Carter held his torso as he pushed open the door to Craterside Supply. Any adrenaline from the exodus, the agoraphobia, and fear in general was now completely gone, and in its place was pain. Walking on flat ground took effort, and walking up the steep ramps took even more. Finding a bed to somewhat-curl up in seemed a bigger priority than finding caps, or finding his father.

The interior of the store was moderately lit, but felt dark compared to the lights at the vault. A man stood with his arms crossed to the left of Carter. They shared eye contact before the man laughed quietly and looked away. Carter gave a strange look but didn't say anything. Movement caught his eye, and he looked across the room.

A woman stood hunched over a worktable, mumbling to herself.

Himself being the only other person in the building, Carter assumed this was Moira, the woman the sheriff had warn-told him about.

He approached slowly.

"Hi. Are you Moira?" He asked, quietly. The woman didn't respond, and Carter narrowed his eyes. The room was quiet. He spoke loud enough that the other occupant could easily have heard, too. Why was she ignoring him?

"Uhm, hello?" He stepped closer to the wall, hoping she might see him.

She still didn't move.

He stepped closer still, and reached out to tap her shoulder. She jumped, and looked up at him. Wide, enormous eyes set between thick black frames blinked at him.

"Ah!" He scrambled two steps back before recoiling in pain, and in the shame that he'd been startled by a woman in thick-framed glasses.

"Oh geez," she took them off and blinked a few times. "Sorry if I startled you, but I have a hard time seeing these pesky wires I'm soldering." She smiled widely. "I'm Moira." She studied him carefully. "I haven't seen so many vault dwellers in a long time, and never one with broken ribs before." Carter gave her a strange look.

"Broken ribs? Wait- so many vault dwellers? How many have you seen?"

"Or cracked, at least." She ignored his question as she crossed her arms. "Does it hurt? And where?"

"Are you a doctor?" Carter narrowed his eyes at her. He leaned away from her, and heard a chuckle come from the other person in the room.

"Nope. But I am writing a book, and I'd like your help. Bad injuries are something I'm researching for it, among other things."

"Will you pay me for it? In caps?"

"Of course, silly. Now, move your arms so I can feel if your ribs are in the right place." Carter took several steps back. His heels hit the front desk. "Relax! It'll only hurt a bit." Carter closed his eyes and braced for the worst.

The trek up to the saloon took a bit longer than Korin would have liked. Megaton was a maze, with some paths continuing over the roofs of other buildings. Korin found herself a level just below the saloon at one point, and considered leaping for the upper walkway. In frustration she decided against it, since it would be a long fall if she missed or slipped and neither her nor her brother had the… caps… to pay for it. Instead, she navigated around to the correct path, and finally found herself in front of the door to the Saloon. She took a deep breath.

"Now or never." She whispered, and pushed the door open.

The inside was dimly lit, with only a dull light bulb and weak sunlight leaking through holes in the scrap metal walls. In front of her was a bar; one person sat to the side, while two stood at the opposite end. To the far right, she noticed a man dressed in a suit. He seemed to take notice of her, as well.

"Damn thing, work!" A voice caught Korin's attention and she lost interest in the man, turning instead to the two people standing. At a distance, something didn't quite look right.

"Told you, Gob. It's not the radio, it's the station. Something must be wrong with the signal." A woman spoke. She was short, with a thin frame and ginger hair cut short. Her clothes looked to be tighter than they were comfortable.

Korin approached, a little unsure of what she was walking into. If her father had been in Megaton, the man behind the bar would know.

He looked up as she approached and Korin nearly yelped. She took several half-steps back. The man flinched.

"Charming." The woman gave Korin a dirty look before putting a cigarette up to her lips. "It's rude to stare, y'know. Ain't you ever seen a ghoul?" Korin looked the woman in the eyes.

"I'm sorry," Korin felt a hot wave of guilt surge from her stomach. "…What's a ghoul?"

"Nova, please…" his voice was rough and shaky, "don't make a scene."

"You're right, Gob. I'm sorry." She sighed, sounding tired and defeated. "Shouldn't rag on ya too hard, honey, wearin' clothes like that. Life's pretty cushy in them vaults, ain't it?" Korin stayed silent. Her neck and face felt like they were on fire. "Ghouls are people who were exposed to a lotta radiation. They're different, but they still got feelings like you and me. Best keep that in mind, honey." Nova took a drag from her cigarette and walked past Korin, eyeing her as she passed.

Korin stepped up to the counter and sat on a stool. The ghoul flinched and shied away from her as she did so. She looked up at him and took a breath.

"I'm sorry." She looked at his face, and into his eyes. They were a bit clouded, but she could see the anxiety behind them. "It's.. It's not so bad."

"It's okay, kid. Can't be mad at you for being naïve." His eyes broke from her gaze and his hands shook as he wiped down the bar with an old rag. "So, do you need something? A drink, maybe? Anything? Anything at all?" He didn't look up.

"I've been looking for my father. Tall man, graying hair, mid 40's?" Korin laced her fingers together, popping her knuckles nervously.

"Y-Yeah. I remember him." Gob looked up, briefly. "Honestly, I usually keep my head down. I tend to get smacked around if I look customers in the eyes. But talk to Moriarty, he'll know more."

"Moriarty?" Gob nodded.

"He's the fella who runs this place. He's your best bet." Korin nodded. "I wish you luck. Now, I have to get back to work, or I'll be answering to him, too." Korin smiled.

"Thank you, Gob." She stood up and looked around. Heavy footsteps pulled her attention to the stairs, where a man descended from the second floor. She took a step in that direction. He looked up, grey eyebrows raising in surprise as he turned towards her.

"It's you!" He exclaimed in a heavy accent. "The bouncing baby girl, all grown up! Where's that twin brother of yours?"

Korin felt the blood drain from her face. Her head felt lighter, and her relationship with gravity weaker.

"What… W-Who…"

"Collin Moriatry, at yer service." Moriarty chortled. "It's been a long time."

"How do you know about my brother? We were b-"

"What, ya didn't think you was born in that vault, did ya?" He laughed again, cutting her off. Korin's cheeks felt warm, again. She looked away. "Oh, the lies we tell to those we love. Your father brought ya to the Vault right after you were born. To keep you safe, you see. I remember it well… the three of ya stayed in my saloon, after all. And that Brotherhood of Steel gal." Korin opened her mouth to try to say something, but found she had no words. "A widower and his two suckling babes, with nary a tit to suckle. Sorry about your mum. Truly."

"I-"

"But life goes on. Daddy lied; Life's full of little disappointments. Now, you're all grown up, and wondering where dear ol' Dad's run off to, I suppose?"

"Y-Yes." Korin nodded. There was a lot for her to process, but she could focus on this. "How-"

"You seem like a nice kid, so I'm going to be straight with you. Yer Dad was here, and now he's not. I know where he went, but…" he held a finger in the air and smirked, "what you're asking for is information, and information is a commodity. I'll tell ya for… 100 caps. Very reasonable." Korin frowned.

"I don't have 100 caps." Moriarty sucked in a breath.

"Ooh. Tough break, kid." He sighed. "Come back when you have the money, and I'll tell you where he's gone." He waved at her as he walked past, towards the bar. "You know where to find me."

Korin turned and walked out the front door, the things Moriarty told her starting to weigh on her mind. She turned to look for Craterside Supply, hoping Carter had found a way to make them some caps.

She walked up a ramp, and continued onto steep steps up the crater.

"Here! It's on the house, as thanks for being so cooperative."

Carter took the bottled water Moira held out to him. He opened it and drank deeply.

"Thank you." He gasped. He wasn't in pain. In fact, he felt a little fuzzy - like his body wasn't completely solid.

"How's that Med-X treating you, hmm?" She smiled, resting her jaw against her fist with her elbow on the counter.

"Haven't felt this good in weeks." He smirked as he took a small sip.

The door to the shop opened quickly. Korin swept through, the look on her face setting off several alarms in his brain. He ignored them for the moment.

"Korin! Moira, this is my sister, Korin." Moira studied the two of them for a moment before her face lit up.

"You're twins, aren't you?"

"How did you-"

"This is fantastic. I have so many questions… so many experiments… where to start?!" She turned around to rummage through a pile on a work bench. Carter shook his head.

"No thanks." Carter pushed the bottle of water into Korin's hands. "I've been poked and prodded enough for today."

"Carter." Korin's tone caught his attention. He looked at her, and the blank expression she wore scared him. "Moriarty knows where Dad went." He looked at her. "But he won't tell us unless we pay him." Carter stood up a little straighter, ignoring the slight discomfort in his ribs.

"How much?"

"A hundred caps." Carter looked down at his feet and sighed.

"Knowing Collin, it'll be more than that when you go back." Moira said from her worktable. The twins looked at her.

"What?"

"Collin Moriarty is a greedy bastard, to put it lightly." Moira looked at them. "He bought Gob off of some slavers a while back. Collin insists he's not his slave, but expects Gob to pay him back for the purchase, and charges him room and board. And Nova?" She shook her head. "He takes a cut of the money she makes, and charges her the same. It's a never-ending cycle of debt." Moira paused. "He'd snatch you both up in a heartbeat if you let him." Carter looked at Korin. She seemed to know who Moira was talking about.

"That's… It's worse than I thought." Korin put a hand over her mouth. "No wonder… poor Gob."

"You didn't promise to do any work for him, did you?"

Korin shook her head. Moira nodded, seemingly in relief. Carter definitely felt relieved.

"I could use a couple of research assistants, for the book I'm writing. Your brother's already been a big help, but there are other subjects I need to study."

"Like what?"

Moira smiled widely at Korin, and shuffled over to another workspace. Korin looked at Carter, concern growing on her face. He shrugged, having no clue what was in store for them next. Moira seemed a little scatterbrained, to put it nicely, and maybe a little unstable.

"I've got three tasks," Moria turned, her nose buried in some kind of manuscript. "Finding food and medicine, disarming mines, and dealing with radiation poisoning." Moira smiled. "Pick your poison."

Carter exchanged a glance with Korin.

"How about radiation? I know a little bit about that from Dad." Moira shook her head.

"I'm sure you do, but I don't want to hear about it, I want to study it." She looked up. "Over 400 rads on your PipBoy should do, but if you got up to 600 that would be even better."

Carter looked down at the Geiger counter on his PipBoy and felt his jaw drop open.

"Are you sure that won't kill us?" Moira laughed.

"Of course it won't. And when you get back here I'll make you my special rad poisoning cure. You'll be right as rain."

Korin gave Carter a horrified look. What a world to live in, that this was infinitely less cruel than working in a saloon.

"I guess I'll do it." Carter shrugged. He'd been through worse.

"Like hell you will." Korin snapped. "You're injured. I can't let you. I'm doing it."

"Korin-"

"That settles it." Moira clapped, effectively cutting him off. "See you later!" She smiled at the twins, her eyes wide and sparkling. Carter and Korin both backed up and out of the shop. The sky, a dark greenish-blue, loomed above them - a reminder of their lack of lodging.

"Let's find that community housing that the sheriff was talking about, before it gets too dark to see." Korin stated, sounding distant.

"What's up with you, hmm?" Carter gently pushed her. "Don't think I didn't notice something was wrong as soon as you walked in the door."

"It's about Dad." Korin said, quietly. "He said he lied to us."

"How?" Carter stopped walking and faced his sister.

"He said- he said we weren't born in 101. Not Dad, certainly not us. He knew who I was the moment he saw me, and he asked where you were."

"Wow." It was all Carter could say. He was shocked. Not by their father's apparent lie, but that somehow, his feeling of not fitting in was true, in a small way. He frowned and looked down at his feet. "I wonder what else he lied about."

A pause settled between them. Korin leaned forward to rest her face on Carter's shoulder, but they remained where they were, on a rickety scrap bridge over Megaton. The sun continued its descent, leaving little daylight left.

"We'll just have to find him." Korin sniffled, and pulled away. "We'll find him and ask him about everything." She took a deep breath and re-centered. "There's a lot he needs to explain." Carter nodded. "Come on. Let's find a place to sleep."

Carter let her lead the way. By the time they reached the community center, the beds were all spoken for. Korin sighed, but both were too tired to complain. Carter made his way to the least obstructed corner and slid down the wall, noting the Med-X had begun to wear off. He winced, but made himself comfortable. Korin sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He laid his head against hers, and the two fell asleep.