i.
The afternoon he downs his first beer, he promises to himself that he won't be like his mother. C.J. finds him on the flight deck after following a trail of gum drops and broken glass.
"James," she calls out, and he's red-faced and delirious, screaming that he'll jump.
"It's just water," he says, "Water can't hurt me."
For a second they lock eyes, and C.J. almost believes him. James laughs and throws beer in her face. "Tag," he giggles, "you're it."
ii.
"Nosebleed," Butch whispers, "I think I'm in love." The Lone Wanderer forgets her name sometimes (and, she wouldn't confess, but this is one of those times), and she thinks that Butch means her. (But, of course, he doesn't, and she mentally goes through the list of all the women in Rivet City.)
"Nosebleed, it's the octopus complex," he mutters, "I remember you tellin' me. No, the…"
"Oedipus complex," she says, "It's Tammy Hargrave, isn't it?"
"You remember the time when you saved my ma from the radroaches? Sometimes, I wish you didn't."
iii.
"Let's play serial killer, C.J.," James laughs, "You be my mother, and I'll be the serial killer."
iv.
"Hey, lady," C.J. corners the Lone Wanderer in one of Rivet City's many hallways, "tell your friend Butch to leave me and James alone. It's freakish."
v.
"You know that kid James?" Butch asks her, and it's early morning in the Muddy Rudder. Tammy's still asleep somewhere, and Belle has given up forcing Butch to leave.
"I think we're the same person," Butch tells her, "but just born in different times."
"I'm not C.J.," she replies.
"I don't want you to be."
"Sometimes, I forget my name," she tells him, "I mean, like right now, I don't remember who I am."
"You saved the Capital Wasteland," Butch taps her shoulder, "You don't need a name."
"'Sides," he adds, "You'll always be nosebleed to me."