"Come catch me, Daddy!"
"Don't run off, dear! You'll get lost in the Vault!" James chased after his four year old daughter down on the Reactor Level of Vault 101. His daughter was always a troublesome child. Always looking for mischievous ways to get in trouble. Little things, such as putting cherry bombs she stole from the DeLoria boy in his toilet. James let out a brief sigh, looking pensively at his daughter, who tugged at Jonas' coat.
'If the Overseer catches us, it'll be big trouble. Children, much less his, were not supposed to be in restricted areas. What if he threw us back out in the Wasteland?', James thought. No, the Overseer never left his comfy office. He'd have Officer Mack do it. It happened by luck that he even let them in, but James had to find somewhere to shelter his child. Project Purity was a total flop, but he could stay in the security of Vault 101 and continue his research. He felt like he was letting Catherine down, like the coward he truly was. He thought sheltering his child from the harshness of the Capitol Wasteland could help him atone for his sin.
The thought left in a hurry. Despite the brilliant thinker he was, he didn't believe in a worst case scenario. He just watched his beautiful little girl grow into a strong, independent woman. As the years went on, James watched his little girl go through heart breaks, G.O.A.T tests, and all of the trials that living in Vault 101 would bring her, as well as him. Rumors would spread about her, which was a given. Her popularity was a little low, but she had friends. There was her daddy, Jonas, and Amata. The most terrible rumors involved his assistant Jonas and his daughter spending late nights in the lab. James cleared that one up, really fast. He was there, so he knew exactly what was going on. Such silly things would spread around the Vault often.
"You ready to go, Jonas?" James asked his assistant, as he clutched on to the switch to the Vault door.
"Yeah, Doc. Are you sure that she'll be okay without us?" Jonas said, grasping onto the holotape, containing her father's message.
"I raised her to be strong. It's better that she not know about the dangers out there." James looked at the steel door, sighing, "I just hope she forgives me."
"I'm sure she will, Doc. She has to understand." Jonas said, patting him on the back.
"Did you hear that?" James said, alert.
"The Overseer sent his dogs. Go!" Jonas pulled down the lever and the steel door made a loud screeching noise, pulling itself open slowly.
"They're opening the door!" They heard a guard say, trying to open up the maintenance door. "Get this door open now, they're getting away!"
"I'm not going with out you, Jonas!" James shouted at the scrambling assistant.
"Do you want to avenge your wife's death or not?! Go, I'll hold them off!" Jonas shouted back, pulling the 10mm pistol from his side. "Don't worry, Doc. I've got your back." He said with tears in his eyes as the guards busted through the maintenance door, shooting at the assistant. They had shot his legs, James had watched him crumble to the floor. Two guards picked him up and carried him off. James shook out of his daze, darting for the wooden door that had the harsh sunlight of the Wasteland greeting him.
The guards didn't chase him out, they left him for their own safety.
James looked at the steel door of Vault 112, sighing as he turned his Pip-Boy 3000 turn to Galaxy News Radio. Three Dog was talking about the mysterious "Lone Wanderer" from Vault 101. He looked down, releasing another sigh. He thought back to the days where his little girl was just learning how to run around the Vault and get in trouble. She was out doing things for the good of the Capitol Wasteland, defusing the bomb in Megaton, saving a small town from Super Mutants, and other generous things. He was truly proud.