I didn't remember much on my walk back to Megaton. I was just surprised that I made it back there in one piece. I guess a lot of that had to do with Star Paladin Cross and Dogmeat watching my back. During my walk, all I could think of was the death of my father as I crossed the capital wasteland. Once I did reach Megaton, Cross was kind enough to leave me to myself as I went home. Once inside, I took a few moments to chat with Wadsworth, who was kind enough to give me some fresh water. During the chat, I kept a smile on, using it as a mask to hide my true emotions.

After that, I left Dogmeat down stairs before I went up to my room, removed my power armor and weapons, and left it off to the side, with the exception of the Terrible Shotgun, which I left on my nightstand as I lay in bet, bottle of purified water in my hand as I looked up at the ceiling. I tried to gather up my thoughts, but the only thing that came to my mind was my anger towards The Enclave. I wanted nothing more than to kill every Enclave member I come across for taking my father away from me. The more I thought about it, the more appealing the idea became to me. That was, until I realized that it wouldn't bring my dad back.

Sighing, I tried to take another sip of water, only to find out that the bottle was empty. Crushing the bottle out of anger, I tossed it across the room. I then watched it as it bounced off of the wall and hit the floor. I stared at the crumpled up bottle for a few moments, then scoffed at myself as I sat up and turned my body around.

"So, let's recap," I said in a bitter tone as I sat up. "I've been forced out my home vault, I've travelled across this godforsaken wasteland, killing several people, Super Mutants, animals, and abominations along the way, doing favors for other people, and trying to keep my sanity – all for the sake of finding my dad. And what happens when I finally do find him? I watch him die by doing the right thing." And what made it even worse was the fact that he told me he was proud of me.

Well, thank you Enclave for screwing that up, too!

I turned my head towards the center of Megaton – more specifically, the bomb that was at the center of it. As I blinked my dark eyes, I shook my head. Not for the first time, I thought about laying in the radiated pool and either drowning myself or letting the radiation kill me. However, for the first time, those thoughts actually had quite a bit of sincerity to them.

"Screw me," I said as I placed my face in my hands. "How can my life get any worse?"

I then heard a knock on the door. Quickly, I brought my head up. On instinct, I reached out for my shotgun. Was it the Enclave? Was it some mercenaries from Littlehorn and Associates? I had a feeling that there was a huge bounty of caps on my head. There was a small, logical part of me that realized that there was no way that anyone in Megaton would sell me out to any group wanting my head, but I wasn't exactly in the most stable of states.

"Hey," I heard a cheery voice said. And just like that, my nerves became calm. Once the door opened up, I saw Moira Brown standing there with a bag in her hands. "I heard you were back. That Brotherhood friend of yours said you were having a rough go. I figured you could use something to eat."

I looked at her, my mouth slightly ajar. I then frowned as I looked down at the shotgun in my hands. I sheepishly placed it back on the nightstand. I looked back at her, wondering if she wondered about it. If she did, she didn't show it as she closed the door behind her and walked over to me. She took a seat next to me in the bed before she reached into the bag and pulled out what looked like a fried roll.

"A merchant came by with a lot of Mirelurk meat to spare. So, I figured I'd tried that Mirelurk Cake recipe I received a long while back. I wanted to try it sooner but… you were gone for a long while."

I took my eye off the roll – which, I must say, looked rather tasty – and looked at her. She had a slight smile on her. Did she seriously hold off on cooking Mirelurk cakes because of me?

I looked back at the cake before I took it with my left hand. After giving her a thankful nod, I bit into it. After chewing it for a bit, I swallowed it before I continued to eat the savory treat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Moira looking at me, smile still on her face. Once I was finished, I turned my head fully towards her. She reached into her bag and pulled out another Mirelurk cake.

"Would you like another?" Before I could answer, she held it out to me. I brought both my hands up to grab it. And I did, as well as her hand. I looked down at it for a bit. I then pulled my hands away as I looked off to the side as my face heated up, hoping that my dark skin would hide the blush.

"I'm sorry," I choked out.

"Don't be, sweetie!" Moira said. She brought the cake to my mouth. Without thinking, I bit into it. I paused, realizing that I was being handfed. I then continued to eat out of Moira's hand, realizing I didn't care. I ate every last bit, holding her right hand with my left hand as I even ate the crumbs. As I did so, I realizing that her left arm was around my shoulders.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

Moira didn't reply. Instead, she pulled me close before holding me. Had this been anyone else, I probably would have put up a front. However, this was Moira, a woman who was close to me. A lot of people find her weird. But while I do find her to be a bit… out there, I learned to appreciate her. How could I hate someone who was trying her best to work on a guide to help people survive the wasteland? Granted, she used me as a guinea pig, but, scrambling of my DNA aside, she always went out of her way to fix me up. Plus, she has a mind for science like I did and was always willing to lend an ear whenever I felt like venting. Don't get me wrong. There were a lot of decent people in Megaton – Sheriff Simms, Gob, and Nova to name a few. I'd put a bullet into the head of anyone who'd try to harm them if my words didn't quell things. But there was something to be said about a woman that can make you remember her fondly after you look down at the corpse of a mole rat.

So, with her holding me, I could neither keep the mask from slipping nor the dam from breaking. I turned into her and buried my face into her shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her, wanting her close. All the while, she used her right hand to stroke my back. I didn't know how long I was crying for, but I figured it was a long while. Eventually, I pulled myself together, if not fully. I lifted my head, blinking once as I looked at Moira. She looked back at me, still with a smile on her face. However, this smile was a bit smaller as she eyed me with concern. She brought her right hand up to my face and used her thumb to wipe away the last remain bits of tears on my face.

"I'll stay if you need me to stay," she said in a near whisper. I looked at her for several moments, then nodded.

"Please," I said quietly.

She smiled. She then stood up as I turned by body to get on the bed fully. I scooted to the right to give her room to lie next to me. Once she did, she reached over and tugged at me. I didn't resist her. I rolled over to my left until the left side of my face was resting on her right shoulder. She wrapped her right arm around my shoulders and planted a kiss on my forehead. Sighing in contentment, I slowly closed my eyes.

"Thank you," I whispered out.

"Anytime, sweetie."