"Can I come in?" Renee knocked on the doorjamb as she stepped inside.
Curie looked up from where she looked over one of her notebooks. She smiled. "Ah, Renee. Of course."
The redhead walked over and put a tray of food in her lap. "I brought you some food. Antia told me you didn't have dinner, so I thought I'd bring you something."
"Right, yes. I was busy." Curie put her notebook to the side and shifted where she sat. "Merci. I appreciate it."
Renee sat in the chair at the bedside and crossed her legs, leaning one elbow over the back of the chair. "Feeling any better?"
"I feel remarkable, given zhe circumstances. As a Synth, I tend to recover quickly from injuries. Zhat much I do know." Curie reached a hand to her shoulder, placing her palm over the bullet wound. "Though, I admit, it does hurt still."
"It probably will for a while." Renee looked around the small shack. She cleared her throat. "Can I ask you something?"
Curie nodded where she was delicately picking at her meal.
"We…can still be friends, right? You don't hate me for this?"
"Why would I hate you for an accident?" Curie gazed at her, her hazel-blue eyes gentle.
Renee exhaled in a rush. "Well, for starters I took my anger out on you. Then I shot you. And you said you wanted space between us, but I'm not really good at that. Clearly."
Curie swallowed a bite of her sandwich. "We can still very much remain friends. I don't blame you for what 'appened to me. And I trust you will not harm me again, out of anger." She smiled weakly. "When you collapsed at my door, I knew I was wrong to want distance. I worry for you too much."
"You don't need to worry about me."
"Realistically, I know zhis. And yet…" Curie gave a soft chuckle. "I care about you. I want to make sure you're safe."
Renee felt glad the only light in the room came from an oil lamp, otherwise her blush would be more noticeable. She glanced away. "Thanks."
"I 'ope that helps you feel better."
"It does." She leaned forward and looked at the Synth. "Can I ask you something else? Something more personal."
"I suppose." Curie arched an eyebrow.
"So, I've been reading that book you got from Piper. And I was wondering if you could tell me about life before…all of this." Renee gestured broadly.
Curie put down the sandwich. "Before zhe bombs."
"Yeah."
Curie took a deep breath. "I don't mean to disappoint you, but unfortunately I don't know much. And as time goes on, I find myself forgetting more and more about it." She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, casting her gaze to her lap. "I was created in 2076, in zhe summer. I don't remember much before Dr. Collins reprogrammed me."
"Wait, Dr. Collins? Like your last name?" Renee tilted her head.
"Dr. Kenneth Collins. He reprogrammed me shortly after he and zhe ozher scientists arrived in Vault 81. I suppose he could be considered my father." Curie nibbled at the sandwich. "Monsieur Howard insisted I take on a surname after becoming a Synth. It seemed appropriate."
Renee sat back. "I see. So I can't—er, shouldn't ask about cafes, or shopping malls, or jazz clubs then?"
"I'm afraid zhose are all things I 'ave only heard about myself. I remember I wanted to see zhe outside world for so long, to see zhe sun and zhe green grass. I wasn't…expecting it to look like zhis." She glanced at Renee. "Apologies."
Renee shook her head and put a hand on the bed. "It's okay. Just thought I'd ask, in case. So you were…stuck down there, for 200 years?"
"Yes. I worked on a broad-spectrum cure for disease for quite some time. It was fulfilling work. I suppose I felt proud of myself when I finished. But zhen…" Curie frowned. "For eighty-three years, zhere was nothing. Four walls, in a laboratory I 'ad no directive to use. After I downloaded all zhe medical tomes from my colleagues, I just…" She took a deep breath. "As a robot, time 'ad little meaning. But now, thinking back on it all…"
"You were lonely." Renee resisted the urge to reach out for Curie's hand.
Curie flicked her eyes up to meet Renee's for just a moment. "I was. Very lonely. When Monsieur Howard found me, I don't think I 'ave ever felt so relieved."
"So that's why you say he saved your life."
"He did, in a sense. He allowed me to start living." Curie's lips quirked in a fond smile and she continued eating. "I owe him much of my current 'appiness."
"You know that he and Piper are together, right?"
Curie's smile faded. "Yes, I am quite aware." She sighed and gazed at Renee fully. "Do you know what it feels like to—to care zhat much for someone you can never truly have?"
The words stung and Renee sat back. She swallowed hard. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." She rubbed the back of her neck and bit her lip to keep from saying more.
"Human emotions are so frustrating, especially ones like zhis." Curie finished off the sandwich. "Seeing Monsieur Howard makes me happy, and yet, when I see Madame Wright I feel…anger? Jealousy? I am unsure. I do not dislike her, but I feel animosity toward her."
"Because she gets to kiss Nate and you don't?"
Curie blinked. "When put so bluntly, I suppose so."
"It can be rough, feeling like that. Everyone wants someone to love and when you fall in love with the wrong person, it hurts. A lot." Renee began fidgeting with her hands and cracked her knuckles.
"What 'ave you done before, when you felt like zhis?"
"I-in the past? Right. Uh…" Renee thought a moment. "I mean, I try to stay friends with them. Even if you can't be the one to hop in bed with them at night, you can still be their friend. That's better than nothing. Try to make them happy. Things like that."
Curie put a knuckle to her chin. "I see." She nodded once. "Zhat seems fair." She put the now-empty tray on the bedside table, next to the lamp. "Now may I ask you a personal question?"
"Shoot." Renee uncrossed and re-crossed her legs.
"Have you ever truly been in love?" Curie's eyes widened. "Oh. I'm sorry, I shouldn't… I remember you telling me about your…"
Renee held up a hand. "It's fine. I don't know if I've ever really been in love, but I've had some flings. Nothing ever lasted, obviously."
"You didn't love him?"
"Not really. Davey and I were on and off throughout our teenage years. Mostly off. Mostly 'maybe' and never 'definitely'. Mostly 'let's have sex' and not 'let's settle down.' It was a weird relationship."
"Yet you cared for him enough to follow him?"
Renee felt a strange pain in her chest and took a deep breath to help alleviate it. "I didn't. At that time in my life, I was… I was depressed. And unhappy. He told me he found a group of people headed to the Capital Wasteland to find their fortunes so I ran away from home to go with them." She looked away. "We didn't make any fortune. Any money we had went to rent, and whatever was left over went to chems. Mostly Davey's, but… Mine too."
"You were addicted to chems?" Curie pressed her lips into a thin line. "Are you still? And be honest."
Renee laughed softly, holding up her hands. "I'm clean, I promise. Haven't touched a single pill of Daytripper in a few years now. Not that I haven't been tempted, but I keep away from it."
"Bon. I 'ave knowledge of what chem abuse can do to zhe body, and I would not wish zhat on anyone." Yet Curie still eyed her. "Why did you leave him, zhen?"
"I found out he was sleeping with other women. Actually came home one day to find him with three other gals in our bed. I just…walked out. Left Davey, left Rivet City." Renee shook her head. "It was a rough time in my life. But now I'm here."
Curie shifted on the bed to pull up one knee to her chest. "Zhat is zhe important part. Zhat you are happy, and safe. And healthy." She smiled on her last point.
"Yeah. You're right." Renee gazed at the brunette, her lips curled slightly in a smile. "I am a lot happier here."
Curie opened her mouth to say something further when she suddenly yawned. "Oh, pardon."
"And you need to get some rest." Renee stood, stretching. "I think Anita wants to head out in the morning, so you need to get some good sleep."
"Yes, I should." Curie put her notebook by the tray. "I will see you in zhe morning?"
"I'll be here." Renee turned to go. She made it to the doorway when she heard her name. "Hm?"
Curie lowered herself to the bed. "Good night."
"Night." Renee flashed her a grin before closing the door behind her.
She shoved her hands in her pockets as she ambled through the settlement toward the old house serving as her lodging for the evening. The cool night air felt good, if not a bit chilly. The new jacket from Gene did a good job of keeping her insulated, though.
When she pushed open the old door, she was surprised to see only Lily in the room. "Where's Anita?" Renee nudged the door shut again with her foot.
Lily glanced at her from where she was running a comb through her thick hair. "Probably still bothering the settlement leader for reports. Woman never takes a break from work."
"Hm." Renee went over to her bed and began shrugging off her clothes. She shivered in the air.
"Hey."
"Yeah?" She pulled on the extra shirt from her bag and turned around.
Lily wouldn't look at her. "I wanted to say sorry, for earlier. I was just trying to mess around, you know? I didn't mean to make you feel bad."
"You're fine. I'm not mad." Renee stepped into a pair of thin sweatpants and laid out on the bed. "I mean, you weren't wrong."
Lily got to her feet. "I knew it. I fucking knew it." She grinned. "Mayweather owes me twenty caps."
Renee rolled her eyes and pulled the blanket over her.
Lily soon got into her own bed and extinguished the lamp, casting the room in darkness. Renee put her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling. She heard Lily shift. "Hey, Lily?"
"Uh-huh." Lily shifted again, sitting up.
"How do you get over a woman?"
Lily barked out a laugh and laid down again. "Oh boy. If I knew that, I'd be a millionaire."
"Heh, yeah." Renee glanced over at her before she sighed and closed her eyes.
"You know, I wouldn't give up on her yet, though."
"Is that some of that Salem magic giving you a vision about me or something?"
Lily snorted. "No, it's just common sense advice. You never know what's gonna happen."
Renee huffed and rolled over to face the wall. "We'll see."