In the Vault, time held little meaning.
Gene only knew evening came when Rachel forced her to leave the clinic after hours of sitting by Renee's side. Waiting. Hoping. Regretting. And she forced herself to trudge back to Nate's room where he set up a cot for her. She pretended to sleep, waiting until morning to do it all again.
Sleep meant dreaming and dreaming meant nightmares. She was no stranger to night terrors; but having Renee beg her over and over and over again why she didn't do anything, why didn't she just move, why did she allow it to happen… It was almost more than she could bear.
It'd been three days since she came back with Dr. Virgil. Gene staggered out of Renee's room to see Nate and Curie deep in conversation. They stopped upon realizing she was there. "I didn't mean to interrupt," she mumbled.
"Ah, no, you are quite all right. I 'ope we are not interrupting anyzhing 'ere. I wanted to see 'ow Mademoiselle Jones is doing." Curie smiled. "She is still asleep, oui?"
"Uh, yeah. Out like a light." Gene glanced away and sighed.
"Hm. It is for zhe best. She 'as a long recovery ahead of 'er." The petite Synth turned back to Nate. "Allow me to check on 'er and I will be back to deal with Dr. Virgil."
Curie stepped into Renee's room, leaving Gene and Nate alone. She looked up at him. "How are things with Virgil coming?"
"Honestly? Not good. He's refusing to help. Not even Piper can get him to talk." Nate sighed and crossed his arms. "It feels like we've spent the last two days talking to a brick wall."
She hummed deep in her throat. "I can try to talk to him. Maybe he'll listen to me."
"Can't hurt." Nate shrugged.
Moments later Curie left Renee's room. "She is…stable, at least."
"Let's get back to Piper. She's probably had enough of Dr. Virgil." Nate nodded and turned to lead the way.
Gene trailed behind Nate and Curie. Her tired eyes swept over the inhabitants of Vault 81 as they passed. She recognized their hesitation, and their pitying glances. By now everyone knew about Renee. And if they knew about Renee, then they knew of her.
It didn't take long to get to the scientists' sector of the vault. The lab where Curie was captive for more than two centuries had been refitted for their purposes. Being, it served as Dr. Brian Virgil's lodging and laboratory…if he ever agreed to assist. Currently it seemed to be more useful as a prison cell.
They arrived in time to see Piper throw her press cap to the floor in frustration. "God damn it, why are you such an ass?!" She shouted.
Curie blinked rapidly. "Oh my."
Dr. Virgil sat in a metal chair, his arms crossed and one leg propped up on the opposite knee, a scowl on his face. "I don't think I can make it any clearer that I won't change my mind."
Nate sighed and rubbed his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. "You're really making this harder than it needs to be."
"Hmph." He cocked an eyebrow at Gene. "Oh, it's you."
She stepped over, stopping just in front of him.
"You need t-to find—Dr. Virgil."
"Well?" His frown deepened.
"My life isn't…isn't worth risking hundreds of o-other people."
Before she could stop herself, she punched him. Her fist snapped out and connected with his jaw with a solid thud. He began falling backward but she grabbed the front of his lab coat and pulled him upright. Her eyes narrowed and tinges of scarlet rimmed her vision.
"You mothahfucking bastard, the woman I love might die because of you so the least you can do is help!" She tightened her grip.
"Gene, enough!" Nate put a hand on her shoulder.
But she was far from finished. She shoved Nate away and continued her tirade. "The only reason I'm not gonna beat the shit outta you right now is because we need you. So get off your ass and help, god damn it!" She shook him roughly. "I sweah to god I'm gonna make you wish you'd died in the Institute with the rest of those assholes, you son of a bitch."
"Gene!"
Nate pried her hands away and guided her back. "Gene, I know you're upset but—"
"I'm not gonna let Renee die for no reason!" Gene tried to dive for him but Nate held her back. "None of this would've happened if it hadn't been for you!"
"Get her out of here." Nate looked to Piper and Curie.
Piper grabbed Gene's arm. "Right."
"It's all because of you!" She scrabbled to get away from the two women, but Curie proved to be much stronger than she appeared.
Once they were in the hallway, Gene gave in. She slid down the wall to the floor, slumped over, defeated. "It's… It's his fault…"
Piper sat next to her. "Gene, it's not anybody's fault. What happened to Renee was an accident, pure and simple."
"Mm-hm. And, I do not believe she is in any danger of dying." Curie nodded with a smile. "She 'as been doing better since you returned. Even if she is in a coma, your presence is still helpful."
"R-really?" Gene looked up.
"Really really." The reporter placed a hand on Gene's thigh. "Listen, why don't you head home for a couple days? You need to get some rest."
"I… I could do that." Gene took a deep breath. "Yeah."
Piper got to her feet and held out a hand to help Gene. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on Renee. She's not going anywhere."
"Thanks…" Gene looked up with a small smile. She slid her palm into Piper's and stood.
"Welcome home, ma'am." Z0E stepped to the side as Gene came in the door.
"Thanks, Z0E." Gene shut it behind her.
"Ma'am, if I may, where is Miss Jones?"
This stopped the shopkeeper. She cleared her throat. "Short stack is… She's in Vault 81." She gazed at the robot. "She's…"
"I understand." Z0E didn't press for further information; instead, she turned to finish her work.
Gene took hardly another step before Noodle came bounding down the stairs. He gave a happy bark and skidded to a stop just before her, flopping on the ground and rolling over. His tail wagged back and forth. He whined for her to pet him, his ears pressed back against his head.
She knelt next to him. Noodle rolled to his feet and laid his head on her knee, his tongue flicking out once. She knew he could tell something was wrong; he was a smart Nightstriker. His amber eyes were wide and he whimpered.
"I'm sorry…" Gene wrapped her arms around him. His scales were rough against her cheek but she paid little attention to it. "I couldn't…"
Noodle pressed against her. She held him closer, wishing, not for the first time, that she could go back in time and make everything okay again.
"Do you suppose she's dreaming, doctor?"
"It's possible. But I have no way of knowing that for sure. I've heard of cases, read about them from before the war. It's different for everyone."
"God, I wouldn't wish this on anyone."
"Nor would I. Though if Mr. Howard is right, then I have a feeling Miss Dandridge is taking it harder than she ever would."
A sigh. "Still, she's not going to be happy when she wakes up and finds out—"
"No one would be."
The machines beeped in accordance to a sudden change in Renee's vitals but returned to normal shortly after. Dr. Forsythe gazed at the monitors. "Perhaps she is dreaming…"
...Why am I in Vault 111?