-September 16, 2267-

Korin walked from the Autry quarters to the clinic. The twins' father had left early that morning, and they had been told to go to school, but Carter woke up feeling sick. Korin figured school could wait until she'd talked to her Dad, at least.

Class was set to start in a few minutes, and as she passed the classroom on her way, she spotted Butch and his friends. Paul and Freddie were with him, but Wally was nowhere in sight.

"H-Hey, Korin!"

Korin winced. That would be because Wally was behind her.

"Korin." He stepped in front of her. "Hi."

"Wally, I don't have time. I have to talk to my Dad."

"I won't take a lot of your time, promise." He handed her a card. "My birthday's next week. Wanna come?" Korin eyed the invitation warily.

"What about my brother?"

"Just you." Wally said. "I'm inviting you. Not him." Korin handed the card back.

"Then I don't want to come." She stepped past him and into the clinic. She was only vaguely aware of Butch's whiny voice behind her.

"Hey there, kiddo." Korin looked up to see Jonas smiling at her.

"Hi Jonas."

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Jonas crossed his arms.

"Carter's sick. I came to find Dad."

"He's sick, huh? Well, your Dad's busy, so let me talk to him, and then I'll swing by and check on him. Why don't you go ahead and get ready for school?" Korin nodded and exited the clinic.

"Ughh!" She heard Butch shout. "I can't believe you guys can't find it!"

"We've looked everywhere, Butch. Your switchblade might be gone for good."

"Well then you better give me yours!"

Korin glanced over at Butch and his gang, and ignored them. Everyone else was better off with Butch not having a weapon, anyways.

She glanced again when she realized Wally was watching her. He looked away quickly when he saw her look, but he was definitely watching her.

She walked into the classroom and took her seat.

^v^v^v^v^v^

Carter looked over at his door as he heard the main door slide open.

"Korin?" He called out. He knew she'd left a while ago, but he wasn't expecting her to be back so soon.

"Guess again." Jonas popped into the room. Carter smiled.

"Hi Jonas."

"A little bird told me you're not feeling well." Carter blinked at him. A Bird? In the Vault? "Just an expression, Carter. Korin stopped by and said you're under the weather. Your Dad's busy, so I came down here for him." Jonas put his hand on Carter's forehead. "No fever… what's happening, kiddo?"

"My nose is all gunked up. And my throat hurts." Carter sniffled a bit after he spoke, but to no avail. His nose was too gunky to even breathe out of. Jonas nodded.

"Aww. That's the pits." Jonas sat on the side of the bed. "It sounds like you have a cold. I want you to stay home for a couple of days, and drink plenty of water." Carter nodded.

"Okay." Jonas smiled and ruffled Carter's hair.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Korin will bring you your homework, so you won't miss out on much at school." Jonas chuckled at the frown that spread across Carter's face. "Work on getting better, kiddo. You don't want to be sick for the baseball tryouts in two weeks." Carter shook his head fervently. Baseball tryouts was something Carter'd been looking forward to since his father brought it up. "Good. Get some rest, and your Dad will come check on you when he gets home." Jonas stood and left the room. Carter got up and grabbed some water, then returned to his bed and fell asleep.

-July 13, 2268-

"Hey Korin?"

Korin looked up from her book and saw her brother as he stood in the doorway to her room.

"Yeah?" He stepped in to the room. Korin watched him with a little bit of concern.

"Dad's not home, and he didn't leave a note. Did he tell you where he went?"

"No…" Korin pursed her lips. Dad always left a note when he was leaving unexpectedly. But, the date hadn't slipped past her either; July 13th, their birthday… Tenth birthday, to be exact. She'd wondered how the two of them would be getting their PipBoys they'd been promised, and had gleaned that Amata and their father were up to something.

"It's probably nothing, Cartwheel. He probably had to go to the clinic." She went back to her book. When she'd been proficient enough, their father gave Korin a rather thick book and encouraged her to read it. He was instantly amazed at how fast she took to it, and had struggled to sate her hunger to read. This one, she'd read what felt like and very well could've been a hundred times.

Her book closed quickly, leaving her no time to find a page number. She looked up and saw her brother, grinning. She pursed her lips again and her brows creased into a scowl.

"You buttnose." Carter laughed.

"Watcha gonna do about it, Korn?" Korin set the book aside and launched herself at her brother. Of the two of them, she always proved to be faster, and her brother less so.

She caught him off guard and he stumbled into the living room. She leaped on his back and held her hands over his eyes and giggled.

"Hey! No fair, I can't see!"

"Serves you right for making me lose my place." She giggled.

The main door to their quarters opened, and their father stopped and stared at the two of them.

"What have I said about rough housing?" He put his hands on his hips.

"Dad!" Carter perked up and turned his head to look for him. "Korin, I can't seeeeee." He whined.

"Big baby." She let go of him and hopped back onto the ground.

"Am not." Carter crossed his arms,

"Are t-" Korin cut herself short when she saw her father's unamused look.

"Now that that's over… Jonas is letting me take an extra-long lunch break so we can have lunch together, seeing as it's your birthday." Carter's face lit up.

"Really?"

"Really, really. Come on, you two. Let's go." Korin followed her father out of their quarters and down the hall. Carter was practically skipping beside her.

"This is great. We haven't had lunch with Dad in forever!"

Korin nodded.

"I'm sure it will be a blast."

She was sure that their father was up to something now.

As they walked toward the cafeteria, she noticed a lack of reflecting light from its windows. Their father opened the door, and it was dark. Carter took a step forward before the lights flashed on. Korin instantly felt dizzy.

"SURPRISE!" She heard a chorus of friendly voices yell.

I knew it, she thought.

Carter turned to smile at Korin. As she suspected, he hadn't caught on to their father and Amata's plan.

"Stanley you turned the lights on too fast! I think you blinded the poor kids."

Korin spotted Amata standing just in front of the door. Before she could walk over, her father hugged her and Carter.

"Happy Birthday, kiddos!" He let go slowly. "I can't believe you're already ten! I'm so proud of you." Korin thought she saw her father tear up a little. "If only your mother…" Before he could continue, Overseer Almodovar stepped up to them and interrupted.

"Congratulations, young ones. I don't have to tell you how special this day is, do I?" Korin shook her head no. Carter just stared up at him, features a little blank. Maybe he'd been a bit more dazed than she had. The Overseer continued anyways.

"Down here in Vault 101, when you turn ten, well, you're ready to take on your first official Vault responsibilities. So here you are!" Korin felt her eyes widen as he pulled two PipBoy 3000's from behind his back. "As Overseer, I hereby present to you your very own Pip-Boy 3000s! Get used to them."

Korin was too excited to hear the Overseer's sour tone as she put her PipBoy over her left wrist. She turned it on, and smiled widely. Her very own PipBoy. She looked up at Carter, who seemed to have snapped out of his daze and was now intently turning the dials on his PipBoy.

"You'll be getting your first work assignments tomorrow." The Overseer took a seat in one of the booths.

Korin felt her father's hand on her shoulder.

"Enjoy your party, kiddos. You're only ten once, so have fun." Korin nodded and put her arm down. She noticed immediately the strange weight the PipBoy added to her arm.

"Carter." She smacked his arm. "Come on. You can check it out later…"

"Fine…"

Korin pulled him over to Amata, who smiled and hugged them both.

"Happy birthday! We really surprised you two, didn't we?" Amata looked very proud of herself. Korin decided not to tell her she'd caught on to the surprise party. "Your dad was afraid you were on to us, but I told him not to worry. You two are easy to fool."

"Oh my God, Amata, you totally got us." Carter spoke quickly. "I was all confused, 'cuz the light was off, and then BAM! the lights came on, and they almost blinded me! I have never been so surprised in my life… well, actually-"

"Yes, Amata, you got us good." Korin reached over and covered Carter's mouth. "This party's great, Amata. Thank you for doing this for us."

Korin felt pleased when she saw Amata smile with pride, happy to hear her hard work praised.

"You're welcome!" She pulled a thin, rectangular shape out from behind her back it was wrapped in a scrap of vault suit. "Oh! I got you guys a present… sorry it's just one. I hope you don't mind sharing…" Korin held the object while Carter unwrapped it. Korin looked down at the gift.

"Grognak the Barbarian! Issue 14, aaaaand with no missing pages." She looked up and saw Carter's eyes start to sparkle. He looked at Amata. "I found it in a box of my dad's old things, believe it or not. Imagine him reading comic books… Well, I guess everyone was ten, once."

Carter mauled Amata in a hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou Amata!"

Korin looked down at the comic book. It was one he didn't have, which wasn't a huge feat in itself, since Carter only had four of the comic books from this series. But the fact that it was complete, and new, was enough to send him over the moon. Korin was just happy she'd have some new reading material… whenever Carter stopped reading it.

"Thanks so much, Amata." Korin held onto the book.

"Well, I had better let you get back to 'mingling' with your guests! We'll talk later, okay? Happy Birthday." Amata wandered off. Korin looked at her brother, who was looking at the comic book. She knew he was thinking about running off to read it somewhere.

Before she could say anything, Paul Hannon walked in behind them, and paused. He looked at the two of them with envy in his eyes.

"Awh man, you got PipBoys? I wish I had a PipBoy." Carter patted his shoulder.

"You'll get one soon, Paul. Don't worry." Carter tried to be encouraging. Paul smiled weakly and went to the back table, where Korin heard Butch greet him. She wasn't expecting Butch and his croonies to be here, and had hoped they wouldn't be.

Carter's shoulders slumped a little as Paul sat with Butch. Korin knew Carter wanted to make friends with Paul, even with his connection to Butch. Carter's only friends were herself and Amata, and she knew Carter appreciated them, but he wanted friends who were boys, too.

As Paul sat at the table, Korin heard Butch's voice above the others.

"Oh what, are you guys 'best friends' now? Hey boys, I think Paul's going soft on us!"

Korin tuned out the rest of the conversation as she walked over to the first booth. Behind her, she heard Officer Gomez speak.

"Happy birthday, you two!"

"Thanks!" She heard Carter pipe up behind her.

When she saw the Overseer at the firs booth, she redirected to the second, where Mrs. Palmer was sitting, but before she could get there she heard the Overseer speak.

"I hope you appreciate all the effort Amata put into this party. She really seems to like you both, for some reason." Korin glanced his way.

"Of course we appreciate her efforts. She's our friend."

Carter came up behind her.

"You could have helped her decorate some." Korin turned to him and gave him a look. The Overseer scowled.

"I do not allow the fact that Amata is my daughter to compromise my job as Overseer. I gave her all of the appropriate parental encouragement, of course, but I could not contribute extra Vault resources. That is simply what my position requires. No more, no less. I know Amata understands that perfectly well."

Korin dragged her brother to the next booth. Mrs. Palmer looked up at the two of them and smiled kindly.

"Are you two having a nice party? Ten years old. My, my, my! It only seems like yesterday when your daddy came…" Korin blinked at Mrs. Palmer in confusion. The older woman stuttered and quickly changed the subject. "Goodness! Listen to me ramble! You're waiting for your presents, aren't you!" She reached down beside her and pulled out two sweet rolls. "Here you go! A nice couple of sweet rolls I baked for you two just this morning. And they're all for you - no sharing required today!"

"Thank you so much Mrs. Palmer!" Carter said, taking a bite out of the treat. Korin held on to hers.

"It smells delicious, Mrs. Palmer. Thank you." Korin said politely and quietly. Mrs. Palmer smiled.

"Run along you two. Enjoy the rest of your party."

Korin looked at Carter. He'd finished his sweet roll in record time. She looked at hers, then at Butch. She knew Butch enough to know he'd start something at their party, given the opportunity. And a tasty sweetroll seemed like a good enough opportunity as any…

Korin ate her sweet roll, not nearly as quickly as her brother had.

By the time she was finished, Andy announced from behind the counter that it was time to cut the cake.

"No Andy!" Amata yelled, too late. The robot's saw cut into the cake and tore it apart, flinging some icing onto the counter and floor. Korin giggled a little. Neither of the twins liked cake very much, so it wasn't a big deal.

Everyone else went back to their discussions, except Butch.

"I'm hungry, and that stupid robot destroyed the cake!" Butch's eyes landed on the twins. Korin pursed her lips. "You! Gimme those sweet rolls you got from Old Lady Palmer!"

"She said we didn't have to share!" Carter mouthed.

"I don't care! Gimme the damn sweet rolls!" Butch raised his voice. None of the adults noticed his yelling. Korin saw her brother shift.

"You know what, Butch, you do look hungry. What, did your mom drink up all the food rations again?" Carter asked. Korin watched Butch. This wouldn't end well.

"What did you just say?!" Butch shot up from his seat and came at Carter, both fists up. Carter put his arms up to block. Butch took a swing.

"Butch! What do you think you're doing! Leave him alone." Officer Gomez pushed the two boys apart. Butch slinked back to his booth with the other boys.

"You're not worth the trouble anyways." Butch grumbled.

Korin looked at her brother, who grinned at her.

"Score one for us." He held out his fist to her. They fist-bumped, discreetly.

"Is Butch giving you guys a hard time?" The twins turned to see their father sitting at the bar behind them.

"Nope. Took care of that." Carter grinned to himself.

"Actually… we started it. It's easy to make him mad." Korin confessed. Carter shot her a look, which she ignored.

"I'm glad you two can handle him. Once you start letting bullies push you around, you'll never see the end of it." He smiled. "Go on now, I'm sure there's someone else out there with a present for you two!"

As if on cue, Stanley turned to them from behind their father.

"How do you like those PipBoys, kids? Fit okay and everything?" Korin instantly forgot about the incident with Butch and ran over to him.

"They're really cool, Stanley. Did you fix them up for us?"

"As a matter of fact, I did! I'm glad you like them. Some may think the A series a bit basic, but I've always preferred them for their reliability."

"Thanks, Stanley." Carter spoke beside her. Korin knew he wasn't as excited about the PipBoys as she was, but he still appreciated Stanley's hard work. "Did you… get us something for our birthday?" Carter probed.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot. Happy birthday! It's not much, but I hope you like them." He handed them two worn, kid-sized baseball caps. Carter put his on immediately. Korin smiled and held onto it. She didn't want to have hat hair for the rest of the day.

"Thanks, Stanley."

"You're welcome, kids. And happy birthday."

The twins turned and walked away. Amata approached them with her arms crossed and her face a bit red.

"What's Butch's problem, anyway? I can't believe he tried to start a fight with Carter at your own birthday party! Ughhh, what a jerk!"

"He tried to steal our sweet rolls!" Carter added. Amata made an angry noise.

"Oh my God! What an ass!" Amata balled up her fists at her sides, the red in her cheeks spreading to the rest of her complexion.

Korin noticed her father moving towards the door. She tuned out Amata and her brother for a second. Her father answered the intercom and spoke back to it, but she couldn't hear what was said. Then he walked towards them.

"That was Jonas on the intercom… He and I have been cooking up a little surprise present. Jonas is waiting for you two down on the Reactor Level. Go ahead, I don't think anyone will mind if you slip out for a few minutes." Korin looked at Carter. The two of them shared a smile. A surprise present from their Dad would probably be the best thing they got all day. At least, second best to Korin's PipBoy 3000. In her eyes, nothing could top that.

Korin and Carter snuck out of the cafeteria and ran down the short hallway, and nearly collided with Beatrice.

"What's the hurry, dearies? Did I miss the party?" Carter grabbed Korin's hand and started to pull her away.

"Sorry Beatrice can't stop to talk gotta run-" He pulled Korin away from the eccentric woman.

"Carter-"

"She had a piece of paper in her hand! I don't want any more of her poems! They're creepy!" Korin rolled her eyes, but inwardly agreed.

The twins ran down the stairs and stopped when they saw Jonas in the Reactor room.

"What are you two doing down here? I thought kids weren't allowed down on the Reactor Level." Jonas crossed his arms and gave them both the stink eye.

"We aren't kids! We're ten years old!" Korin yelled with a smile.

"Yeah, Jonas! Can it!" Carter shouted, feeding off of Korin's excitement and energy.

"Haha, you sure are! Pip-Boys and everything, look at that!" Jonas smiled at them. "If you two can wait just another minute, I think your dad will want to dish out the presents himself…"

Moments later, their father came down the stairs. Carter hopped a little.

"Are you ready for the surprise?" He asked. Carter nodded fervently.

"Yes!" The twins said in unison.

"What kind of surprise?" Korin asked. She actually hadn't seen this one coming.

"Well, the Overseer gave you your Pip-Boys, and you're both old enough to do some work, so I figure you're old enough for these…" He pulled a BB gun and a large knife from behind his back. The knife had a beautifully decorated leather holster, and with the gun their father held a container of 50 BBs. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you both a BB gun. You'll have to take turns. Jonas found it, and it took us three months to get it working again. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a spring that small! Good thing Butch 'misplaced' that switchblade of his." Their father chuckled as he handed the gun to Carter, and the knife to Korin. The knife's blade was still shiny, like it had never been used. 'Non hodie mortem' was carved into either side of the blade. She couldn't understand what it said, but she loved it.

"What do we get to kill?" Carter asked excitedly, unknowingly pointing the gun at their father. He quickly pushed the barrel of the gun away from him.

"Whoa son. First rule of shooting; don't point your gun at anything you don't want to shoot. It's only a BB gun, but it's not a toy."

Carter pointed the gun at the ground, looking embarrassed.

"Let's go try it out. Jonas and I have found a nice spot for you to practice. Follow me."

Carter followed their dad closely, but Korin stopped to ask Jonas a question. "Where did you and my Dad find this knife, Jonas?"

"We didn't, actually." He said, looking at her with a soft smile. "Your father saved it for you. He said it belonged to your mother. Was passed down in her family from mother to daughter."

Korin looked at the knife with new eyes and held it close to her. She made a mental note to hug her father later.

Korin followed Jonas to where her father and brother were standing while Carter tried out his gun. Somehow Jonas and their father had found time to build a small shooting range, complete with three revolving targets.

"Don't worry, son. Keep practicing, and you'll improve." He turned. "Korin, why don't you come give it a try after Carter?"

"Okay, Dad."

Korin watched Carter struggle a bit more before he finally hit the first target and it swung around with a squeak. He aimed at the other two and hit each with far less misses.

"Good job, Carter. Hand the gun to Korin." Korin took the BB gun from her brother. It was a little heavier than she was expecting.

She aimed the gun at the targets, and pulled the trigger. She missed, by a ways. Her father put his hand on her shoulder.

"Keep trying, you'll get the hang of it."

After several more tries, she hit the first target. Purely by accident, she figured, but she didn't want to give up.

After she hit the last target, a large bug skittered across the floor and stopped between her and the targets. She gasped loudly.

"Careful! That's a Radroach. Think you can take care of it, sweetie? Just aim and shoot. You'll be fine." Korin nodded and aimed for it, then pulled the trigger. Her first shot went wide to the left. The radroach ignored her. She tried again, and this time the BB hit the radroach's back. It looked at her and fluttered its wings. She aimed again and this time shot it in the head, killing it. Carter cheered.

"Good work, Korin. That's one less roach to deal with." He looked between the twins and smiled. "Let's get a picture together. Capture the moment." He turned towards Jonas. "Hey Jonas! Get a picture of me and the kids!

Korin and Carter stood on either side of their father.

"Smile!" Jonas said. Korin smiled widely.

The flash nearly blinded her.