Duncan lost another baby tooth and as a result, was starting to develop a lisp—Shaun notices it the first time he mispronounces, "bitch."

He would murmur it under his breath as they would walk down the streets of Sanctuary. Anytime he was mildly upset and their parents weren't around; "Son of bith!"

He remarks it again that morning. They were in their bedroom. Shaun is working on a new gun mod, humming happily to D.C radio. Nearby was Duncan, laying on his bed, reading a Grognak comic. When suddenly, another: "bith."

"Hmm?" Shaun murmurs, back turned, keeping most of his focus on his project.

"This comic has missing pages," Duncan huffs.

Shaun begins to secure the new scope onto the musket; Night vision and a new targeting system. He hopes Preston is going to be happy with his new order.

Duncan hops off the bed, popping his head up to look at the gun. "How is it coming?"

Shaun doesn't respond. He reaches for some duct tape at the edge of his desk, considering it.

Duncan pokes his side. "Shaun?"

Shaun notices his brother at his side now. "Huh? Oh, it's good. Gimme two minutes, I'm almost done," he assures.

Duncan grabs the screwdriver off the desk, playing with it in his hands for a moment. "This isn't gonna be like 'two minutes' from last week, right? You know when you said two minutes, and you tooked, like, five years."

Shaun looks at his brother and makes a face. Duncan hands off the screwdriver and Shaun uses it to tightens the bolts that hold in the scope. "Preston needed a new scope for when he and mom leave for the Castle next week. He trusted me with this, I want him to like it."

Duncan huffs. "We're still playing at Red Rocket before the party tonight, right?"

Shaun clicks in the last mod for the gun, finished. He slips it into his duffle bag and slings it on his shoulder. "Ready! C'mon, we can go."

Duncan smiles, following Shaun out of their room. They walk out of the house together. It's another gorgeous summer day in Sanctuary. Together, they walk down the street. Past the busy Minutemen, bustling, and their brahmin—all the way down to town hall.

It's mostly empty. They shuffle through a few Minutemen to get inside the General's office. Shaun knocks twice on the door before entering. Inside, Preston is talking with his mom.

"Hi, mom," Shaun chirps, unhooking the duffle bag strap off his shoulder. Duncan goes right up to the General's desk and makes himself at home on the big chair, his hands already searching the desk for treats or pens.

"Hey, sweetie! Happy birthday," Elenora smiles, placing a kiss on the top of his head.

Shaun wiggles away from it. "Mom," Shaun laughs embarrassedly. He sets the bag on the floor and zips open the duffle, pulling out the newly modded gun.

"I fixed your scope, Mr. Garvey," Shaun says proudly. "Added night vision, and a new suppressor!"

In the Institute, finding broken things and fixing them originally came from a place of boredom rather than curiosity. But when Shaun started getting things working, something in him switched. Sure, it began with trial and error, but the errors became fewer and fewer as the weeks went by. Broken lamps switched to radios. And now he was learning how to make some caps from doing gun modifications.

He hands the laser musket off to him. Preston takes it in his hands, examining it. "Looks great, Shaun. How much do I owe you for it?"

"It's free if you let me come with you guys to the Castle next week," Shaun says hopefully, clamping his hands together.

His mom chuckles, "not happening, kid."

Shaun's smile vanishes, he folds his arms. "Twenty caps."

Preston pulls out a bag from inside his coat pocket and throws it at him. Shaun catches it. He peaks inside quickly, counting it all up—finding ten extra caps inside. He looks up and sees Preston giving him a wink. Shaun smiles back.

"So what are you guys talking about?" Shaun says, shoving it in his pocket.

"Plans for the Castle run," Preston says. "We're gonna take a brahmin over for the supplies run."

Elenora nods. "But I was just about to bring up your birthday party tonight," she says. "I want you home at five to help set up, okay?"

"Sure, mom," he says. Right then, Duncan hops away from the desk and tugs on Shaun's sleeve. Without hesitation, he lets him hook his arms around his neck and Duncan climbs up for a piggyback ride.

Elenora chuckles to herself, ruffling Duncan's hair lovingly. "You excited for tonight, Dunc?"

Duncan nods fiercely. "Codsworth is making a cake."

"Codsworth makes the best cake," Elenora agrees.

Shaun smiles, tells them goodbye, and heads out the door with Duncan on his back.

Duncan points towards the bridge, "Alright. Now to Red Rocket."

"Okay," Shaun says, adjusting him on his back. He trudges over there, balancing Duncan. "What do you want to play?"

Duncan lets out an unusually long, "uuuhhh" before finally settling on "Red Menace?"

Shaun smiles, "You're going down."

"You're going down!" Duncan retorted, giggling.

Shaun and Duncan usually had game-tape battles over at Red Rocket since the terminal over there didn't have to be used for business. Nobody would bother them over there with having to type down reports on the computer or needing to take out a wire to power another generator here or there. They both liked the personalness of it.

They aren't allowed to leave Sanctuary alone, so Shaun has to go find MacCready. They find him inside the greenhouse. Once he spots him, Duncan scrambles off Shaun's back and runs to hug his legs.

MacCready laughs, surprised. "Oh! Hey bud," he leans down to hug him back. He spots Shaun and smiles wider. Shaun goes in to hug him too, and the three of them are all wrapped up together.

MacCready breaks apart first, "Hey, little man! Happy birthday," he smiles a big toothy grin. "I can't believe you're twelve already."

That thought comes back in his head. He shakes his head, disregarding it, smiling, "I know, it's pretty awesome, right?"

"Not to brag or anything, but I got you a pretty friggin' awesome present," MacCready leans down just enough so only Shaun can hear him. "Had to get permission from the very top," he winks.

Shaun's eyes widen in excitement. "What'd you get?"

"It's a surprise. You'll find out in a couple hours," MacCready says. "So what are you guys up to?"

"Can we go to Red Rocket?" Duncan says. "Please, dad?"

"Yeah, I'm basically finished up here," MacCready says. "I'll walk you guys over."

The three of them walk down the road past all of the little shops set up in Sanctuary. They pass the caravaneers who sell pre-war trinkets, the ammo shack, and the butcher with bloody lumps of radstag meat on display. At Duncan's request, MacCready purchases two sticks of Sanctuary "street-meat" (squirrel on a stick) for them.

Past the turret defense and through the gate into Sanctuary, they come out on the old bridge and straight over the cracked, old road to Red Rocket.

MacCready asks them how they're both doing, and he sounds really excited to talk to them both. That was one of Shaun's favorite things about MacCready. He really did love talking to them. Aside from his mom, MacCready was just an adult he could talk to. Shaun doesn't know his real dad, but if he did, he bets he'd be just as funny as Mac.

When they get to Red Rocket, they head straight for the abandoned gas stations backroom where the terminal is. It is decked out in lights and rugs and posters that Shaun and Duncan like. Silver Shroud, the Unstoppables, all the greats.

Duncan checks inside the file cabinets to make sure Red Menace is still in there. Bingo. Right underneath a few other game tapes, their parents had collected over the years.

MacCready lays down on a couch and pulls out a comic from the shelves while Shaun sets it up.

They take turns playing it. When one of them dies, the other one gets to play and vice versa.

Shaun tries to duck from a rolling bomb, but his player gets rolled over and loses a life. He groans in frustration and scoots over for Duncan to play.

Duncan is really good at Red Menace. He knows he'll be out for a while, so he stands up to walk around Red Rocket.

He heads into the garage to see if there are any toys or game tapes for them to play afterward. He peaks over the shelves, filled with all sorts of things from his mom's adventures. There are tools, and pieces of junk assorted throughout the garage.

He spots a cardboard box underneath the bed. There's a tarp covering the bed and the box, so he goes to pull out the box, and finds a whole bunch of holotapes inside. Shaun lights up, thinking there might be another game-tape inside.

Shaun kneels down, shifting around some junk and old tapes. He pushes away some old toys, some stray folders, and starts looking at each holotape title to find something worthwhile.

He looks at each holotape before putting them back, wondering what they are. A few aren't super important. There's one for a story about squirrels, another for a song. But his eyes do a double-take when he sees his name written on one of them.

'Shaun's holotape', written in neat handwriting.

He looks up, he's alone. He looks down at the holotape again, rubbing the plastic with his thumb.

"Shaun?" Duncan's voice echoes from the backroom. "I died, it's your turn!"

Shaun squints at the little object. He doesn't know what it is, but… it had his name on it. Maybe it was a birthday present his mom was saving for him.

He sticks it in his pocket. He stands up, and pushes the cardboard box with his foot, back under the bed.

Shaun finds his way to the backroom. MacCready's fixed on his comic, and Duncan has the game paused for him.

He sits down at the terminal, trying to focus on the game, but Shaun is only thinking about the weird holotape his mom saved.


When you would arrive at Shaun's birthday party, you were greeted with a party hat. No matter what your age, one would be slapped on your head with a tight string gripping your chin.

The party is held at their house. Diamond City's radio is put on the loudest volume it can go. The chatter from all the guests made the house seem to rumble.

The adults at the party are Minutemen officers, friends of the family. There are kids too, but not a lot. Since people never stayed in Sanctuary long, it became a Minutemen outpost. A trading hub. A place to stay for a few nights if you were heading down to Diamond City. Caravans never brought kids his age, so he mostly hung around Duncan. And Nat if her and her older sister came into town for the week.

MacCready pulls at the string, taking the party hat off his head. Pushing himself through the crowd of people in their home, he finds Elenora in the kitchen. She's sticking some little wax candles into Shaun's birthday cake-exactly twelve candles. He doesn't know why that was so important that they scavenged that many, but once she mentioned it was a 'pre-war' thing, he felt it unimportant to argue against it more.

"How's it going?" He says over the noise, "you need any help?"

Elenora smiles when she sees him. "Hey," she says warmly. She leans up to peck his lips, then sticks the last candle in the cake. "Do you have a lighter on you?"

He nods, pulling one from his pocket, setting it on the counter. Then he looks over the crowd of people, "Did we invite everyone in Sanctuary?" he jokes.

Elenora chuckles, "Seems like it."

Elenora turns to look over the crowd, searching for her son. He's on the couch with Duncan and Nat.

MacCready and Elenora talk for a few minutes. Then, when it's time to serve cake, MacCready turns the lights off, Shaun and everyone gathers around the cake. The crowd sings happy birthday to him, and when it's done Shaun blows out all the candles and Piper snaps a picture on her camera. In a few minutes, a polaroid shot gives out a nice picture that Shaun gets to keep.

"What'd you wish for?" Elenora asks him as Codsworth cuts the first slice of cake.

"Mom, that's a secret," Shaun replies.

She shrugs. "I had to try," she says with a wink.

When the time for presents come, Shaun sits on the couch, everyone's gathered around him.

Elenora and MacCready are sure theirs is the first one he looks at. MacCready hands it off to him, he says thanks before ripping off the wrapping paper. Inside is a hat. Correction, a captain's hat.

"Thanks, guys!" Shaun smiles and puts it on his head. It's a little bigger than him, (made for an adult) so he has to work to push it off his eyes.

"Read what's on the inside of the cap," Elenora tells him.

Shaun takes it off. Inside, there's a little flap of paper he missed tucked around the sides. He frowns slightly, "a poem?"

She nods, smiling.

He reads aloud the last part of the stanza. She's highlighted it. "'...I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul'."

"It's Invictus," she tells him. "A very old poem."

Shaun figures his mom would have stuck a poem in his birthday present. She was super into that stuff. He thinks it's kind of cheesy, but hey, that was his mom. Stuffing it back on his head, he thanks his mom and the rest of the evening follows.

MacCready goes after. He's gifted him a BB gun. "Lessons too!" he promises which makes Shaun burst with excitement. Elenora tells him he has to wear goggles when he practices, and he's less excited.

Curie gets him a matching lab coat. Preston got him some scavenged toys. Duncan's given him a box of Fancy Lads, (half-eaten). Elenora and MacCready sit at the counter, watching him happily. Their hands are clasped for the entire evening. Shaun's beaming from ear to ear, he thinks this is one of the best days he's had in forever.


When the party has begun to die down, and everyone is heading home for the night, Codsworth is the one to sweep up discarded hats and party favors. Shaun helps his mother with the dishes as MacCready goes to wrangle Duncan in for bed.

It takes a while to clean up, but Shaun doesn't mind. When he's finished drying the dishes, Shaun leaves to put away his birthday gifts. He enters his room quietly, MacCready is sprawled on the tiny twin mattress, Duncan on his chest, with a comic left unfinished.

Shaun tiptoes in, puts his things on his desk, arranging them nicely.

There's a soft knock on the door and Shaun turns and sees his mom in the doorway.

"Well, I think I'm finished for the night," Elenora says. She takes out her hair clip and shakes out her hair. "Want to watch a holodisk?"

Shaun gingerly nods. "Can I pick?"

The light from the TV buzzed, showing an old pre-war detective movie—one of Shaun's favorites. The main character reminded him of Mr. Valentine.

He's wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, his head on his mom's shoulder. Her fingers combed through his hair, and he felt so safe like he could practically fall asleep at any moment.

"Did you have fun today?" His mom asks, her voice soft.

"Mmmm hmmm," Shaun nods. "I liked the captain's hat."

"Ah," she smiles. "It was MacCready's idea, the pre-war poem was mine. We found it while scavenging this harbor near the Castle."

Shaun nods. He opens up a package of the Fancy Lads Duncan got him, chowing down on a snack cake. He offers one to his mom, and they finish the whole box together.

His mom fell asleep first—passed out like a light on the couch. Once the movie is done, he moves away as best as he can to avoid waking her up. He yawns, rubbing his eyes. He's about to just go to bed when he spots his mom's Pip-boy on the counter. An idea warms itself in his head.

He walks back to his bedroom, and MacCready's still there on Duncan's bed, snoring away. Shaun goes over and nudges him.

"MacCready?" he whispers.

He yawns, "what's wrong?"

"Mom fell asleep on the couch, can you get her?"

He waits a second, eyes blinking. Then scoots Duncan off himself, and walks out of the room.

He watches MacCready—struggle at first—but pull her up, and carry her back to their bedroom. Shaun's already got his hands on the Pip-boy, but a minute later, MacCready comes back out. He puts his hand on his shoulder and goes, "do you want me to tuck you in?"

Shaun shakes his head, "I'm okay."

On a normal night, MacCready would wait until Shaun was in his bed, tucked in and comfortable before heading to bed himself, but he looks so exhausted that he doesn't. Instead, he kisses the top of his head, murmurs, "go to bed soon, okay?"

He affirms he will, and MacCready hobbles down the hallway.

Shaun waits until he hears snoring. He hops onto the couch and takes out the holotape he's been saving since this morning. He reads the writing one last time, 'Shaun's holotape', and plops it in. He turns down the volume really low and presses play.

A voice comes out. But it's not his mom's, which is off-putting. He thought it'd be his mom on the other side of the tape. Like she had made a tape for him the way his dad made one for her.

The voice on the tape is Father.

"If you are hearing this, then whatever conflicts you and I have endured are over. I have no reason to believe you'll honor the request I'm about to make, but I feel compelled to try anyway. This synth, this... boy. He deserves more."

Shaun's heart stops. His stomach rolls. Immediately, he regrets finding the tape. He wants to pop it out and throw it away.

"He has been re-programmed to believe he is your son. It is my hope that you will take him with you. I would ask only that you give him a chance. A chance to be a part of whatever future awaits the Commonwealth."

The tape, as quickly as it starts, ends just as suddenly. Shaun takes a deep breath. Then another. He wants to scream, but his voice is caught in his throat. Instead, he begins to cry. Big, fat tears roll down his cheeks. He's sobbing quietly, and he can't stop himself. He didn't think he was really a synth, it was just a thought he had every now and again.

He knows what tape this is now. This is the tape he gave his mom after everything with the Institute went down, this is the tape he promised he didn't listen to. If only he knew then…

He plays it again, just to make sure he heard right. He wipes his nose on his sleeve, and listens intently, turning up the volume. Then, he hears that part again. "This synth… reprogrammed to believe he's your son."

He hears a cre-ee-eaking sound from the hallway. He looks in the corner of his eye, and his mother is standing there. She looks like she's about to cry, too.

In response, his raises the Pip-boy in his hands. His nose is running now. He sniffs, and between sobs, says, "what is this?"

She comes over, wraps her arms around him. He buries his face in her shirt, and she holds him for a few minutes. She rubs his back, kisses his head. "S'okay, baby, s'okay…"

He cries into her shirt. He certainly feels like a baby, just crying in front of his mom. He was twelve now, he shouldn't be crying so much. He tries to think about the rest of the day in order to cheer himself up, but with his new knowledge, the whole day just felt sour.

He pushes himself up, wipes his tears with the back of his hands. The first thing question:"You knew?"

She smiles sadly and nods bitterly. His mother runs her fingers through his hair, looking at everywhere at his face but his eyes.

He shakes his head, "why didn't you tell me?"

She waits a moment before responding. "I wanted to spare you." Her voice sounds a little higher than normal.

Shaun doesn't like how she said 'spare'. His stomach churns. He pushes her hands away. He looks at her now. He wants her to see how mad he is. But then he sees her face, and she looks more scared than he was.

Without another word, Shaun hops off the couch. Before Elenora can stop him, he opens the door out and heads for his treehouse.

He hears her call after him, but he doesn't want to come back.