3. I Don't Know Enough About You

Jack of all trades, master of none,

And isn't it a shame,

I'm so sure that you'd be good for me,

If you'd only play my game!

It had been a very long time since she'd been up this late working on one of her tinkering projects, especially a potentially explodey one. Not that she'd ever worked on something with the devastating capabilities of an unexploded nuclear bomb from two hundred years ago. Was it Chinese or American? There was unfortunately nothing that could clue her into the answer to that question but did it really matter?

Not really.

But nuclear reactors were sort of similar, at least in results if something went ass over tits, and she'd had enough experience with those over the past two and a half years learning to keep the vault from completely falling apart. Still, she'd had manuals then, and Stanley, for all that he hadn't been all that much help. Right now, she didn't have any of that, except for a new awareness of mines and several she'd taken apart and put back together. Though, to be fair, she hadn't tested them out to make sure that they still worked after a dismantlement and that was child's play compared to this.

She knew she'd had an exhausting day. If she'd learned one thing outside it was that the sun proved to be at least equal to any actual work she could do. All she wanted to do was curl up on Moira's couch and pass out. She didn't dare leave this unfinished until tomorrow though. If the Church of Atom had any idea she'd even attempted this, they'd probably try to set it off themselves or kill her. Or, worse, the bomb might go off accidentally just because it was touched. She knew she had to finish this tonight and awareness of that was really the only thing that kept her eyes from shutting. She was getting to the point where it was taking almost as much concentration to keep her eyes open as it was to not accidentally explode the bomb. She blinked against the green light of her Pip-boy as she worked.

Guided by her so far spot on instincts and dragging out every bit of experience she had ever had, she slowly, carefully, deactivated the bomb. A fierce smile curled her lips when a tiny, red light flickered out, and she breathed a slow sigh of relief. The faint burst of adrenaline she could feel made it slightly easier to stay awake. But it was more than that. No one could detonate it now, unless they went to the effort of reactivating it, and she didn't need to worry about it going off in the middle of the night. They were all safe from that thing, other than heightened background radiation. She had done that. More importantly, Maggie and Harden would be able to grow up.

She stood there, near the bomb, hearing her Geiger counter gently tick. A quick glance confirmed that she was only in a slightly higher spot of background radiation, nothing immediately lethal. She could do a Radaway flush in the morning.

She couldn't deny the pleasure she'd gained from doing this, even if it was inherently selfish. Just like with Walter's water purifier. Although...maybe, just maybe she could use what skills she'd learned in the Vault to do more than just help keep the water purifier from biting the dust. Maybe she could prove that she could survive out here. Maybe she could help other people survive out here more than she was already doing with Moira, assuming that would work. Everyone else had more experience with the Wasteland than she did, sure, but she'd already been helping the Vault stay alive so that they could worry about other things. She could do the same thing here.

This bomb was just the first step. What if-

A sharp swat to her ass had her spinning, smile dropping from her face, muscles tensed, and side instantly aching.

Just one of the settlers and by the look and smell of him, he'd been thrown out of Moriarty's. B tried to keep the sneer off her face and keep the vicious, berating thoughts out of her head.

"Well, sweet thing. How's about you come with me and I can see what you look like under that Vault suit?"

She tried to nonchalantly wave a hand under her nose, the reek of alcohol and body odor making her nauseated and dizzy. Dimly, she wondered if someone could get drunk on fumes alone. "How about you go sleep this off instead?" She could tell that he didn't have the coordination to really do anything to her from years of experience with Butch and Wally. Still, she wasn't about to let her guard down. Not ever. Again, that voice was in her head and she fought to keep from cringing.

"Girlie, I can show you a Wastelander good time. Ruin ya for all other men."

"I'll pass."

As she turned back to the bomb, the man grabbed her by the upper arm, fingers digging in enough that she knew they'd leave bruises and her heartbeat flew from 0 to 60. "I ain't finished with you yet."

The man found himself pinned on his back in the irradiated water, switchblade held at his throat. "I may be a Vaultie but I'm a quick study. And even in your disgusting state, you should recognize that no means no and if you don't recognize that, you'll understand that the knife at your neck is not good. Understand?"

The man swallowed, glazed eyes wide in the light of her Pip-boy. He made some sort of a squeak that B took to mean he did and released him. "You're a crazy bitch!" He scrambled away from her, sloshing in the water.

"You might want to take some Radaway!" she called after him. She could feel the burn of the scar down her ribs under the adrenaline. Her hands started shaking. B pressed her hands against the still warm metal of the bomb and closed her eyes, trying to will herself into calming down. The faint ticks from her Geiger counter increased in volume. Ironically, that helped to ground her a little. "I'm not helpless anymore. I'm not helpless anymore." A lump in her throat formed and for the first time since she left, she actually wanted back in the Vault, at least not solely because of who she missed with a deep ache in her chest.. She knew who the creeps were and she had someone at her back. Several someones, really. For all that everyone her age had fought with each other, sometimes literally, they'd had each others' backs for the most part. Only now was she realizing how much she'd taken for granted that support system.

Movement up near the top of the walkways caught her attention and she switched off her Pip-boy. Eyes straining, she fought to see who it was. It took a few moments and some rapid blinking for her eyes to adjust and a couple more to recognize who it was.

Leo Stahl. What in the world was he doing heading up to the water purification plant?

Then she remembered the information she'd weaseled out of Doc Church. From what she'd seen of him, Leo was a good person, maybe a little high strung and strung out, but he wasn't like Butch's mom. And she liked his siblings too, even if Andy could be rude sometimes.

A sudden desire to take control of something, anything, propelled her towards the water purification plant and Leo.

When she finally caught him, he was seated at the desk near the snoring Walter and quickly shut one of the drawers on the desk. He grinned at her, all teeth, but she knew by the blown out pupils and glassy stare that he was high on something.

"Heya, little lady!" He didn't approach her, which she figured was probably for the best tonight. Her nerves likely wouldn't take much more. Instead, he rose from the chair to sit on the desk itself.

B's eyes narrowed and she folded her arms across her chest, the slight protest of Butch's jacket the only sound she made. And continued to stare at him long enough that she could actually see the moment when he realized something was up.

"Is there a problem?" He licked his lips nervously.

"Is there?" She didn't mean to ask with such a bite to her voice but she'd never been able to do anything for Butch's mom. The woman had never gotten over James DeLoria's death and everyone in the Vault knew she was trying to drink her way to an early grave but so far hadn't managed it. She and Butch had both tried to reason with her. If Leo wasn't too far gone, which she didn't think so based on what Doc Church had said, she might be able to convince him to stop, maybe help him where she'd never been able to get through to Ellen.

"No! I mean, I don't know what you're talking about." Leo glanced back at the closed door, voice dropping back to a whisper when Walter's snoring stuttered.

B arched a disbelieving eyebrow but her voice was soft. "I know, Leo. I know about your chem problem."

Leo flushed, embarrassment or anger she wasn't sure which. "So I'm a junkie. Big fucking deal. It's not like I'm hurting anyone."

Sharp anger pulsed through her and her hands spasmed. Too many emotions, not enough sleep. Damn. She thought she'd gotten over that. Quickly, she linked her fingers together in front of her and pressed her palms together, hoping he wouldn't notice. "Leo, my dad is a doctor. I know what chems do to people. I know what addictions do to people."

His eyes zeroed in on her hands. "What's wrong with you?" Clearly he was more perceptive than she thought he'd be.

Another tremor went down her spine and she briefly closed her eyes, trying to force her body to cooperate. "A drunk that got kicked out of Moriarty's got a little handsy. Scared me a little. I'm fine." Her eyes focused on his, fear present. "I'm more worried about you."

"I'm fine." He mimicked the slight sharpness that had crept into her voice. She held back a groan. Getting defensive wasn't going to help her case. So she lowered her voice, gentle, the way she'd spoken to Monica Kendall when the little girl had scraped her knee three years ago. A lifetime ago.

"You're hurting your family, Leo. Even if you don't think you are. Jenny and Andy care about you. They're your family. What if something happens to you and you overdose on accident and you die? You have no idea how much that will hurt the people that love you." Her voice cracked a little and she winced, blinking back sudden tears.

He frowned and this time, B could tell it was shame that darkened his cheeks. "I...I guess you're right. I have to tell them about my problem, don't I?"

Her shoulders slumped in noticeable relief. He had a shot, then. Now she just had to make sure it was actually his decision or he'd slide right back into his habit. "I could tell them for you." Her voice was still gentle, still soft. And he was responding to it. She could see that.

"No. No, I should do it. I just," he exhaled roughly, looking more and more sober. Apparently he hadn't taken much before she got to him. That was good. He might even remember this for the most part. "I just don't know what to say. I've been stealing from both of them for years. Where do I even start?"

She smiled gently and hesitantly, cautiously, reached out to lightly touch his arm. "Do you want me to come with you? Moral support?"

"I think I need to do this on my own. I'll figure something out." Leo had blue eyes, she noticed. It wasn't a bright blue, sort of faded and almost greyish. Another pang flicked through her chest as Butch's particular shade of blue eyes entered her mind but she pushed it to the side. There was silence long enough that B began to slowly step away from him, expecting the conversation over. Leo stood up, startling her. "Look, I wanted to thank you for your help. I guess it took a complete stranger to show me what an ass I've been."

He held out a hand, offering to shake. Her first real smile of the day spread across her face and she bypassed the proffered hand to pull him into a hug, noticing the way he went stiff in her arms and felt panic begin to jolt through her. "You made the right choice, Leo." She let go quickly, hiding a yawn behind her hand, and missed the way he looked at the loss of contact. She didn't look directly at him again, feeling the sharp bite and need to run, hide, disappear. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go crash on Moira's couch. It's been a long day." Her attempt at casual seemed to work because he didn't reply.

She nodded a farewell at him, still not looking directly at him. After a glance at the door behind which she could still hear Walter's snoring, B turned on her heel to walk away. She didn't get to see the dumbfounded expression on his face, nor the way he seemed to sway in her direction as she walked off.

AN: Well, there it is. Squeezing in the update now that I have a moment to breathe. I did mention that B has issues, right? Did I mention that? I have no idea anymore. It's been a very long day already and it's not done but I'm staying on track this time, gosh darn it.

Anyway, let me know what y'all think. Please?