Oh crap, it's short again. Nonetheless, this has been laying half finished for I dont know HOW long, so I'm happy I'm finally posting it. :'D I can't believe how long its been, it really didn't feel like I was disappearing for that long. I hope this is alright. I also decided to give her a name. Thank you for being so patient with me, I hope you guys are still around. 3

"What have you done!?" Betty cried, stomping her feet into the ground much like an actual 10 year old. All around them, citizens were being slaughtered, but the Lone Wanderer knew she was doing them a favor.
"I'm freeing these miserable fucks from the reality you've created for them!" she barked in reply, whilst rushing Gob towards the door. "Maybe this'll do you some good."

Betty began to protest, but held her tongue. James had begun sprinting towards the door, after his daughter. When they stepped into the portal, everything went black.

The wanderer awoke after what felt like a horrible night's sleep. She coughed, gasping for air as she banged on the hood of the tranquility pod. It popped open with a low fizzling sound. Her limbs felt like jelly, and she wobbled momentarily when she stood up on her own two feet. There was a dull ache in the back of her head, and her mouth felt dry. It was like she'd been sleeping for years.

"Rita?" a familiar voice said. She whipped her head around, and saw her father approaching her. It had only been..what, half a year since she left the vault? And still it was like she'd never seen him before. He looked older, more tired than when she'd last looked at him. Maybe she hadn't been paying attention in the last few months before he'd left. Impulse told her to run up and hug him, cry, tell him how much she loved and missed him.. But her feet remained firmly planted. James walked with uncertain steps, not looking entierly sure about whether she was about to kiss him or punch him in the face.

"Rita.." he whispered, a solemn expression painting his features. An uncomfortable clump was forming in her throat, and for a minute she couldn't do anything except eye him warily.

.oOo.

There was a pained look on her face that he couldn't stand to look at, that made it near impossible to make any direct eye-contact with her. For the first time ever, he felt like a coward. He wanted so badly to tell her why he'd left, to admit that not a moment had gone by where he hadn't thought about her. But that look told him that she wouldn't have any of it. There was a deadly silence between the two, and James couldn't help but shift uncomfortably under her gaze.

"I'm sorry." he uttered. For a second, her expression softened - but she regained her cold look so fast he wasnt sure he'd seen it in the first place.

"Why did you do it?" she replied.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. But I had priorities to think about." She scoffed at that.

"So taking care of your daughter wasn't one of them?"

"You're a grown woman now. I figured you could take care of yourself! Besides... you were never meant to come looking for me, anyway. What were you thinking? It's too dangerous out here, you could've been killed!"

"What was I thinking?" she spat. "What was I thinking? Did you know that after you left, the entire fucking vault authority came down on me because they thought I'd helped you? Did you know that they fucking killed Jonas because of you!? That I didn't have a choice?" The heavy silence returned, and his daughters eyes flickered down to the floor.

"They killed Jonas? I..didn't know that."

"Yeah. Well. They did." she paused. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too." he admitted.

"I just...don't get why you did it. Is it because of mom? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I knew you'd want to come with me," he began. "Of course, you did anyway.. Never could stay in one place, could you?" he mused humorously.

"I guess not." she replied. Hesitantly, she reached out to give him a hug. They stood like that for a while.

.oOo.

The bridge let out a loud creaking sound as it was let down to allow them access into Rivet City. James was on his way to see Dr. Madison Li, whilst Rita and Gob had rented a room on the ship. The Lone Wanderer hadn't said much of anything since they exited the vault, and there was still a sort of awkward tension between her and her father that Gob hadn't figured out yet. Rita had for the most part remained very secretive about her life back at the vault, occasionally mentioning an old friend or a childhood memory. But as far as her father was concerned, Gob just didn't have a clue. He wondered for a second if it was time to part ways with her. She'd found what she'd set out for, maybe that was all she was really interested in? Though he couldn't imagine what she could possibly be using him for, it's not as if he had anything to offer. And the idea of her genuinely enjoying his company, keeping him around simply because she wanted to, seemed ridiculous. He didn't even know where they stood, or what role he played in her life. Initially, he'd just felt humbled that anyone was willing to waste resources on him. Gob looked at Rita, who was too distracted to notice, and studied her for a bit as they neared the entrance. Her arms were folded, and she was scratching absentmindedly at her left arm. The expression on her face was, was, he didn't even know. Contemplative but exhausted at the same time, but somehow still neutral. She didn't look nearly as neat as she did in Tranquility Lane, her hair all styled and her makeup done to perfection. She didn't even look like she did when she first entered that dingy godforsaken bar in Megaton. Rita, who had previously been known for being a vain, stubborn brat, now looked like any other wasteland traveler. Her skin was smeared in dirt, her hair was greasy and disheveled, and her body was covered in scars, all from the past six months alone. It occured to Gob that he'd been putting her on a pedestal the entire time he'd been with her. It occured to him that she was a human being who'd experienced things in the past six months that perhaps some people hadn't experienced in their entire lives. It occured that, in spite of the bullshit she'd been phased with, she hadn't broken down, not one time. That she'd carried him through everything, despite the numerous times she probably needed to be carried more than anyone else. And that he was so in love he didn't know what to do with himself.