Jonas Palmer was burning the figurative midnight oil at his work desk. He occasionally liked to write up his daily reports after curfew since his odds of being interrupted were practically non-existent. Being a Med Tech for Vault 101, Jonas was used to the Vault's various residents dropping by unannounced for anything from simple medical advice to discussing any number of unrelated topics.
His own grandma had visited for over an hour to pass along a piece of gossip that he had difficulty recalling at the moment. Even a few months into being 30 years old, Jonas had to shove away the guilt at not paying his full attention to the woman who raised him but he genuinely had no interest hearing more complaints about the incompetence of Overseer Alphonse Amador. He heard enough about it at home and it wasn't like he didn't have first hand experience with the Overseer's severe personality.
Jonas' mentor James had also needed his help setting up a special surprise for his 10 year old daughter's birthday and then he was roped into helping set up the Vault dining room for the party. He'd also had to squeeze in a few patient check ups in between.
So he had to make up the missing time somewhere and he hated leaving his daily reports unfinished. He glanced at the clock perched on his metal desk and figured that pending a medical emergency, which was incredibly rare, he would be able to declutter the top of his desk in about an hour.
A little over an hour later, Jonas was just closing up his last file when the doors to the Med Bay swished open and muffled footsteps headed for him. He pushed the rim of his glasses back up his nose and turned to smile at his little visitor.
James's daughter Abigail, yesterday's birthday girl, paused beside his desk and smiled shyly at him. "Hi Jo," she whispered, dark eyes shining brightly beneath the lamplight. She was dressed for bed with thick wool socks on her feet. She was also almost the spitting image of her father with her dark features.
"Ten years old and already breaking curfew? What a little rebel you're turning out to be." Jonas teased and ruffled her already pillow smashed hair. She giggled and shuffled backwards out of his reach. "What's up kiddo? Everything okay with your Pip-Boy?"
Every 10 year old was given a Pip-Boy personally by the Vault Overseer. They were all custom fitted but heavy pieces of technology that monitored a person's vitals, location and had other useful programs. It wasn't a painful attachment but it usually took a few weeks for someone to get accustomed to the heavy weight because each Pip-Boy was virtually indestructible.
Abigail lifted a hand to her Pip-Boy immediately and shook her head. "No," she grinned. "It's fine. Big but Stanley said I would get used to it."
Stanley, the Vault's Maintenance Tech, was responsible for selecting and maintaining all of the resident's Pip-Boys. The fact that he had chosen an older model puzzled James and Jonas but Stanley had only shrugged and said the device seemed to suit her. It was actually the same model James and Jonas wore and it hadn't failed either man yet so they really had no room to remark further.
Jonas lifted his own Pip-Boy adorned arm and pulled back the sleeve of his white medical coat. "You won't even remember it's there sometimes," he assured her. "Now, what brings you here, munchkin?"
"Lucy made me a sweet roll for my birthday!" The obvious awe in the 10 year old's voice brought an even brighter smile to Jonas' face.
Jonas nodded. "Yup, made it fresh yesterday morning."
"She said she only had enough to make one. Is that true?"
"Sure is. You're one lucky girl. Was it good?"
His grandma's sweet rolls were legendary; the perfect mix of sugary sweetness that had everyone bartering their damndest for a piece. Of course she only made them for her favorite people but unfortunately she wasn't able to scrounge up the ingredients to make more than one for the birthday girl.
"Well," Abigail shoved a hand into one of her pajama pants pockets and held out a scrunched up bit of tissue. "I thought that we could split it!"
Jonas took the wrapped bundle and opened it up to reveal a worse for wear sweet roll. "Oh, Abby, thank you but this was made for you." He held out the squished sweet roll but the girl simply grabbed it, ripped the piece into two and handed the other half to the dark skinned man.
"Take it!" she insisted. "To thank you."
He lifted a single eyebrow but accepted the bread piece. "Thank you? For what?" Abigail fidgeted and ripped off a bit of the roll to shove into her mouth.
"Butch," she muttered and tore off another piece. "He was going to hit me and you stopped him."
Jonas chewed thoughtfully around half the sweet roll he had shoved into his own mouth (so sue him, the rolls were delicious) and thought back to what she was referring to.
Butch DeLoria was a little shit to put it plainly or "misunderstood" according to the Overseer. His only parent being an alcoholic might've caused Jonas to be sympathetic except him and James have offered multiple times to offer their guidance only to be literally spit in the face for it. The fact that Butch was ready to physically assault someone for saying no had him seeing red.
Jonas wasn't even supposed to be at the party but the button for the intercom wasn't working so he'd had to abandon his post down in the Reactor Level to let James know that the shooting range and repaired airsoft rifle were in place. He spotted James sitting at the far corner of the dining bar and followed his mentor's gaze to Abigail who was standing near one of the middle tables. He hadn't registered exactly who she had been talking to until Butch had risen from his bench seat and reared his fisted hand back.
Later, Jonas would question James as to exactly why he had simply watched as his daughter was about to be decked in the face but at the moment he could only act by pulling the girl behind him and shoving the DeLoria boy back. Officer Gomez had materialized almost out of thin air to see what the ruckuss was about and both adults learned that Butch had been about to hit the girl because of the sweet treat she had received from Lucy Palmer.
What had infuriated Jonas further was that Abigail was all for sharing with the brat but Butch wanted it all. Even worse, James had only said that he'd wanted to see how Abigail was going to resolve the issue on her own before stepping in but if James had planned to step in at all then Jonas would eat his stethoscope. Jonas tried to give James the benefit of the doubt. He knew that things were done differently in the Capital Wasteland but there was no need for violence in Vault 101. They were a more civilized people.
Sometimes James showed facets of himself that made Jonas question his mentor's sanity…
"And th-the Radroach…" Abigail trailed off, gaze avoiding Jonas' as she devoured another piece of bread.
With the fight broken up before it had really begun, James had ushered Jonas and Abigail down to the Reactor Level which had simply been another shitshow. Looking back on it, Jonas should have at least expressed his hesitancy toward their planned surprise but James had been adamant that they follow the plan and had gifted the girl with an airsoft rifle with the instruction to hit the set up targets after showing her only the basic instructions on how to operate the firearm.
"Pump, aim and shoot," had been James' exact instructions before pushing his daughter toward the red and white bullseyes. The Radroach had been a surprise for sure but her father hadn't shown even an ounce of sympathy as he told the 10 year old to aim at a live creature. She had fumbled with the gun and her aim had been too wide under the pressure of killing the large bug. In the end she had looked to Jonas with watery brown eyes before offering him the gun to finish the enemy himself. He wasn't a bad shot after having practiced with the same rifle after James had acquired it and managed to kill the bug quickly.
James had taken a picture with his daughter afterwards but it was plain to see that the smile on his lips didn't reach his eyes. It was just another reason for Jonas to avoid the Doctor and complete his duties while the other man was out of the Med Bay.
"You're welcome, Abby," he said after finishing the last half of the sweet roll. He wiped his fingers clean and brought the girl in for a quick hug before releasing her. "I'll always be here to help you, okay?" She nodded and munched on the rest of her birthday gift. She rubbed at her eyes with sticky hands and yawned widely.
"Dad doesn't like sweet things so thanks for sharing with me. He didn't even have any of my cake!"
Jonas thought that might have had more to do with the Mr. Handy splattering the cake on everything more than the assembled plates rather than his sweet tooth but simply smiled. He shoved his completed work into a drawer and stood to rub his hand against her dark hair again before moving to escort her back through the Med Bay doors.
"Alright," he muttered. "Time for bed, squirt, before your dad comes looking for you."
"Kay. Tired anyway," she yawned.
"I bet. Let's get you back to your room. You know Mr. Brotch doesn't allow tardiness."
They stood in front of her and James' rooms but before Jonas could operate the switch to open the door Abigail wrapped her arms around his legs. "Thanks," she said. "For everything."
"Anytime, kiddo." He patted the top of her head. "Anytime."
"You know what this means, right?"
"What?"
"Next year you have to share your sweet roll with me."
He glanced down at her liquid eyes and harrumphed. "Was that your plan all along?"
"Maybe…"