OK, I'll be honest, this chapter was really difficult to write. It was slow and I don't have much of an excuse for it. I'll try to write more often, promise :-)

...

"So you want to go to an ancient museum covered in Super Mutants to get a relay dish so you can listen to a radio station?"

After Amata was done squeezing the life out of me after she had finished dinner, I had time to bring up Three Dogs proposal.

"You don't have to sound so condescending..."

"Well it really isn't the best idea-"

"I think it's a fantastic idea," I cut her off, "it'll give us time to train and we'll get some experience."

"I agree with Amata this is pretty dangerous." Sarah says, leaning against the wall.

"She can stay if she wants to."

"Don't do that," Amata says quickly, shaking her head, "I hate it when you do that."

"I'm going OK? If you're worried then you don't have to go."

Amata sighs and buries her face in her hands.

"... I'll leave you two alone."

I look up at Amata from where I am lying on the bed, "Listen to me." I say, reaching out and stroking her hand with my thumb, "this is our life now. We can't change that. We can't go home, we can't see our friends and family. I need to be strong here Amata, I need to be, to protect you. No one else matters here. I could care less about my father, but you're scared, and y'know what? That's OK. You're my best friend and no matter where I came from nothing can change that. I need to train, to fight. We won't survive if we don't fight."

Amata sighs and kisses my cheek and mumbles against my ear, "You're gonna get yourself killed."

"No I won't," I smile, "I'm stubborn, remember? Look, the battle didn't kill me, I just have a headache."

She laughs and touches my bandages gently, "Get some sleep."

I stir awake and yawn, sitting up and stretching my arms out, I turn my head and see Sarah staring at me from her chair.

"Shit!" I gasp.

"Relax, I just thought you'd stopped breathing."

I frown and sit up, "Where's Amata?"

She points at me and I look behind my shoulder, she's fast asleep next to me, curled around the blanket and only leaving a slither for me.

"You going to that museum today?"

"Probably yeah." I nod, "should only take us a few hours."

She nods and leaves me alone with Amata.

"Winter." I hear Amata mumble.

"Yeah?" I yawn.

She doesn't respond, instead she rolls over onto her back and her fingers wrap around the fabric of my jacket.

I sigh and gently take her hand away.

"Sarah?" I say, walking in with my bag, "can you do me a favor please?... How long are you here?"

"We're holding down the fort for two days, making sure everything's settled down. Why?"

"Do me a favor..." I whisper, "keep Amata in the building. I'll be back soon."

"You're going alone?!"

"I have to. I'll be back."

"I hope for Amata's sake that you will be."

I walk outside and start walking for the location that Three Dog programmed onto my Pip-boy. As I walk around DC, sticking to the shadows and always with one eye over my shoulder, I feel a strange sense of eerie peace. I don't let my guard down though.

"I am Alpha and Omega..." I trail off, looking up at destroyed skyscrapers, some hanging on by their foundations alone. God I was so sick of that verse. Dad was always saying it every night for family prayer. I was always skeptical of religion, even though when I was young I was scared I would make mom angry. Now that I'm out of the Vault, in this pathetic excuse of a world, I'm certain a god couldn't possibly exist, he can't. IF he does, he's either a lazy or sadistic son of a virgin.

"Just follow the Washington Monument," I tell myself, climbing over a pile of rubble, "200 years and they didn't bother to clean up a bit?"

I glance down at my Pip-boy and hesitantly hit Data and click onto radio. Galaxy News comes up as an option and I enter it in. Gentle music streams from the speakers and I allow myself a small smile. The Ink Drops, heh! Guess old holotapes of them still hang around here if they're being played on a radio station. I used to listen to this song constantly with... Susie.

I frown as I slide down an old highway sign. I feel bad that I haven't really thought about her that much since I left the Vault. It seemed ridiculous for me to consider my relationship problems for a moment when I remembered my time with Nova and whether or not it would be considered cheating. I don't even know if I really loved her.

"Ugh!" I groan, "stop it you idiot, stay focused...!"

I see the Monument as I turn another corner, a heavyish feeling in my heart. I hold my pistol in my right hand and my left ready to fling itself for the rifle on my back. I look around carefully, examining every building and every window, looking for enemies. I need binoculars bad, my eyes can only see so much when they're naked.

I jog to the metro station and climb up the lamppost. Ha! And Amata said my tree climbing bullshit was a waste of time. I see a line of trenches and swear, "Fuck..." I grunt, sliding down the lamppost and ducking behind a building. Probably 7 or 8 Super Mutants were wandering around the trenches, carrying guns.

"OK... OK..." I take a deep breath and look around. I see the museum around 50 meters away, "alright. 50 steps, that's all you need to do..." I whisper to myself.

I decide to run as fast as I can. My feet pound hard against the destroyed pavement and the heavy equipment in my bag and my guns don't exactly help my speed. I look to my side and see I haven't alerted them. "Go go go," I whisper, opening the doors to the museum and darting inside.

"Ugh!" I cough, "damn dust..."

I grab my water and take a sip. I walk up to the directory, "I'm guessing radar dishes aren't an isolated exhibit." I mutter, running my finger along the coat of dust and grime that had gathered over the years, "fuck it, might as well explore a bit."

I turn on my light and walk up the stairs.

"Ah shit." I groan, walking up to the first exhibit.

"Welcome to Vault-Tec! You and your family's home, safe from the dangers of the nuclear holocaust." I triumphant yippie voice grins.

I walk through the exhibit, showing happy families, having fun and living the "American dream" the voice over says.

"Someone there?" a gruff, slow voice asks, followed by heavy steps.

My grip tightens around my pistol and a small pang of fear hits me that I try to swallow down. I sip against the corners to the dimly lit hallways of the Vault and a Supet Mutant walks into the room. The second he walks past me I aim and shoot. He lets out a scream of agony that lasts a semi-second. Long enough for a loud stampede to start running towards the shot.

"Fuck!" I whisper. I glance down at the Super Mutant, who's clutching an Assault Rifle. I lunge the the rifle and rip it out from his cold dead hands. I spin around and aim at the entrance.

"Die!" one screams after spotting me. I shoot frantically, almost losing my footing from the force of the kick. I keep firing and don't stop until the magazine runs out and it's only then when I realize I'd been shouting. I just kept seeing yellow, and as I put the gun down I see five to seven bodies lying in the doorway. I take their weapons from them and stuff them in my bag as I pace carefully through them. I vault over the railing and fall down onto the space exhibit.

"Amata would have ate this place up," I smile a bit. She was always the nerd for history.

"Ah." I smile, "there you are."

I climb ontop of the space shuttle thingy, dad was right, I really should have paid more attention in school. I slide off the relay dish and make room for it in my bag.

Walking out to the lobby is danger free, though I stay alert at all times. When I open the door the mutants are too busy with a firefight with some brotherhood soldiers to even care enough to even look at me. The monument is only maybe 100 metres away, and it was a safe run so long as I kept away from the trenches.

"Halt!" someone shouts, guarding the gate with a gun, "what's your purpose here?"

"I'm here to fix the radar dish for GNR." I say, nervous with the gun in near my face.

"Let me see the dish."

I nod and slowly slip the dish out of my bag and hand it to him. He turns it around in his hands and nods, "go up. But we'll be watching."

I walk into the monument and see a door. I try to open it but I groan, "damn shut in doors."

I glance to my left and see a set of buttons, one that points up. I press it and the door opens. I walk into the small closet like thing and press another button. The small space starts rising and I look up at a distant light. I keep rising and eventually I stop moving. The doors open and I walk out.

"Nice view of hell isn't it?"

I gasp and turn around, "Fuck!" I whisper.

A man dressed in overalls turns from the control board. He laugh, "Relax kid, you got the dish?"

I nod and he smirks, "Ha! Good luck! I'm on break! Feel free to fix it yourself."

I roll my eyes and flip him off, "Yeah up yours too buddy."

I look down and notice a tool belt on the floor. I take off my holster and replace it with the tool belt. It's late afternoon so there's still some light. I work for half an hour, replacing the dish and working on the distance the signal can carry.

"And," I flip some switches, "we... are... working..."

I hear a satisfying click and a whirl, "Ah there we go." I smile.

I walk back to GNR just as the sun sets.

"Good luck kid," a soldier laughs as I jog up the stairs.

"Hmm?" I frown.

I walk into the lobby and take a seat.

"Hey! Sarah! The kid's back!"

"What? What happened?" I frown when I see Amata sprinting down the stairs toward me.

"Oh god come here," Amata sobs, flinging herself at me and bursting into tears.

"What's wrong?" I gasp, "hey..."

"You bitch!" she sobs, "I hate you so much! I was so worried!"

I sigh and rub her back, "I'm so sorry..."

She steps away from me and wipes her eyes, "Did you fix the fucking dish?" she laughs, still in a kind of sob.

"I did," I nod.

"She is a pain in the ass to babysit!" Sarah laughs, walking at me, "she almost knocked out a paladin trying to get through the door. She was PISSED. I thought she was going to have a breakdown. Almost took out two paladins too."

I laugh and look at Amata.

"Get that grin off your face," she scowls.

When I open my mouth to say something she shoves her hand over it, "Shut your mouth." she says, fighting back a smile, "you're covered in dirt. Go take a bath."

"Yes ma'am," I say quickly.

I yawn and start to slide off my shirt when the door flings open, "Fuck!" I yell.

"Listen here," Sarah growls, slamming me against the wall, "I don't know the first thing about you, and frankly at the moment I don't care. I swear, if you do that to her again I will make your life a misery."

"Ugh get off me you crazy bitch," I groan, rubbing my scalp from when my head banged against the wall.

"You weren't there here... Think about that before you do something as stupid as that again."

"I know." I sigh.

"But you handled yourself. And I'm at least grateful for that."

"That's better," Amata smiles as I emerge from the bathroom relatively clean.

I walk up to her and hug her tightly, "I'm sorry." I whisper.

"What? What were those words?" she smiles.

"Stop," I sigh, "I know you want to yell at me, so do it."

"I guess I understand why you did it." she sighs, "Doesn't mean I have to accept it."

I nod and touch the dried tears on her cheek, "I don't expect you to."

"You look... different." she frowns.

"Really?"

"Yeah, what happened to your eyes? They look... weird."

I shrug and sit down on a chair. Three Dog walks in with his arms spread, a grin on his face, "The Hero of GNR returns! I got a nice SMOOOOOOTH signal all through the wastes baby!"

"Three Dog do you have to-"

He claps his hands together, "How about an interview?"

"An interview?"

"Yeah. You're pretty my famous for defusing that bomb in Megaton AND you're from a Vault. People will be dying to hear about you!"

"I... um... I'm not really..."

"She'll do it."

"Great! I'll get the equipment set up now!"

I glare at Amata when he walks away and she shrugs with a smile on her face.

"I hate you," I sigh at her, following him.

"Alright kiddies! Three Dog's got a little surprise for you! Fresh from the ruins of Downtown DC with her grubby little hands that work magic with a radar dish, I have with me, the one, the only, well actually one of two, kids from Vault 101! What's your name kiddo?"

"Winter," I say after sipping on some water.

"So, how're you finding life out here in this world we live in?"

"It's different to the Vault that's for sure."

He laughs and drums his fingers against the desk, "What was life like in that Vault of yours? You were born there, must have been a paradise."

"Uh..." I scratch the back of my head, "actually... I wasn't born in the Vault."

"Woah woah WOAH!"

Goddamn why does he have to make a big deal out of everything?

"So you LIVED out here before the Vault?!" he almost yells into the microphone, "where?"

"I really don't know. My father said that I was born in the Vault, but I've met some people who can confirm that it wasn't... that way. I don't know I was only a baby."

"So nobody can possibly get in after you?"

I shake my head, "No. Absolutely not. I'd been wanting to get out for a while when I was younger, the leader of the Vault made it perfectly clear that nobody got in or out."

"Sounds like a Tyrant."

"Now I think about it he sounds like a smart man, unlike my Dad."

"You're looking for your Dad huh?"

"I'm looking for answers." I say firmly, "I could care less about how I get 'em, within reason."

"Don't you LOVE your Dad?"

"To be honest how can I be sure he's my dad?" I shrug, "for all I know my entire life's been a lie so far. Sure he raised me and he did a good job, but how can I know he's my real Dad? This whole time he said the Vault was my home, that he'd make sure I was safe, that he was my father and he would do anything to protect me. Then he leaves and almost gets my friend and I killed, cuts me off from all of my friends and kicks me into this shithole. No offense."

"Wow." he says simply, "you sound... angry."

"I am angry. As I said, I want answers." I scowl, "he left a note, but it didn't explain anything."

"Why didn't you just stay?"

I laugh, "I couldn't! I was either going to be shot dead or thrown into a jail for the rest of my life, most likely death. The only option was leaving."

"Why did Amata leave with you?"

I laugh and open my mouth to respond before a Brotherhood soldier taps on the glass of the door.

"And that's all the time we have for today kiddies. Winter, do you have a request?"

"Ink Spots," I say, getting out of my chair and loading my handgun.

"What's going on?" I frown.

"Woah put the gun away," Sarah gasps, "we just saw the pissed off look on your face and thought that we'd get you out there."

I laugh, "Thank you so much."

"Get some sleep, you look like hell."

I collapse into a bed in the spare room and Amata jolts a little bit.

"You OK bright eyes?" Amata whispers, rolling onto her side and turning to me.

"So... so tired." I mumble.

"Go to sleep then." she smiles, playing with my hair.

I smile slightly and start to feel safe for the first time today. Amata's safe, I'm safe, we're around soldiers and well fed and warm.

"Goodnight bright eyes," she yawns as I close my eyes.

"Night," I yawn.

...

Hopefully this chapter wasn't too horrible. Like I said this was hard to write and I'll try my best to update often. Obviously, this being the holiday season, it'll be hard to update, but I'll give it a whirl. Anyways, leave a review if you wanna and Happy Holidays!