IN WHICH Renee and Piper meet with Shaun at the top of the old C.I.T. Ruins after the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Renee shoved against the door leading to the roof with her shoulder, grunting as the sheet metal groaned beneath her weight. Finally it gave way, allowing Piper and herself into the dawning sunshine. She looked around for only a moment before her gaze alighted upon the single man standing further down the roof.
"Is that…" Piper glanced between them.
"Shaun." Renee squared her shoulders and walked toward him. He turned as she approached, his hands tucked neatly behind his back. "Shaun!" She called.
He nodded in acknowledgement. "Good morning, Mother." He turned back to the rising sun. "In all my years, this is the first time I've ever been outside…"
Being so close to him now, Piper could see the resemblances between Renee and her son, even if he was far older than she. He had the same set jaw, the same serious look she did whenever she was angry. And from the looks of it, he was pissed. She snapped to attention as she saw Renee take a threatening step forward.
"I don't have to explain myself to you, Shaun." Renee shook her head. "I've already told you my stance on Synths. Why are you so surprised?"
"Because I gave you an order and you directly disobeyed it!" Shaun reached up to run a hand through his gray hair, revealing some undertones of faded red. Leftovers from his youth, Piper figured; another gift from his mother's genes.
"Look, son. At the end of the day, I'm still your mother." Renee jabbed him in the chest. It was a bit of a bold move for her.
He didn't flinch. "True as that may be, it is also true that I am no longer a boy." His amber eyes were cold as he stared down at his mother.
Piper wanted to rush into the conversation before Renee did something she'd regret, but instead she held back. This was a confrontation that only Renee could have; she didn't need the reporter's help.
"I can't be a part of the Institute, Shaun. I can't do all the…the horrible things you want me to do." Renee gazed up at him. "I kept wondering what you would be like when you grew up. I always imagined what you would look like, what you would sound like. Would you look like your father? Or would you look more like me?" She chuckled bitterly. "But seeing you here, in front of me, after all this time…"
Shaun frowned. "Mother—"
"I am so disappointed."
Piper lowered her gaze. She knew Renee didn't have the highest opinion of him. She tried, desperately, to be proud of him—"Piper, he's the Director of the Institute, can you believe it? I know they've done some pretty terrible things, but still, the Director!"—but after the incident in Libertalia, and the battle at Bunker Hill that went horribly, horribly wrong, she just…couldn't. Not after seeing the Commonwealth for what it was and seeing it for what it could be. Not after finding people she could care about. Not after everything.
Shaun pressed his lips into a thin line and took a step back. "If you refuse to assist the Institute, then you are an enemy to everything we stand for. Are you prepared to face that?"
"Yes." Renee removed her sunglasses, neatly folded them, and slid them into her pocket. "I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you're willing to let everything I worked for go to waste."
"You're under the impression that I was ever half as invested in you as you are in me." Shaun smiled. "I almost feel sorry for you, Mother. And yet, at the end of the day, this was your decision." He looked out over the ruins of Boston again. "This wasteland… You care for it enough to sever whatever connection you have to me, your son?"
"Y…yes." She swallowed hard.
"Interesting." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Then from this point forward you are considered a danger to the Institute and will be dealt with accordingly if you try to return. Good-bye, Renee."
"Shaun—!" She reached out for him.
He disappeared in a flash of blue lightning and Renee's hand went through empty space.
Piper closed the space between them in a few steps. "Well… That could've gone better."
Renee took a deep breath. "He…didn't even call me 'Mother'." She gasped out a sound that could be either a choked laugh or the beginning to a sob—Piper couldn't quite tell. "I don't… I don't know why that bothers me so much."
"I mean, he's your son. I guess it's instinct?" Piper placed her hand on Renee's back, not sure how to comfort her, or even if she needed comforting.
"Could be." Renee reached up to swipe a hand across her eyes. She pulled her sunglasses from her pocket and slipped them on. "It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. I think… I think a part of me never really accepted him as my son. He's just so old."
The reporter giggled. "You're pretty old yourself, Blue."
"Hey, didn't anyone ever tell you to respect your elders?" Renee turned with a weak smile. It melted away and she sighed. "Still… I need to just…"
"I'm here for you, you know."
Renee nodded and gazed up at her. Piper grinned and pulled her in for a quick hug.
The Pip-Boy on Renee's wrist suddenly crackled as a hint of a radio station came through. "…Gener… Urg…age…"
"What?" Renee dialed in to Radio Freedom and flicked the volume up as high as it would go.
"Urgent message for the General! You're needed immediately at the Castle, I repeat, come immediately to the Castle!" There was a single shot that rang out. "Oh god, it's still alive? General, please!" It began to repeat.
Renee ground her teeth. "That bastard planned this!" She reached into her shirt and ripped off the holotags she received in the Institute. A likeness of her face and her name flashed in the dawning light. "I swear to god I wish I'd never had you!" She shouted, throwing the tags off the building.
"Whoa, whoa! Blue!" Piper grabbed her away from the edge. "Blue, calm down, please!"
Renee whirled around, blue eyes blazing in anger. "He's started a war I intend to finish." She pushed past the reporter and began to head back inside the ruins.
"Renee…" Piper gazed after her. An uncomfortable feeling bloomed in the pit of her stomach, balling up like lead. There wasn't any way this could end happily.
Suddenly Piper felt very concerned for her life.
Reviews/comments are appreciated.