"I just heard the news from my father." Amata Almodovar practically ran up to Travis Paulson, her best friend for almost their entire lives. "He won't tell me why, but he's stepping down as Vault Overseer, and has appointed me in his place. I assume you had something to do with it, Travis?"
Travis stared at Alphonse, his near hour long conversation with the now former Overseer still fresh in his mind.
"There aren't enough people for the Vault to stay isolated down here forever."
"I admit, in the 200 years the Vault has been active, our numbers have dwindled slightly, but we have enough genetic diversity to keep the Vault's goal of growing the last bastion of pure humanity active for generations to come!" Alphonse Almodovar confidently responded to the now 20 year old man standing in front of him. "Tell me, do you understand how you and your pathetic excuse for a father have-"
In a swift motion, Travis grabbed Alphonse by the collar of his jumpsuit and slammed him against the wall.
"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK ABOUT MY FATHER AGAIN, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Travis emphasized his insult by slamming him against the wall once more. Alphonse was about to strike back when Travis lowered his voice and stared deep into his eyes, his soul, causing the older man to freeze.
"You listen here and you listen good. My father was an honorable man. My father raised me for 19 years BY HIMSELF! MY MOTHER DIED IN CHILDBIRTH! And you dare to call him pathetic? Do you even know, do you even CARE why my father left this underground hell hole?"
"It was difficult to speak with a man who left the Vault in a panic during the middle of the night, you idiot." Alphonse sneered back at the furious young man, somewhat regaining his sense of superiority. "But humor me, why did your father leave the last bastion of safety and abandon you?"
Travis chuckled. "You keep saying 'abandon', as if he didn't care about me. But I spoke to him. I found him. And he was furious that I followed him. That I searched for him. Because of the dangers up there. He thought keeping me down here would keep me safe, and that's all he wanted. I've nearly died every day of my life since leaving this Vault. I've been kidnapped and transported to Pittsburgh, I've been drugged and taken to the swamps of Point Lookout, I've had my legs crippled more times than you can count. I've survived everything from Mole Rats to Deathclaws, all to find him. Not because I cared. Not because I missed him. I know you're wondering why I left as well, aren't you, Alphonse?"
"You never answered why your father left, but you might as well tell me why you left as well. I'm not going anywhere, after all."
Travis let go of Alphonse. "I'm tired of being angry. Have a seat and I'll tell you." Alphonse looked as if he were going to respond snidely, but curiosity got the better of him and he sat down.
"I left because you and your goon squad were going to kill me."
"For the sake of Vault Security, you were a risk. We couldn't take the risk-" Travis raised his hand.
"I left because you murdered Jonas in cold blood."
"First of all, I didn't pull the trigger, I only ordered Chief Hannon to do so." Alphonse retorted defensively. "Jonas was going to leave with your father, and with them others would follow suit! We wouldn't have been able to stop them all without heavy casualties."
"I don't care what your reasoning was, Jonas was a good man and you murdered him!"
"I DID WHAT HAD TO BE DONE!" Alphonse responded, getting to his feet and in the face of Travis. "IF EVEN HALF OF THIS POPULATION ABANDON THE VAULT, WE WON'T SURVIVE ANOTHER GENERATION!"
"I LEFT BECAUSE OF AMATA!" That statement caused Alphonse to step back, his fury at the previous accusation fading away with shock. "What?"
"I left, because despite my feelings that night. Despite the 10mm pistol in my hands that night pointed straight at your skull...
I could never face Amata again if I killed you."
"You spared my life... You left the Vault..."
"I left the Vault because even if somehow I ended up staying here, I could never look at you without murder in my mind. I still can't. But Amata loves you, Alphonse, and I could never do that to the one I love."
"I... I had no idea... I-I thought with this rebellion she despised me."
"That's not even the main reason I left that night. I left for answers."
"Answers?" Alphonse questioned. "You mean all this time, you had no idea that night?"
Travis bitterly reminisced. "I found out Dad left because Amata woke me up in a panic. I had as much of an idea why he left as you did."
Alphonse held his head in his hands, realizing the implications. "I was ready to have an innocent Vault Citizen executed for a crime he never commited..."
Travis put a hand on Alphonse's shoulder. "I'll never forgive you."
"I know. I'm so sorry, Mr. Paulson, I-"
"But I understand you." Alphonse looked up in shock.
"I've had to make a lot of difficult decisions out in that Wasteland. One of the hardest was when I found my father, I didn't know whether to hug him or punch him. I've had to kill people I didn't want to kill, save people I didn't want to save. In a split second, you have no time to think. In a panic, you have no time to think. You act."
"The decisions I made that night-"
"The decisions you made were decisions made with no time to think, something I have much experience with. In hindsight, you know whether they were right and wrong, and I won't tell you which they are, that's for you to decide."
"But, why did your father leave?" Alphonse looked up. "You still haven't told me." Travis sighed.
"Some other time, sir. In all this emotion, I've almost forgotten why I'm here in the first place." Travis sat across from the Overseer and stared at him with tired, worn down eyes.
"Alphonse, you and I both know there aren't enough people to survive forever down here. 2 generations, 3 generations, it doesn't matter. The bloodlines will eventually die out if Vault 101 remains isolated forever. The goal of 'pure humans' means nothing. Humanity is about surviving, Alphonse, not some self-rightous bullshit about 'purity' and isolation. The Almodovar bloodline, the Paulson bloodline, the DeLoria, Gomez, Taylor, Kendall, all the families down here in this Vault will be nothing. History won't remember them. The world outside, and in every other Vault across America will go on. And all this work you've been doing involving 'purity' will have been for nothing.
We have to open the Vault, and let every family down here have a future for generations to come."
Tears rolled down Alphonse's face. "God, you're right. I've been so blinded by the goal, I've lost sight of the truth. I must speak to Amata."
Alphonse stood up slowly, looked at Travis, and extended his hand. Travis took it.
"Thank you."
Author's Note: I've never liked Trouble on the Homefront, and especially never liked the confrontation with Overseer Alphonse because it never felt like there was any weight, or impact, or emotion in the conversation convincing him to open the Vault. So I've added my own take on it.