On his way back to Megaton, Jason came across another section of broken highway though this one extended much farther than the one that contained Arefu. This one, however, was infested with raiders. Jason was rather bad at sneaking, so it did not take long for the raiders to see him. Jason spent a few hours moving slowly down the bridge, killing raiders with his hunting rifle, 10mm pistol, baseball bat, and Chinese assault rifle depending on what was needed. Jason had hoped to not endanger himself again before getting back to Megaton and getting some rest. However, since he tripped over a rock and knocked his head on a rusted trash can, he had to fight his way through ten raiders. At least this time he was able to take them all out without many wounds because he fought from a distance and from behind plentiful cover.

Afterward, he had a rather uneventful journey which quite surprised him. As he approached Megaton, he passed by the entrance to Vault 101. He placed his hand on the door.

"I know it's only been a little over a week since I left, but it feels like so much longer," Jason said. "I haven't forgotten my promise, Amata. I'll come back to you. I want so badly to know what you're doing right now. I want to know what you're thinking about. Me, perhaps? I hope you're okay. I hope your father listened to reason, and that life in the vault is better now. I hope my eventual return doesn't mess everything up again. I love you, and I miss you, Amata. Goodbye for now."

Tears streamed down Jason's face, reminding him just how much dirt and blood was stuck to his face. He walked slowly through Springvale. Back at Megaton, Jason was glad to see the familiar protectron deputy. His heart wrenched a little when he saw Micky, the beggar. He still did not have any purified water to give the poor man. Even if he had collected any on his travels, he would have had to drink it to survive.

Inside the city, Jason ran into Sheriff Lucas Simms.

"Hello, Jason," the sheriff said. "How's progress on that bomb coming along?"

"Hello, Sheriff," Jason said. "I haven't had time to get to that. I know it's an atomic bomb that could explode any minute. I just… I don't even know where to begin. I don't want to mess up."

"Believe me," Simms said, "I don't want you messing up either. I was just checking in."

"Wait a minute!" Jason smacked his forehead. "I got so wrapped up in everything else I completely forgot!"

"Forgot what?" Simms asked.

"Mister Burke!" Jason said. "He asked me to rig the bomb to explode."

"I always knew there was something wrong with that creep," Simms growled.

"I refused obviously," Jason said, "but he might ask someone more willing to do the same thing."

"You're right," Simms said. "Let's go have a talk with Mister Burke."

Jason and Sheriff Simms rushed over to Moriarty's saloon. Sheriff Simms questioned Mister Burke who feigned ignorance. In the end, Simms decided to place Burke under arrest until he could sort things out. Burke pretended to be complacent and stood up, so the sheriff turned his back to lead him away. From the side, Jason saw Mister Burke's eyes behind his sunglasses. They flashed as an evil smile curled across his lips. Jason's eyes went wide. He drew his shotgun too late as Mister Burke shot Sheriff Simms in the back with a silenced 10mm pistol. Jason roared as he blew Mister Burke's head off with the shotgun.

Jason rushed to Sheriff Simms's side. It was too late. Simms was already dead, his blood pooling around him. Jason slammed his fist on the floor. Yet again, he had failed to save a life. Gob and Lucy West came over to Jason.

"Are you okay?" they asked.

"I am," Jason said. "Sheriff Simms is not. I should have done something about Mister Burke sooner."

Jason looked over at Mister Burke's headless corpse. Suddenly, he realized Gob was going to have to clean this mess up. He felt bad about that too. Lucy put her hand on his shoulder. Jason stood up.

"Lucy," he began. "Lucy, I know something traumatic just happened, but… you have to know. I… I found your parents."

"Oh that's wonderful," Lucy said, jumping a little. "Wait. Why do you look so sad? What's wrong?"

"Lucy, your parents are dead," Jason blurted out.

"Oh no!" Lucy choked. "No!"

Jason wrapped Lucy up in a comforting hug. She buried her face in his shoulder as sobs wracked her frame. Once she regained control of herself, she looked up at him.

"What about Ian?" she asked.

"I don't know for sure," Jason said. "He's missing. There's a definite possibility he's alive though. I came back here to tell you about your parents, but as soon as I've got some sleep, I'm going back to search for him."

"Thank you!" Lucy said. "He's all I have left. You have to bring him back to me!"

"If it's within my power, that's exactly what I'm going to do," Jason said. "I have to go now. I'll check on you before I leave town."

Jason found Colin Moriarty outside the saloon, resting on the guardrail and looking out over the town.

"It's a shame what happened to Sheriff Simms," Moriarty said. "Only the good die young."

"I guess that means you'll live a hundred years," Jason said, scowling.

"Yes, yes," Moriarty said, "I'm a terrible person. What else is new?"

"I have the caps you wanted, Moriarty," Jason said. "Will you tell me where my father is now?"

"Ah yes," Moriarty said. "Hand over the 300 caps, and I'll be glad to help ye."

"300 caps?" Jason asked, incredulous. "You said 100 caps!"

"That was then," Moriarty said. "You rejected that offer, so now I have a new offer. I've nothing against ye, I'm just a businessman. Like I said before, information is a commodity."

Jason knew he had at least 100 caps, but he wasn't sure of the exact amount. He pulled out his pouch and counted. He had been picking caps up from deceased raiders and abandoned locations. Jason was surprised. He hadn't realized he had collected so many caps. He had over 400. So, he counted out 300 and begrudgingly gave them to Moriarty.

"Here's your 300 caps, Moriarty," Jason said. "Now, where is my father?"

"There now," Moriarty said, "that wasn't so hard was it?"

Jason was tempted to throttle him, but he resisted.

"Your father said he was headed off to Galaxy News Radio in the D.C. ruins. It's to the southwest of here."

"Goodbye," Jason said and began walking away.

"What? No thank you?" Moriarty said.

Jason turned around, walked up to Moriarty, and punched him in the jaw. Moriarty fell over clutching his jaw.

"Why, I oughtta," Moriarty said.

"What?" Jason asked. "Are you going to complain to the sheriff? That'll be kind of hard now, won't it? I'll bet you knew exactly who Mister Burke was. You pride yourself on knowing everything about everyone in Megaton right? That means you could have done something about him a long time ago. But no, you're too busy abusing Nova and Gob and extorting lost young men searching for their fathers to bother with doing the right thing. You're despicable, Moriarty. If I ever hear about you mistreating someone again, there's no more sheriff to protect you from my wrath. Now, go back inside your little hole, you rat."

Moriarty started to protest, but Jason crossed his muscular arms and glared. Thinking better of it, Moriarty went inside his establishment with a bitter scowl on his face.

Jason soon went inside Craterside Supply. Moira's face lit up when she saw him.

"You're back!" she said. "How are those little hot potatoes? Y'know… potatoes 'cause they're on the ground, and hot because they… um… explode."

For a minute, Jason just blinked at her, and she blinked back at him.

At the end of the minute, Jason just held out a frag mine like that awful joke had never been spoken.

"I brought you a present," he said.

"Oh joy!" Moira said. "Just what I've always wanted! At least… since I sent you out to get one anyway. Here's your reward!"

Moira put away the frag mine as carefully and dutifully as if it were her own child. Then, she pulled out four other identical frag mines from somewhere else and tossed them over to Jason. Jason just barely managed to catch them all as the startled bodyguard got ready to duck for cover. Moira pulled out a schematic of some kind.

"Frag mines are fun," she said, "but this is a schematic that tells you how to build your own mine! Didn't I tell you my gift would be better than any stupid caps!"

The schematic was for a bottlecap mine. It looked like the strange-looking mines he had found in the Super-Duper Mart. He still had one. These things had quite the kick.

"What was Minefield like?" Moira asked.

"Lots of mines," Jason said. "There was also a sniper, but I took care of him."

"Oh you gave him some soup, and now you're best friends?" Moira asked.

Jason gave her a curious look. He couldn't tell whether she was joking or being completely serious. "No," Jason said. "I mean I killed him."

"Oh," Moira said, "too bad. I bet if you brought him soup, he would have been your friend."

"Moira, where am I going to get soup?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Moira said. "You're the resourceful one. That's why you do the research, and I do the writing."

Jason sighed and rolled his eyes. "Nevermind," he said. "So, that finishes the first chapter right?"

"Yes, it does!" Moira said, jumping up and down and clapping. "Are you ready to move on to the next one?"

"No," Jason said while Moira handed him much needed stimpaks as a reward for completing the first chapter. "I have to find Lucy West's brother. Also, Moriarty finally told me where my father went, so I've got to go after him."

"Where did he go?" Moira asked.

"Galaxy News Radio in D.C.," Jason said.

"Oh dear," Moira said. "D.C. is a dangerous place. Say! You should do research for my second chapter before you go there. The places you have to go are on the outskirts of D.C.. That would be good, but relatively safe preparation before you dive right into the heart of the super mutant infested city!"

"Super mutant?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Moira said, "giant green monsters. They've been mutated by radiation. They're vicious monsters. They're so dangerous, I won't even ask you to research how to survive a super mutant attack. Just one could kill you. That's not even mentioning their gross pets, the centaurs."

Realization hit Jason like a ton of bricks. "Moira, I think I've run into super mutants before. I fought four of them and a… centaur. I barely survived. They destroyed the armored jumpsuit you gave me."

"Oh gee!" Moira said. "I was so preoccupied with the book that I didn't even notice your change in apparel! You're saying you got away from four super mutants and a centaur? Wow! Where are they? I'll make a note in the Wasteland Survival Guide so people can avoid that place."

"They were in the Hallowed Moors Cemetery," Jason said. "I didn't say I escaped them. I killed all of them. There was no way I could have escaped that minigun without killing the one wielding it."

Moira's eyes widened with every sentence. "Woah! You are so cool!" she said. D.C. has a lot more super mutants though. You have to promise me you'll research the second chapter before you get in there. You could learn super valuable skills that you'll need when searching for your dad!"

"Alright," Jason said. How could he say no to more puppy dog eyes from Moira. "I promise that I'll do the research for the second chapter before I go into the heart of D.C.. However, I'm not going to start just yet. I'm going to find Ian West first."

"Okay," Moira said. "Just don't take too long. The longer it takes me to write the WSG, the longer wastelanders will be out there not knowing how to survive! But no pressure!"

"Thanks Moira," Jason said. "I don't feel any pressure of any kind."

"Great!" Moira said.

"It's getting late, Moira," Jason said. "Can I sleep on your couch again?"

"Sure thing!" Moira said. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Moira," Jason said.

Upstairs, Jason took off his armor and equipment. He laid it all on one side of the couch, leaving the shotgun within reach in case of an emergency. As his energy left him and sleep approached, all the emotional tolls of the week since leaving the vault hit him all at once. He had a long cry, processing his emotions and letting them out.

"This was a difficult day," he thought. "I wonder if I'll ever have another easy one."