The halls of the Institute were cold and sterile. Even with so many souls within them, trapped deep beneath the surface of the earth, they felt empty. Tessa's boots clanked loudly with each step, nervous hands tugging at the collar of her Institute coat. She'd once been in awe of the cleanliness, of the white walls and dirt free flooring, but after so long in the Commonwealth it was disturbing. "Tessa Grey," called a voice over the PA, a synth no doubt, "please join Father and the Directorate in the meeting room." She adjusted her collar again as she twisted up a large stairwell to where the Division Heads and the Director, her son Shaun, awaited.

Coming to a stop at the door, Tessa sucked in a breath of air and ran a hand through her short blonde hair, trying to calm down. When the door came open with a soft automatic whoosh, Tessa had found her cool and gave a polite nod to those inside as she took her place besides her son at the long white table within. "Greetings Mother," Shaun said with a small smile, "how do you feel?"

"Well enough," she forcibly smiled, "nervous. Last time you called me into your Directorate meeting you announced you had cancer." Her smile faltered, catching the sadness in her son's eyes. "I take it you haven't found a cure…"

"Unfortunately, no."

"I see… What's this all about then?"

"You."

Tessa stiffened as she felt the eyes of the Directorate upon her, Shaun's emotions hidden behind a mask of professionalism. Justin Ayo, the head of the Synthetic Retention Bureau and an aging Asian man, scowled at her with clear disapproval. The mop-headed blonde man Clayton Holdren seemed more amiable towards her than the last time Tessa had sat in on a Directorate meeting. Tessa suspected it was due to her talking a group of rebellious scientists down from causing an incident within Clayton's own division, BioScience. Then again they'd been upset at Tessa's growing presence in the Institute, having far more freedom inside its halls than Kellogg ever had.

Meanwhile, Madison Li and Allie Filmore, the Advanced Systems and Facilities heads were a mixture of wariness and optimism. Tessa hadn't interacted with either of them much, Allie kept the systems operating; maintenance, food, housing, the far less scientific yet crucial tasks. It had been Allie who Tessa had assisted with recovering the Mass Fusion reactor core with. Madison Li however, was the one behind a majority of the Institute's more prototype technology, to include the child synth that had first greeted Tessa upon arriving in the Institute.

Of all the eyes upon her, all she cared for were those of her son.

"Okay?" She coughed, uncertain what he was implying. "What do we have to discuss we couldn't have done in private?"

Shaun stood up, holding himself with authority as he pushed in his chair and turned to the window behind him, granting the dying man a beautiful view of the Institute's atrium. Tessa followed his gaze best she could, taking in the transparent elevator in the center of all the glass and fountains, plastic like supports rotating around it reminiscent of DNA. Tessa could easily remember riding down that elevator from the teleportation relay the first time, the awe at seeing such a clean and advanced place soon overwhelmed by her thirst for revenge and desire to rescue her son. She mused for a moment how wrong she had been.

"I am dying," Shaun began.

"I know," whispered Tessa, unable to hide her grief. Despite what she was doing with the Railroad, she still hurt over what was happening to him.

"I do not have a successor. My only children are that of the Gen Three synths, but naturally they are unsuitable to lead," Shaun continued, something in his voice that Tessa couldn't place. He admired the Institute for a few more moments before turning back to his Directorate. Justin Ayo straightened up, expectant of what Shaun was to say next. "This leaves us in a precarious situation where the future of the Institute is in question, teetering on the edge of disaster. No one has seemed capable of replacing me… Until now." Shaun's dark eyes lingered on Justin for a few moments, before he turned his attention to the freckled blonde woman. "Mother, would you accept the position of Director after my death?"

Before Tessa could speak the others were, Justin slamming his hands on the table as he protested, "You can't be serious!" Shaun arched a brow at him. "She's an outsider, a wastelander- she's not even a scientist!"

"Actually," Tessa spat as she turned in her chair, "I am."

"What you cook some chems in a shanty on the surface?" Justin sneered, making Tessa bristle. "That's not the same!"

"Science is science, regardless of the type, and no that is not why I'm a scientist."

"Mother," Shaun interrupted, "you needn't defend yourself. Perhaps you aren't a scientist like those in the Institute, but you certainly are no idiot." He then glared at Justin who shrank back into his seat. "But what we need is not just another scientist, we have plenty of those that is all we are. We need instead, a leader. Something I know you're quite good at, General."

Tessa stiffened, looking into eyes that were near identical to Nate's. "Shaun-"

"It's okay Mother, I know all about the Minutemen, Ayo keeps tabs on the surface as is his duties. You've caused quite a stir up there."

"I was trying to find you," she said, "I did everything I could to get to you."

"Such as rebuild the Minutemen and join the Brotherhood of Steel?"

She gave a rueful smile. "Can't always get things right."

Shaun returned the smile, hands clasped behind his back. "However I do believe our Brotherhood problem is well taken care of, isn't it Ayo?"

The dark coat clad man gave a nod, still glaring hate at Tessa. "Correct, one month ago the Prydwen was destroyed by who we suspect to be the Railroad, though if so they've done well to keep us from confirming it. Our scouts also reported that the Brotherhood attacked several locations, to include your mother's own surface home, an old church, and a few other settlements under her protection. Additionally, the Brotherhood's main outpost, a police station, was attacked by a large group shortly before the Prydwen's destruction."

"They weren't very happy I assisted you at Mass Fusion," explained Tessa as the rest of the Directorate gave her questioning looks. "Seeing as I used to be a knight."

"I'm glad that is behind us then," said Shaun, "do they continue to be a threat?"

"Without the Prydwen, as well as eighty percent of their Boston based personnel to include their upper leadership, the Brotherhood of Steel has been effectively crippled. What remains are scavengers who desperately protect what they have left, and have increased attacks to any they see. Seemingly, they've become little more than technologically capable raiders." Tessa averted her gaze, thinking on what they'd become, what she'd made them into. To think she'd once hoped they'd be able to work with the Minutemen.

Shaun gave a small smile, nodding his head. "Excellent. And the Railroad?"

There was an air of silence, only broken by Madison as she cleared her throat. "Are you sure you wish to discuss that here? Now?" She glanced to Tessa who scowled, they were suspicious of her.

"If my Mother is to be the Director after I pass, she needs to know this as much as I," replied Shaun, gesturing for them to speak. "War is near to breaking with our enemies. Surely with Mother's control of the Minutemen she can convince them not to fight us, as it would be their folly." Tessa gave a nod. "But the Railroad is the ever-present thorn in our side. We have nearly crushed them time and time again but they are a cancer that can only be destroyed with the most exact and surgical of operations." Tessa saddened at the choice of words.

Sighing, Justin gave the next report. "We believe the Railroad and Brotherhood were involved in some of that fighting, it is unclear if they were destroyed as well. The old church my coursers investigated were clearly a safehouse, if not the headquarters for the vermin."

"Surely they're connected," suggested Madison, glancing at Tessa warily once more, "the Brotherhood going after your mother and then the Railroad."

Tessa scowled. "They're not," she denied, "we all know the Brotherhood of Steel is anti-synth, the Railroad is pro-synth. They're going to come to odds."

"I used to work with them," Madison snarled back, rising to her feet and loomed towards Tessa. "I know how they operate. They wouldn't wage war on two fronts unless they were connected." She glanced to Shaun, but he did not remark on her outburst and so she remained standing.

"How long ago was that?" Tessa replied briskly, "because I guarantee they've changed. Did they use to take children into danger to teach them? Did they spit hate and prejudice to anyone that wasn't like them? Did they think themselves better than 'civilians' just because they wore some power armor or had military training instead of wasteland style? The Brotherhood was a steaming pile of filth that needed to go, so they did."

"Did you destroy them?" Piped Allie.

"Yes."

"How?" Demanded Madison, anger on her voice.

"I made allies as I sought out my son," Tessa explained curtly, not wanting them to ask for fine details. "Many of which owed me favors or are willing to die for me. Some of them nearly did. Plus, having been part of the Brotherhood I knew the Prydwen well, knew exactly where to plant some bombs to blow it up."

Shaun gave a small smile, nodding his head. "You never cease to impress Mother. Finding your way into the Institute, acquiring us the final component we needed for our nuclear reactor, defeating the Brotherhood virtually on your own, not to mention your other feats on the surface. Does nothing stop you?"

Tessa returned the smile. "Death."

With an amused laugh, Shaun straightened up. "I know your objections Ayo, but does anyone else disagree with my mother's appointment?"

The remaining heads glanced between one another, Allie frowning with thought while Madison rolled her eyes and retook her seat. Clayton seemed decided, and spoke up. "No."

Tessa blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. I've seen how you are in the Institute, you're not some simpleton. You might think and act differently than us, but unlike others I believe this is actually for the best."

"Why?" Questioned Shaun.

Clayton cleared his throat. "Admittedly, when my scientists protested your growing involvement I was in agreement with them. You're an outsider, you don't know what life is like here or our struggles. I thought if anything you would be another Kellogg, a tool for us to use." He shook his head. "But instead you're going to be our new Director. You handle situations vastly different than us, where we would use punishment, you used mercy. I didn't think anyone but Father could've convinced them to stand down, yet you proved me wrong. If we are to survive, we must evolve. If we never find the reason to, an outside force to drive us, we will stagnate, wither away and die."

"Don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?" Accused Madison.

"I'm being honest. Father has done amazing things but no one here possesses his drive. What you've done and seen on the surface might just be what we need. We can't redefine mankind if we've never seen it!"

"I've seen it!" Protested Justin.

"Through photos and cameras, through the eyes of your spies and coursers but never yourself," Clayton easily replied, "so I agree with Director Tessa Grey."

The smile he gave her made guilt fill her body, but she couldn't let her grateful smile falter. "Good to know at least one of you sees the bigger picture," remarked Shaun, glancing between the other three heads. "Anyone else?"

Allie gave a nod. "I'll follow you," she vowed, "I saw you handle crisis in Mass Fusion. You also knew what we were doing, not just wide eyed in shock at all the technology. You're no idiot."

Tessa smiled at her, playing the part so well. This was a true opportunity, perhaps they wouldn't have to fight the Institute after all if she was the one in charge. She was sure Desdemona would prefer that over risking agents trying to destroy the technologically superior power. Looking at the scientists with her, Tessa momentarily thought of Danse. She was tired of killing people she knew, and trusted her.

"Well then," Shaun said with a smile, "I believe that is all. Mother, would you wait a moment? I'd like to discuss what to expect as Director. Everyone else, dismissed." The Directorate rose in unison, Clayton and Allie giving reassuring looks to their to-be director while Ayo stormed out furiously. Madison lingered, looking at Shaun with wide eyes. "Yes?" He inquired, arching a brow.

"No-nothing," she yelped, skittering out after the others.

Frowning after her, Shaun turned back to his mother. "I noticed you didn't say yes, though the others seem not to have."

"It's just… a lot to take in," replied Tessa, scratching behind her head. "I imagine that's how you felt when you were chosen to be the next director."

"Not at all," he said, sitting back down and Tessa followed suit.

"Are you sure about this?" Tessa asked, staring into dark eyes. "I mean, that meeting just goes to show how much the Institute resents me. How am I supposed to lead a divided people?"

"They're always divided, no matter what I do, or you do, they will be divided. It's their way, always bickering over something," Shaun's words were laced with frustration, "I'm afraid you'll never have a moment of peace as Director. It will be your job to keep peace between them, and lead the Institute towards its future."

Tessa sighed with understanding. "Being the General of the Minutemen usually means I'm having to fix somebody else's problems."

"Why do you lead them?" Shaun inquired, "The surfacer savages."

"They're not savages," she retorted, "they're people whose ancestors were unlucky to not end up somewhere safe when the bombs dropped. I know you were too young to remember what it was like, but things weren't right back then, just like how they aren't now. Nowhere was safe, not even Vault 111." The memory of the cryopod closing filled her mind, practically able to feel the cold bite as she watched her husband and child across from her, the alarmed thought that something was amiss filling her all too late. "If only we'd realized we'd been lied to."

Shaun reached over and took hold of one of her hands, pulling Tessa from her memories. "We can't dwell on the past," he replied, "we can only look forward to the future."

"Right, right, sorry."

"It's alright, I can only imagine what it was like to actually remember it."

Tessa averted her gaze, the weight in her chest growing. "Shaun-"

"I'm sorry," Shaun cut her off, forcing her to look back at him. "I know you've been through a lot looking for me, that you just wanted to save me. That knowledge is what allows me to forgive you for everything you've done against me."

"The Brotherhood was a one time thing," she defended softly, "and you can't expect me to seriously let innocent people get hurt when I can save them can you?"

"Is it because you couldn't save Father, or me?"

She blinked, trying to process his simple question. Only on a few occasions did she stop and examine what she did, it just felt natural for her to try to help others. Why wouldn't or shouldn't she attempt to assist those who needed her? Was it because she couldn't save her loved ones? Tessa scowled at the introspective thoughts, shaking her head as if to clear them away but they lingered like heavy stones, questioning her every action.

"Maybe? I just… The world before was so very different and yet the same. Cruelty, violence, horrific sciences, they were rampant then and they're rampant now. But there's also kindness, determination, a certain beauty to the people who carry on. I mean, there's people who live in Fenway Park now! It's so strange that everywhere I look I can see what used to be, see the intact buildings and hear the people. It's not gone, it lingers like ghosts."

"So you miss what used to be?"

"Of course, but I miss the people more than anything. I miss Nate, so so much."

"What about Piper and Curie?"

The blonde woman stiffened, looking at her son with wide eyes. Of course he knew about them, they were with her everywhere she went. Yet to hear him utter their names sent a chill down her spine. "I can miss him and love them both," she whispered.

"How long did you wait until you started to fall for Piper?"

"It's not something you choose," she growled defensively, "your heart does what it wants."

"Like fall for two separate people?"

Tessa scowled. "I don't expect you to understand, but it's perfectly normal."

He stared at her for a few long moments, the cutting edge to his gaze reminding her of doctors with patients who they suspected were not being totally honest with them. The superior assumption of moral righteousness, it was maddening. "Are you so sure of that?"

"Shaun, I was married to your father for five years. Nothing and no one will ever replace him. Piper and Curie, they gave me hope and love. They're what kept me moving to find you. I nearly gave up many times over, feeling like I'd never find you, that I was against impossible odds. Without them I'd never have found the strength to overcome what I did."

Long breaths of silence passed between them, Tessa willing him to understand, to not be upset that she'd moved on from his father, to be happy she'd found love again not once but twice. "If you say so, he was collateral after all. His death was sad, true, but unimportant in the grand scheme, " he replied simply, Tessa feeling that familiar ball of rage flicker inside of her at his words. She knew he did not know his father, that he couldn't feel for him what he did, but to dismiss his death outright? It made her want to scream. "I take it you'd want to bring them with you?"

"Bring them?"

"If you become Director you're going to have to cut off most every tie to the surface. Keep only what's an asset to you, such as your Minutemen. Perhaps you could turn them into a puppet of the Institute, just like our several spies. Everything else must go."

"I'll be in charge, can't I decide what I do and where I go?"

Shaun gave a small smirk. "You would think, but you have to be present to lead."

Tessa sighed. "Right, of course. Is it alright if I think about this? There's… a lot to consider."

"If you need time then take whatever you need," he agreed, "just do inform me of your decision before I pass on would you?" It seemed a joke but it fell flat. "I would like to ask you a few more things, if that's alright with you."

Giving a shaky breath, Tessa nodded. "By all means."

Shaun glanced toward the door, as if assuring himself it was shut and no one could hear them as he spoke. "What is your honest opinion on synths? Don't just give me some rhetoric or smooth lie to fit in. You're going to decide the future of the Institute, which includes the synths."

Tessa's heart stopped for a moment, a part of her knowing he'd ask her such a question and yet it seemed to terrifyingly sudden. What could she dare say to him, what could she dare risk to reveal? "Well, my thoughts haven't changed much from when I first got here," she began slowly, allowing herself time to think. "They seem real enough."

"Ah, but they're not. They do not age, they have no childhood or defining personalities. They simply are," countered Shaun.

"But I've met synths," she replied, "all sorts, all generations, while I was searching for you. I came across one with two humans who wanted to kill him once they'd found out he was a synth. Just because he was synth, when he'd spent months with them, living with them, just as human as them. What made him any different?"

Shaun narrowed his eyes slightly. "The fact that it was created here, programmed and given a job that it escaped from."

She gritted her teeth with a hint of frustration, she'd known he'd say something like that and yet it still upset some part of her deep within. "Why did you make them?" She questioned, hoping to turn the tables and go on the offensive.

"I didn't, I was used to make them remember?"

"You decided to continue, you perfected it, you're their father. So why?"

Shaun didn't miss a beat on his response, as if he'd prepared it for just that very moment. "The Commonwealth is full of irradiated, mutated, damaged humans, there is nothing pure or positive left up there. Down here in the Institute, we have a healthier stock of genetics, we might not be completely free of the effects of radiation but we're nowhere near as twisted as those above. Synths allow us to have the labor force we need to further build the Institute, to venture in the dangers of the surface and are expendable."

"You wanted slaves," accused Tessa.

"Is it slavery if they are not human? Is it slavery to create a car to drive or an oven to cook your food? No, they are machines, complicated and life-like, but they are machines meant to better the life of humanity."

He was so sure in his response it drove Tessa mad, but she bit her tongue before she could say anything he'd deem treasonous. "I suppose so," she said softly. "Is there anything else?"

Rising to his feet, Shaun gestured to the window. "You don't have to agree with me," he replied, "few scientists ever agree with another completely. It's good, the debate, the discord that keeps us from stagnating. Clayton was correct, we need some force to keep us adapting. I believe that you," he looked back at her, "could be that force."

"I don't think I could lead them like you," confessed Tessa honestly.

"Don't then, forge your own path for the Institute."

Tessa blinked, staring at him with wide eyes. How much else does he know? She wondered. "I need time to think," she said, turning away from him. He gave an understanding nod, and allowed her to depart. The automatic door opened loudly, and Tessa stepped out into the hall where Madison Li was waiting. She said nothing to her, instead brushing past the tall woman and already speaking to Shaun. The door shut behind her, but Tessa could still make out their voices muffled as they might be.

"Are you sure?" Tessa heard her say, "about this? She's-"

"I know," Shaun replied in a soft voice that was almost impossible to detect. "But she's our only hope."

"Surely we could find someone else, someone that's not so risky!"

"We both know I'm decided on this. She's the one we need, else we've wasted nearly fifteen years of our lives."

"I know how much you've put into her but-"

"Enough Li, there is no second guessing. This is the path we've chosen."

"Yes… Director." The sound of footsteps made Tessa jump, and she darted down the winding stairs before Madison could exit the room. Tessa didn't stop running until she was in the cafeteria, struggling to catch her breath. Her mind was jumping with thoughts as she tried to process what she'd just heard. She hadn't considered how much time Shaun might've put into making her Director.

Had it been his plan from the moment he'd awoken her or long before?

A synth bumped her, carrying a broom and apologizing as he started to sweep the floor near her. A scientist was eyeing her oddly for running into the area. Her skin prickled as more and more she realized people had taken notice of her. She needed to go home, she needed to think. Tessa rushed as casually as she could to the elevator in the center of the Atrium, gasping in breaths of air as the transparent door closed around her and begun to lift. Shaun was still standing in the window, watching as she ascended to the relay room.

He wore a sad smile.

AN: And so begins the next journey for Tessa and our various Fallout characters! This has been a story I've worked on for quite a while, but didn't want to undertake it with my much larger story "At Dawn's Light" still ongoing. After a bit of a break to recharge from writing, it's time to continue! If you haven't read "Questions of Allegiance" I'd highly suggest you do, as well as the smaller stories "Lucky" and "Chase the Bad Dreams Away". Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts as we set off!