'Where are you heading? Perhaps we can give you some pointers or directions.'

'Museum of Technology. I'm trying to get a broadcast relay from there. Three Dog mentioned that one of your men saw the relay in there. Can you tell me anything about it?'

Sarah's eyes widened and her nostrils flared slightly. 'He's sending you there? To the Capital Mall? What is that man thinking?'

Taken aback, Elizabeth ventured to ask. 'It's dangerous?'

'Dangerous? All the super mutants are there! It's like their freaking base and they shoot at anyone that isn't a mutant or a ghoul! If you thought that fight we had just now was bad, the Capital Mall is a warzone where you'll be reduced to pulp and goo in seconds! I can't believe that stupid son of a – ' Sarah broke off, muttering curses and other profanities. 'You can't go there. It's a suicide mission! Whatever you're asking him to do for you, the Capital Mall isn't worth it.'

Elizabeth's heart lurched as she thought of her father. 'I'm tougher than I look. And I've got Dogmeat here.' Dogmeat barked at the mention of his name and wagged his tail.

Sarah sighed. 'Look, if you want to go and get yourself killed, at least get some tips on how to kill super mutants before you go running off into battle.' She turned her head and barked a command. 'Colvin! Get your ass here!'

A tall man clad in power armor with his head encased in steel plodded up to the duo. 'Greetings, Sentinel. Greetings, wanderer.' He bowed formally and stood at attention.

Sarah turned to face the soldier. 'This is Elizabeth. She needs to find her way to the Musuem of Technology. Tell her everything you know, any shortcuts or back doors into the place. Oh, and give her some tips of fighting mutants. She looks like she'll need it. I'm going to go give Three Dog a piece of my mind. Good luck and Steel be with you.' She nodded at them and stomped away, irritation on her attractive face.

'I am Knight Captain Colvin, second in command to Sentinel Lyons. On behalf of my Brothers, I thank you for felling the Behemoth. You have helped avenge our fallen brethren and I am only too glad to be of any service to you, wanderer.'

'Please, call me Elizabeth.' She replied, a little taken aback at his formality.

He nodded. 'Elizabeth. You seek knowledge of way to the Museum of Technology? It lies along the Capital Mall, a dangerous place indeed. It is not a path you should undertake lightly. If you would permit my advice, I would not advice you to walk that path at all.'

'Thank you for your advice, Knight Captain Colvin. But I must go there. It's important that I get a relay dish from inside the museum to fix GNR's broadcast relay.'

He regarded her closely and spoke calmly. 'You do this out of concern for the radio station? For Three Dog?'

She flushed. 'No. He has… information that I need.'

'But surely there are other ways to gain that information without endangering yourself.'

'Are you suggesting that I beat it out of Three Dog?' She smiled lamely, aware of the sudden desire to do exactly so to the overly dramatic deejay.

He smiled but continued to watch her closely. 'I did not and would not advise that course of action. He is but a man who does what he believes to be right, no different from myself, nor from you, I suspect.'

She said nothing and he continued.

'There is another way to the museum that would not require you to travel the Capital Mall. Take to the underground Metro Stations and follow their tracks to the museum. Come, I will put this information into your Pip-Boy. If you would permit?'

Colvin explained the route in detail to the listening girl, pointing out various exits and rooms that would interest her. He warned her against the underground residents, noting that the feral ghouls and raiders were fond of the dark. He taught her how to listen for the footfalls of different enemies, how to make herself scarce in a tight corner, even how to shoot her foes in their most vulnerable areas. It was the best crash course in combat she had so far.

Gratefully, Elizabeth thanked the kind soldier when they were done. He nodded solemnly at her and made a gesture at her. 'Steel be with you, wanderer. May you find what you seek and may your enemies fall before the steel you carry in your hands and in your heart.'

* * *

Elizabeth was no longer sure of anything in this world except for one thing: shoving a hand grenade up Three Dog's ass would only be a good thing. GNR's broadcasts might have been good to allay the boredom she felt in getting to the museum, but it was not worth getting the broadcasts out to the rest of the Wasteland with the amount of bullshit she was getting. Upon entering the museum's front door, she heard what could only be the heavy tread of a super mutant or two patrolling the hallways. Before she could react, Dogmeat had raced in the direction of the footsteps and the sounds of snarling and roaring followed soon after.

She still wasn't sure how she had done it but somehow the two mutants lay dead before her, the smoke still rising from her gun. Her pulse was racing and her senses heightened. The medically-trained part of her coldly assessed her physical reaction as the high raging from the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She decided to push on and ride on the waves of emotions that were currently crashing through her system. Mentally, she made a note to thank Colvin if she ever saw him again.

As she walked through the museum, she checked on the working terminals curiously. The information they provided on the museum exhibits interested her but not as much as the messages hacked into a few of the systems.

_Hidden loot? Interesting._ She made another mental note to track the hacked terminals, the thought of loot intriguing her.

Walking through the Vault demo badly startled her. A sickening wave of nausea flooded her as memories of being chased through her own vault replayed in her mind. She froze as she stood in front of the display of a vault bedroom.

_Dad. Why couldn't you have stayed? Why couldn't you have taken me with you? Or told me? Or something? Why did you have to abandon me?_

Dogmeat whined softly and nudged at her legs. Giving in to his insistent pushes, she swallowed a rogue tear and tightened her grip on her rifle. Resolutely, she walked away from the vault demo, trying to shove aside all thoughts of her old life.

In the next room, she heard the same telltale stomping of the super mutants. Grabbing Dogmeat's collar, she whispered a sharp command to him to be quiet. She tiptoed silently to the edge of the stairs and looked around. She was in a room with a tall rocket before her, with stairs heading up and down before her. She spotted a super mutant above her and heard the sounds of another below her. Thinking rapidly, Elizabeth whispered another command to Dogmeat before activating a Stealth Boy she had picked up from the museum's entrance.

The dog shot from its position, running up to bite the super mutant in the above stairs in the arms before bolting downstairs to land another blow to the other mutant below. Roaring furiously, both mutants began chasing the agile dog, which dodged their blows and bullets effortlessly. Elizabeth silently rose and tiptoed down the stairs to where Dogmeat was leading the mutants in a merry chase. If it wasn't for the obvious life-and-death situation, she could have sworn that the dog was almost enjoying the chase.

With their backs turned towards her, she emptied bullet after bullet into the mutant nearest to her. When the bullets on her hunting rifle ran out, she discarded it and immediately emptied the clips on her 10mm pistol into the remaining mutant. In a few minutes, the fight was over and she had emerged without a single scratch on her. Remarkably, Dogmeat was uninjured as well and wagged his tail happily as she patted him. Pleased with the success of her flank strategy, she moved on through the rooms.

Finally, she spotted the lunar lander and hurriedly dismantled the relay dish from the lander. Quickly, Elizabeth strapped the dish onto her back and urged Dogmeat on, tasting victory on the tip of her tongue. Further down the nearby hallway, she entered into a strange round room with a domed ceiling. As she cautiously made her way to the middle of the room, she jumped as the device in the middle suddenly began to move and rotated around its axle. A voice started to spout the beginning of a lecture on space and the ceiling lit up with a simulation of the pre-war night sky.

Spotting a nearby door, she went to investigate and found a small room with a terminal, several lockers and shelves and best of all, a first-aid medical kit. After looting the medical kit of all its contents and grabbing the nearby glowing Nuka-Cola, she turned her attention to the nearby gun cabinet. She drew out the key she had obtained from the hacked terminals and unlocked the safe which contained numerous valuable items and over two hundred caps. Stuffing everything into her knapsack, she then investigated the nearby terminals. Engrossed by the entries written by the museum's research lead, she did not hear Dogmeat's warning growls.

'Found you!'

One bullet lodged itself into her left shoulder while another clipped her right ear. Screaming in pain, Elizabeth whirled around to see Dogmeat fending off a super mutant toting an assault rifle. Cursing herself for her carelessness, she fired back at the advancing mutant. Spotting a nearby grenade, she grabbed it, pulled the safety pin off with her mouth and flung it wildly at the mutant. She never knew if God was looking over her that day but somehow the grenade landed squarely in the arms of the super mutant before exploding into shrapnel.

Shaking her head and ignoring the ringing sound in her ears, Elizabeth aimed her rifle into the fallen mutant's head and pulled the trigger. Screaming at Dogmeat to run, she did the same, narrowly dodging the swings of a nailboard-wielding mutant which had been attracted by the commotion in the planetarium.

As they both ran out of the museum, more mutants began to follow. Bullets started raining down around them as the pair fled down the Metro Station. Another bullet hit her squarely in the thigh and she fell on her face with another scream of pain. Dogmeat grabbed her jumpsuit and pulled at her, insisting that she got up. Crawling to the grill of the Metro, Elizabeth pulled herself through and yanked the gates locked. As the super mutants slammed against the locked grill, they snarled as their prey dragged herself down further into the dark station.

Somewhere along the way, Elizabeth fainted for the second time in the day on the floor of the Museum Metro Station.

* * *

In some ways, it was not the most pleasant awakening in the world. Still, it was far preferable to wake up to the sight of a rotting ghoul's face in front of you than say, a super mutant's face. Elizabeth flinched reflexively as she locked eyes with the ghoul. The ghoul nodded in satisfaction and stood back.

'She's awake. Looks like she's going to be fine, nurse.'

'Thank god for that.'

_Nurse? I'm in a hospital?_

Elizabeth tried to sit up and was immediately restrained by another ghoul. A female one, this time. 'No, no. You musn't try to sit up. You've been badly injured and need to rest. Don't worry, Doctor Barrows is a most qualified doctor and will give you the best care and medicine you need.'

Her lips parted in an attempt to speak but she could only muster one word. 'Water.'

The ghoul held up a glass of water to her lips, apologizing as she did so. 'I'm sorry but we don't have any purified water. Only the usual radiated water you get everywhere. A little radiation won't hurt you though. We'll see to that. There, I hope you feel better. You really should get some more rest. The surgery didn't take that long but one of the bullets caused some complications. Doctor Barrows said that a few more inches and the bullet would have pierced your lung. You're very lucky, you know, to survive against the super mutants.'

Elizabeth looked questioningly at the female ghoul.

'Oh yes! You did manage to get past those super mutants. Quinn was heading out to scavenge for supplies and found you lying on the floor with that nice dog with you. He carried you back here to Underworld and brought you straight to us. Like I said, you are very lucky you survived the super mutants and that Quinn found you when he did.'

'Underworld?' The word was hard to say but the water had helped smooth her parched mouth.

'Yes, you're in Underworld. It's sort of our town, ghoul town I mean. You see, smoothskins like you don't really like us staying in your towns so we come here to Underworld. It's a nice place and no one bothers us here, not even the super mutants. But don't worry, we don't mind having smoothskins. Well most of us don't mind. There are those that do but you don't have to mind them. They won't do anything to you.'

'Where is Dogmeat?'

'Is Dogmeat your dog? He's outside the Chop Shop. The doctor says he can't come in here since he might upset some of the surgical instruments. Don't worry, Quinn is looking after him for you. You just rest up and get yourself healed up.'

'No, have to go. Have to go back. To GNR.' Elizabeth tried to sit up again. Doctor Barrows loomed over her and forced her down. Picking up a nearby needle, he inserted the needle into her arm and injected her.

'Go to sleep, smoothskin. You'll feel better in the morning.'

'Listen to him. He's the doctor.'

'I'm doctor. Dad is doctor. Need to find dad. GNR. Three Dog. Dogmeat.' Elizabeth began to slur her words as the world spun around her. She sank down and lost herself in the darkness.

* * *

Elizabeth awoke hours later, her head clear and her vision sharp. She jumped out of bed as the ghoul nurse walked up to her calmly with her knapsack.

'Well hello there, smoothskin. You're awake at last. I hope you had a good rest. Doctor Barrows said that if you could get up, you're fine enough to leave. Here's your knapsack and do be careful out there. The super mutants aren't friendly at all to smoothskins like you.'

'Where's my dog and the dish? Did they bring it in with me?' She demanded agitatedly.

'Don't worry, smoothskin. It's over there by the corner with the rest of your belongings. We didn't touch anything. Your dog's outside with Quinn, the one who brought you here? He's been keeping an eye on your dog for you. He likes dogs, he does.'

Feeling ashamed of herself for her rudeness, Elizabeth held out her hand. 'I'm sorry for being rude. My name's Elizabeth. What's your name?'

'Call me Nurse Graves. Don't worry about it, Elizabeth. We ghouls know we aren't pleasant to look at and I'm no stranger to smoothskin ways.'

'It's not that. I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just…' Elizabeth sighed and ruffled her hair. 'I'm really sorry. I really shouldn't have been so harsh. It's just been hard on me. I'm not exactly used to being out here in the Wasteland. I'm just trying to find my father.'

'You're from one of the vaults, aren't you? I've met a few who came from those vaults. Not exactly a pleasant place to be, from what I've heard. Your father left the vault too?'

'Yes he did. I've been trying to find him since but it's so hard. Everyone keeps wanting me to do something for them. I just want to find him.' Elizabeth said wistfully.

Nurse Graves nodded gravely. 'I know what you mean. The Wastelands are cruel, always wanting something in return. Don't worry honey, you'll survive. If you can survive those super mutants, you can survive the wastes.'

'That's just it. I barely made it. I've almost been killed so many times since I've left the vault. I don't know how I can do this. I don't know if I can survive long enough to find my father.' Elizabeth said in despair and buried her face in her hands.

Nurse Graves patted her head kindly. 'You know dear, have you ever considered hiring a guard to protect you?'

'A guard?'

'Yes, a bodyguard. There are plenty of people out there who can fight and are willing to protect you so long as you have the caps to pay them.'

Elizabeth considered this thoughtfully. 'Do you know where I could find someone like that to help me?'

'Hmm, well there's Charon. But, no. I don't think that's a good idea. You should try to find another smoothskin guard.'

'What's wrong with Charon?'

'Oh there's nothing wrong with Charon, if you don't mind a ghoul bodyguard. In fact, I think he's a better fighter than a smoothskin. But, he's not the problem. Ahzrukhal is.'

'Who's Ahzrukhal?'

'He runs the bar upstairs, the Ninth Circle. But he's an evil, evil man. He has Charon's contract and he won't let Charon go so easily. I heard however that he's looking for someone to take Charon's contract off his hands. But I'm sure it won't be cheap and Ahzrukhal drives a very hard bargain.'

'Is Charon worth the contract?'

'Oh yes! He is! Charon is the best fighter and guard around! Some of the ghouls around here say he's not right in the head but they're just afraid of him. He's never done anything to harm the rest of us and if he does, well, I think it's Ahzrukhal's fault and not his.'

'I'll think about it. Thank you, Nurse Graves. Please take this and keep this for yourself and the doctor.'

Nurse Graves pushed the caps back indignantly. 'Keep your caps, smoothskin! We didn't save you because we wanted your caps. Doctor Barrows will be very angry if he knew that I took your caps for saving you. If you really want to repay us, talk to Doctor Barrows. He might have something you could do for him.'

Elizabeth thanked the kind ghoul again and gripped her skinless hand warmly. Surprised at the sudden contact, the ghoul smiled warmly and seemed to blush. Elizabeth went in search of the doctor, who was bending over microscope. Straightening himself, he regarded the girl with a critical eye.

'You look well. I suppose you have come to give me your payment.'

'Yes, doctor. Nurse Graves wouldn't accept any payment. But I want to repay you for taking those bullets out of me and nursing me back to health. Medicine isn't cheap and I know you need all you can get. I have medical training too and I know medicine is scarce.'

'Hmm, well, we ghouls don't have much need of stimpacks or even Rad-X or Rad-Aways. The radiation is enough to regenerate our flesh wounds and we rarely resort to using stimpacks. If you really wish to repay us, you could help me by giving me some tissue samples.'

'Tissue samples?' Elizabeth asked, startled.

'Yes, I'm studying a possible cure for our ghoulification. I've been researching a way to slow down the advancement of our ghoul condition and maybe one day, reverse it. To do that, I need fresh samples from live humans but we get few smoothskins down here, much less any who are willing to let me cut them up. You mention that you have medical training, so I assume that you understand the implications of my research, don't you?' He asked, watching her reaction closely.

She paused, thinking about the doctor's idea before replying carefully. 'Do you think you are close to a cure?'

'Not really. As I said, I need to analyze fresh tissue samples from unghoulified humans like you and it's hard to get my hands on them. Quinn could easily get me samples from dead raiders but I need fresh samples. In other words, people like you.'

Elizabeth was quiet, as she considered the doctor's words. Then she silently bared her arm to the ghoul.

'Take what you need.'

The surprised doctor quickly recovered himself and eagerly reached for his surgical instruments. Thirty minutes later, he was done and he shot a stimpack up her arm. The freshly cut wounds closed immediately and the pain faded away. Elizabeth shook her sleeves down and turned to the doctor.

'I wish you good luck in your research, doctor. If there is ever anymore samples you require…'

'I hope that won't be necessary, smoothskin. I know it is not comfortable for you to endure that many cuts and slices on you, even if it is for science. But I thank you on behalf of all ghouls.' He rose and reached for a nearby first aid medical kit. Retrieving its contents, he awkwardly handed them to her. 'Here, I hope this serves you better than it would for us.'

Accepting them gratefully, Elizabeth thanked Doctor Barrows again and left the Chop Shop. Outside, she was attacked by an overjoyed Dogmeat, who attempted to smother her with generous licks all over her face and neck. A nearby ghoul dressed like a trader walked up to her as other ghouls around them stared.

'Hello, I hope you're feeling better. I'm Quinn.'

'I'm Elizabeth. Thank you for saving me.' She looked frankly into her eyes and grasped his dry bony hands tightly. She looked down at the panting Dogmeat and smiled. 'And thank you for taking care of Dogmeat for me.'

Quinn smiled embarrassedly, uncomfortable with her physical contact. 'It's no problem, Elizabeth. I was just trying to help someone in need.'

'Please, if there's anything I could do for you, please let me do it. I owe you my life and also for Dogmeat.' She said in earnest.

'No, no. You don't owe me anything. I didn't do anything, really.' He insisted.

Elizabeth was quiet as she thought of how different the ghouls were treating her compared to all the other smoothskins, err, humans she had met outside in the wastes. Perhaps, the ghouls were used to such harsh treatment that they reacted by being extra-friendly. She half-wished that she had been kinder to Gob, a ghoul trapped in the presence of humans who hated and feared him for no simple reason than because he was different from them.

She dug in her pack and presented an assault rifle and some ammo she had picked up from one of the mutants in the Museum of Technology to Quinn. 'Take this. It's the least I could give you after what you did for me. Please, just take it. You don't have to keep it. Maybe you can trade if for some caps.'

Quinn smiled and despite the absence of lips, the grin was apparent. 'Why, thank you, Elizabeth. You are very kind. A rarity for a smoothskin. Good luck in your travels. I hope the super mutants won't bother you anymore.'

They nodded at each other and Elizabeth grasped his hands in gratitude again. As the embarrassed ghoul walked away, she looked up the stairs and saw a pair of heavy double doors. If that was the Ninth Circle, Charon and Ahzrukhal might be there. Maybe she should consider what Nurse Graves had said and get some hired help. It certainly would help to have someone watch her back while she was on the road. She nodded to Dogmeat and the pair walked up the stairs to the Ninth Circle.

* * *

**Notes: **The first time I walked into the planetarium room at the MoT, that little scene I wrote above really did happen to me almost verbatim. Who knew that the little spinning device alerted the mutants to your location?

If you hack into Doc Barrows' terminal, you'll discover the secret research he's doing with Nurse Graves. I thought it'll be interesting for him to say it up front to Elizabeth, scientist to scientist, doctor to doctor.

I know, I'm horrible. I said a few days but it's been two weeks. Real life caught up with me and gave me a kick in the pants. I hope this extra long chapter makes up for it. Next up: hiring Charon (seems to be a pre-requisite of most FO3 fanfiction to hire Charon) and a little detour into a side quest. Please review more. It makes me sad when I don't get new reviews. *sad face*


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Fallout, Adventure, Drama