I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
-Revelation 21.6
Chapter 1 – You're Only Ten Once
Grace had always hated her name. It was a nice name, but it didn't feel like it was truly hers. It was soft, graceful as expected and also religious to the rules in the eyes of some. Grace was none of these things. Grace was the shadow you never saw coming until she chose to let you. She was the adventurous child who was never caught. She was also a girl without her mother, without female influence. She could yell with the boys, go toe to toe with them on any sport too. She never did though. She was reserved for her best friend, Amata Almodovar. The Overseer's daughter.
Ever since they had been able to crawl, communicate, and even think they had been close. It was impossible to part the girls, especially after their second year when Amata's mother passed away. Looking at the girls you could have called them sisters of spirit, soul mates even if you were brave. They would always support each other in their own, special way. While Grace would physically protect Amata from anyone who would lay a hand on her Amata protected Grace mentally from the harsh words everyone seemed to direct at her, and most importantly she saved Grace from herself.
A perfect example of their bond was when Amata was learning to walk, as was Grace. Grace had gotten the hang of it first, yet every time Amata had fallen, Grace had too. After a while Grace didn't fall, but Amata did. Grace had circled Amata, looking her over with concern before stopping before her friend again. Then, Grace had nodded in satisfaction and continued choofing along as if Amata was right beside her. Amata had gotten right up and trotted after her friend and neither had fallen since, in the literal sense that is. After every fall, metaphoric or not Grace would circle Amata, and Amata would circle Grace. They picked each other up, more so than any the Vault had seen.
While Grace's father, James the Vault Doctor, had approved of this relationship the Overseer, Amata's father, Alphonse Almodovar, had been suspicious from the start. He was a paranoid, cold man who tried everything to split the girls apart but Amata and Grace only grew closer with ever attempt. Amata loved her father, but she felt alienated by him. In his attempts to push her only friend away he only pushed her into Grace's arms.
Life wasn't easy for Grace, despite she was best friends with Amata. Never once did Grace ask Amata to abuse her position, or treat her any differently for it. It kept the girls as equals, as they always wanted to be. They were best friends forever by the time they were ten. Three bullies gave them trouble. Butch DeLoria, Wally Mack and Paul Hannon Jr.
…
Grace walked with her head down and an irritated look on her face. The Overseer had her doing cleaning duty in the toilets for a week. One Week! All because she had slapped Butch when he shoved Amata. The Overseer wouldn't hear that Butch had started it, and Grace was standing at Amata's defence. Oh no. the Overseer had practically gloated at the chance to punish Grace. Now she was walking down the metallic, 80's feeling halls towards the Diner to meet up with Amata. She wanted to wipe the scowl off her face, but she couldn't. Not yet. First Amata had to see it then come to the rescue. It was how they had always done things.
It all happened so fast Grace found herself dazed. She had opened the doors to a black room. Then there had been a brilliant flash of white and several people yelling things about "Surprise" and "Birthday" which had confused her further. It wasn't her birthday today… was it? she quickly counted down the days in her head. It was indeed July 13th, her Birthday.
She listened and nodded, eventually receiving a Pipboy from the none too happy Overseer before he returned to his diner seat and said nothing else about her. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know he was only here because Amata had convinced him to come. She smiled at the realisation her friend had done something she would never ask for. Abuse her position as Overseer's daughter.
"Happy birthday! We really surprised you didn't we?" Amata came over, giggling as she gave Grace a huge hug. Grace grinned, deciding not to deny her surprise to her friend. Her father and anyone else was a different matter.
"Your father was afraid you were onto us. But I told him not to worry. You are so easy to fool" Amata gloated, chocolate eyes shining brightly with amusement and joy. Grace laughed with her, flashing her own killer smile. The girls were happy, Amata to surprise Grace and Grace to be surprised.
"I am not! You are just too smart" grace declared boldly, earning another laugh from Amata. Grace looked around the room. Her eyes froze on her bullies and narrowed. If she could have curled her lips back and snarled she would have, but Amata beat her to any form of aggression.
"It isn't my fault Butch and Wally are here! Your dad said we had to invite them" Amata defended herself as Grace gave her a rather pissed off look. The anger in her expression melted to minor annoyance as she shrugged.
"Never mind them. We can have so much fun for my birthday. We could put a firecracker in the toilet, flood the bathroom. Steal Butch's mum's alcohol and put it in Old Lady Palmer's tea" Grace let her devilish smile come out. Amata rolled her eyes, holding Grace's shoulder back gently yet leaving no mistake that she couldn't misbehave. It took Grace three seconds to realise the Overseer was within hearing range.
"Yeah, never mind them. Time for your present. What do you think I got you? Go on, guess" Amata grinned, almost skipping as was Grace. Grace rolled her eyes and grinned, pretending to put serious thought into what she was saying.
"A date with Christine Kendall?" She said in jest, pretending to be smitten as best a ten year old could. Amata shoved her shoulder and made a face.
"Gross! I didn't even know you liked girls. And, you know what I mean before you say something rude about me"
"I would never be mean on purpose. I got cleaning duty for hitting someone who did, remember?" Grace pointed out, relating to one time with Butch. Amata grinned, bringing out a comic book from behind her back. Grace's eyes widened in amazement and hope as Amata continued on.
"I guess maybe I should give this to someone else… Someone who likes Grognak the Barbarian more than Mean Christine… the question is, how could you tell the difference?" Amata's final comment drew laughter from Grace again. When the Comic was in her hands she hugged her best friend again, thanking her at rapid speeds before she was called over by Old Lady Palmer.
"Go, enjoy your party" Amata said with a smile, then walked off towards James. Grace headed straight towards the old lady with high hopes for a sweet roll.
She was stopped by the Overseer.
"I hope you appreciate the effort Amata put into this party. She really seems to like you… for some reason" The Overseer could barely contain his disgust as he spoke. Instantly Grace felt insulted but instead of backing down she stood straighter and smiled sweetly.
"Of course she does. I'm a really nice girl"
"That's not what I hear, young lady. Don't presume too much on her friendship. I am still Overseer, and I'm still in charge of this vault and everyone in it" The Overseer threatened in a softer voice. Grace wanted to hit him, to lash out for everything he had done to hurt her friend. Instead she looked him in the eye and whispered.
"She's my best friend" and before the Overseer could reply she skipped away to enjoy her party.
….
After getting a drink and socialising with Amata as she read her comic, Grace walked towards Old Lady Palmer with a smile on her face and a half filled cup in her hand. As she stopped before old Lady Palmer she took a sip, the old lady began speaking.
"Are you having a nice party? Ten years old, my my my, it seemed like only yesterday your daddy came…" At that statement Grace almost choked. She wheezed out a gasp and swallowed the mouthful of drink as if it were a stone. It was agonising in her throat, but she refused to simply spit it out and waste it.
"Oh but listen to me ramble. You're waiting for your present aren't you?"
"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything Mrs Palmer" Grace answered politely. She lowered her gaze as to not seem challenging as the old lady spoke.
"Fiddlesticks? What ten year old doesn't like presents? Here you go, a nice sweetroll I baked for you just this morning – and it's all for you. You're the birthday girl, no sharing required today"
Grace smiled sweetly as she was handed her sweetroll. As she was thanking Old Lady Palmer she heard Andy talk.
"Attention Everyone. It's time to cut the cake" then Amata cry out at the robot with a bad programming for cutting thinks.
"Andy wait!" she cried a moment too late. The sound of a saw buzzing followed by the splattering of cake everywhere over the walls followed. Amata looked horrified as Grace walked over and stared at Andy in disbelief.
"Oh no…" Amata groaned, putting her hand over her face in a gesture of disbelief and disappointment.
"Allow me to wish you a happy birthday. I would offer you some cake, but…" Andy trailed off as Grace stepped forwards and took a handful of cake. Without warning she threw some at Andy, laughing as the robot floated on the spot with its saw raised and what Grace imagined would be a look of astonishment on its metallic face.
"Stop making a mess, young lady, or I'll have your duties extended by another week!" The Overseer commanded in his usual, aloof tone.
"Daddy, I told you not to act official. I know you were joking, but I don't know if anyone else did" Amata whispered loudly at her father, actually managing to look annoyed at him. While Grace watched this unfold she never noticed Butch rush at her until it was too late to avoid him.
"I'm hungry and that stupid robot destroyed the cake! Give me that sweetroll you got from Old Lady Palmer" Butch demanded, grabbing for the treat in Grace's hand. She yanked her arm back effectively, keeping her prized sweetroll out of reach for a while longer.
"You do look hungry, Butchy. Did you mother drink up all your ration coupons again?" She retorted without thinking. She saw the rage flash through Butch's eyes before he spoke, and her blood boiled with anticipation.
"Don't you talk about my mom you little punk!"
"Oh go soak your head, Butch" Grace was already placing her sweetroll on the counter as Butch snarled.
"You're gonna be sorry, you little smart mouth" he cried as he swung a punch. Grace ducked and quickly did the first thing she could think of, which was jab him back in the nose. He went back with a yelp of surprise, leaving his toes open for her stomp. He hopped and held his nose, groaning in pain as the police officer rushed towards the small brawl. Grace took her final shot and swung her foot home into his undeveloped family jewels.
The fight was broken up, and Grace began eating the sweetroll in a corner when Amata came over with a frustrated look on her face. Things hadn't gone as planned.
"What's Butch's problem anyway? I can't believe he tried to start a fight at your own Birthday party. What a jerk"
"he's lucky officer Gomez stopped the fight before I really hurt him" She announced, tearing part of her sweetroll off and offering it to Amata. Her friend hesitated before she took a small portion of the offered roll. Grace didn't argue and stuffed the remaining broken piece into her mouth.
"Right… That's just what I was thinking"
…
After receiving a poem, a hat and some other little things she had no idea if she would use, Grace headed down to the reactor level just as her father had told her too. She was cleaver enough to overhear the Overseer stating his dislike for her to a security officer first, which really made her birthday complete.
"What are you doing down here, young lady? I though kids weren't allowed in the reactor level" Jonas said in a serious tone. He crossed his arms and glared through his glasses, which looked shiny, despite being black framed, against his dark skin. It was darker than Amata's.
"Give me my present already, Jonas" She retorted, smiling to let him know she was only joking with him. Jonas winked at her before slipping back into character.
"Oh, I see, now that you're ten you're all business. Well then, we better get to it. Happy birthday, by the way. Hang on one more minute. I think I hear someone coming"
Grace fidgeted before her dad came walking down with a long package in his hand. He smiled at his daughter as Grace let out a breath of relief, then smiled in return. He eventually spoke, which left Grace fidgeting even more.
"The Overseer gave you a Pipboy, and you're old enough to do some work so I figure you're old enough for this… Your own BB gun. It's a little old, but it should work perfectly. Jonas found it down here. It was in pretty rough shape. Took us a goof three months to find the parts to get it working again. You know how hard it is to find a spring that small. Luckily Butch misplaced that switchblade of his. So, what do ya think. Wanna give it a try?"
"Aww Daddy! Thank you so so much. What do I get to kill?" Grace asked, holding the BB gun and dancing around like a ninja. Jonas laughed as her dad became serious.
"Easy. It's only a BB gun, but it's not a toy. Let's go try it out, Jonas and I have found a nice spot for you" Her dad began to walk away as Grace cheered like a banshee, turning her cap around so it faced backwards before bolting after her long strided father.
When she saw the targets she cheered again, leaping into the air and firing the BB gun at the far right. It squeaked and spun around as she hit it dead centre, which only made her more enthusiastic. She loved the recoil from the BB gun as she fired down the targets, never once missing. It was when a giant bug scurried out that she stopped with a gasp. She had never seen one of these before, and already she wanted to shoot it.
"Careful ! It's a Radroach. Think you can take care of it with that BB gun? You'll be fine. Just aim and shoot"
She took a deep breath and focused. She could already imagine it was in parts, and all she had to do was hit it a few times and it would be alright. She cocked her BB gun and took a breath in. she willed her heart to slow down, waiting until she could pull the trigger in-between beats. She tested it a few times, not actually pulling but the motion until she became comfortable. Then she fired. She fired twice. The first shot hit its body. She then cocked her single shot BB gun and fired again, this time crushing its head with the metal ball.
She cheered and hugged her dad, taking comfort in his warmth. He could be aloof at times, but unlike the Overseer with Amata, James always let his daughter know that she was loved and protected.
"Jonas, get a picture of me with the big game hunter" her dad said with a chuckle. Grace stood beside him, staring the camera down with her killer smile after she placed the BB gun out of the shot. Jonas laughed then made a command.
"Smile"
Then there was a pure, white flash as the moment was captured forever.
