"I don't know why no one talks about it. Everyone is thinking about it, but why won't they talk about it?" Dogmeat cocked his head at Shaun's concerned tone but offered no answer. Suddenly upset, Shaun seized a nearby stick and threw it with all his might. Dogmeat raced after it and returned it with an excited wag and soft woof. Shaun managed a small smile and obliged Dogmeat in a few more throws. Bored of the game, Shaun rose and walked slowly to the porch by the workbench.

He found he liked sitting there, sometimes talking with the other adults, sometimes just sitting in the still air and enjoying the scenery. RJ told him that he was born in the house just across the road from the porch, and some part of Shaun wondered if he should feel more connected to it. But he didn't. While he loved his dad and all the other adults at Sanctuary Hills, he still sometimes missed his room at the Institute with Father. He'd had all sorts of toys and things to take apart and mess with.

He sat on the edge of the porch and hugged his knees close, his mind preoccupied with endless questions. When the hand ruffled his hair, he found himself unusually annoyed and shied away from MacCready.

"Hey Shaun, why the face?" Shaun shrugged as MacCready sat beside him. His coat billowed out behind him and Shaun was reminded of the pictures of kings in robes from his story book back at the Institute. MacCready, used to Shaun's moods, let the boy sit silently as he busied himself with cleaning and checking his guns. After a length of time, Shaun spoke.

"Why don't adults tell me the truth?" MacCready coughed, his slight frame jerking from the force of the coughs, and smiled sadly at Shaun.

"You know, I don't know. I guess it's because some people are so afraid of the truth hurting someone that they'd rather tell a lie and hope it was good enough." Shaun mulled over the answer, unused to adults giving him such direct answers.

"But, every story I read where some lied always had the liar being punished. Wouldn't that teach people to stop lying?" Maccready laughed darkly.

"You'd think, wouldn't you?" Shaun glanced sideways at him.

"Why is that so funny?" MacCready paused, the memory of Lucy jabbing at the old wounds.

"Well Shaun. I told a really big lie to someone I really loved. And I never got to tell her the truth, and sometimes I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not." Shaun jumped up, hands fisted at his sides.

"It's not! Why won't people just talk about what's wrong!" MacCready knelled and grabbed Shaun by the shoulders.

"Shaun, what's wrong? I know you're upset and that I'm not your dad, but I do care about you. Please, tell me what's bothering you?"

"Why did Dad kill Danse? Is that why Dad's gone?" He jerked out of MacCready's grasp and roughly wiped his nose on his arm and stared defiantly at MacCready who rose to his full height.

"Listen, I don't think that I should be the one to talk with…"

"No one is! I've asked everyone and no one will talk with me about it! I'm not some stupid little kid! I'm eleven now and that means I can understand things better!" His shouting drew a small crowd, and MacCready looked to them for support.

"I, well, Shaun it's just that…um, you know…"

"Forget it! You're just as bad as the rest of them!" He felt the heat of a blush race up his small frame and screamed the nastiest word he could think of. "FUCK!" Shoving past the stunned MacCready and a few other citizens of the town, he raced up the path to the Vault.

Squeezing through a small gap in the gate, Shaun ran to the top of the hill but didn't stop at the Vault. He raced blindly through the forest to the small outcrop with the small sitting area on it. He liked it there, especially when he wanted to be alone.

Set up and away from the Vault, he could see if anyone came looking for him, but he would be practically invisible there. It also was cooler than the rest of the area so even in the hottest days, Shaun could relax in comfort. He traced the funny symbol on the low wall and wondered again what it meant. It looked like a funny looking star with a plus in the middle. He liked to pretend it was a secret sign from some super-cool group that was meant only for him to see.

But, anger still burning deep in his stomach, he found no comfort in the made up stories of the mysterious sign and the small sitting area. Grabbing a small group of rocks he threw them at empty Nuka-Cola bottles, knocking them down with a satisfying clank sound. But soon he ran out of bottles to throw rocks at and his anger flared again.

I'm not some stupid kid! I'm eleven, I'm practically an adult now! He flung the rocks as hard as he could through the thick underbrush, but a small yip sent a chill down his spine. He scrambled against the wall and watched horrified as a pair of mole rats crawled out from the brush. They chattered in a high pitched tone and rushed Shaun. Panicking, he vaulted over the wall and fell the short distance to the ground, rolling as he hit the damp forest ground.

Springing to his feet, he saw one of the mole rats leap after him as the other began going around the sitting area in pursuit. His voice paralyzed by fear, he ran back to the Vault, eyes wide and breathing ragged as he pushed his body for every bit of speed he could squeeze from his small legs. He almost missed the growl, but the deep rumble sent a fresh spike of fear into his system, and he screamed as the dark shape raced at him almost faster than he could follow. But it passed him and instead crashed headfirst into the closest mole rat, which screamed in fear and pain as it was crushed. Shaun risked a glance behind him and his heart leapt with joy to realize it was Dogmeat attacking the mole rats.

He raced back to the dog as the second mole rat scrabbled backwards from the bloody corpse of its former partner. Dogmeat, hackles raised and mouth frothing with spittle and blood viciously barked and snarled at the rat. Shaun grabbed a large rock and threw it at the mole rat, hitting it in the tail. The mole rat screamed and fled from the pair, it's chittering fading as it fled.

Shaking, Shaun sunk to his knees and tried to fight the sudden feeling of sickness. Dogmeat whined and head-butted the young boy until he had wedged himself underneath Shaun's arm. With a great deal of shoving and back arching, Dogmeat finally got Shaun to stand and began walking back to Sanctuary Hills, pausing anytime Shaun let go of the dog's collar.

Eventually the pair made it back to Sanctuary Hills, and Shaun endured the endless rounds of adults telling him how foolish it was for him to run off like that or worse yet, the ones who told him how brave he was to face up to the mole rats. Eventually, his lackluster replies and sullen glares drove the adults away and he was left in peace in his bedroom. Exhausted, Shaun falls into a deep sleep, the dreams of being chased by monsters forgotten by the time he wakes the next day.

Stepping outside, Shaun shivers in the cool morning air. Hugging himself for warmth, he ambles around the town absentmindedly. He sees MacCready and is almost tempted to go say hi, but he remembers the anger he felt yesterday and decides he'd rather not. He wanders through a few of the ruined houses and stumbles into Piper packing a bag. She turns, reading something on her notepad, but when she notices Shaun she throws the pad down on the bed and hugs him warmly.

"Shaun! Good morning, how're you?" She releases him and reaches into one of her pockets. She pulls out some candy and holds it out to Shaun. He liked that she always kept some of the stuff he liked on hand. He'd never admit it, but he thought Piper was actually pretty okay for an adult. She was always honest with him, and when she didn't know the answer she would say so instead of making things up like everyone else.

He opened the candy and savored the sweetness of it. Shoving the rest in his mouth, he smiled at Piper and blew a bubble. Letting it pop, he picked it off his lips and swallowed it. He read somewhere that you shouldn't do that, but Piper said as long as he didn't do it all the time it was fine.

"Thanks Piper, you're the best."

"Aww shucks, lil' Blue, I just gotta look out for my second most favorite kid!" She picked up her pad and rifled through the bag, checking her list as she sorted things in the bag.

"Where you going?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm going to Diamond City. With your dad going AWOL, I'm just worried about Nat and want her nearby me for a while. But after that, I plan on joining up with Deacon and checking out a lead on where your dad is."

"What's AWOL?" Piper sighed dramatically, shaking her head and clucking her tongue.

"Oh how far the education system has fallen! It breaks my heart just to see the evidence before me!" Her performance made him smile and he couldn't help but to giggle at her. Satisfied with his reaction she continued packing and talking. "You see, back before the bombs fell the guys in the military couldn't just take days off. They had to ask for them, and if they didn't they would get in some deep shi…trouble." Shaun wondered why no one would cuss around him but didn't ask, to interested in her story. "So, if they did leave without asking permission, called 'leave' back then, then they were absent without leave. Or, AWOL."

"Wait, they couldn't just go somewhere? They had to ask?" Piper nodded as she tucked her pad into the bag and slipped a pistol in her waistband.

"Yup, and to be AWOL was really bad. But now we use it to just mean that someone is gone and we don't know where they are."

"Like the Institute did to the people they replaced?" Piper nodded.

"Exactly. So, I'm going to go find your dad and give him a piece of my mind. Want me to give him a piece of yours?" Shaun puzzled over that, how could she give someone a piece of his mind? It didn't make sense, so he just shook his head.

"No, I just want him back." Piper leaned down and wrapped him in another hug.

"I know, we all do. But don't worry, Deacon's got his whole team hunting him and Preston's organizing a huge search with the Minutemen. We'll find him." She kissed the top of his head and grabbed her bag. Checking her pistol and rifle one last time she said her goodbyes and headed out. Shaun waited a few moments and stepped out into the street himself.

He'd always wanted to go to somewhere new, but Dad had never let him. And with the recent attack by the bandits and the mole rats, Shaun was sure he'd never get to leave Sanctuary Hills. With a small sigh, he headed over to the worktable and started messing around with some of the parts left for him by Sturges.

For a few days, everything was calm. Piper returned with Nat and then left to join up with Deacon and Valentine. MacCready joined with Preston and they left to check out a few leads. Hancock and Cait left to see if any of the drifters in Goodneighbor had heard anything. With most of the town out looking for Derek, Shaun found himself stuck helping Codsworth clean the living spaces. Though it could have been worse, he supposed. Nat was stuck helping Curie care for Duncan. The toddler had a small cold and was constantly crying and whining.

Then, just after noon, the calm was interrupted by a distant whine. Shaun noticed it first and took the first chance he found to slip away from Codsworth. Climbing up the rock piles around the Vault, Shaun looked over the horizon and saw something moving through the air toward the town. His excitement about the find died when he remembered how men in similar machines attacked the town. Quickly scrambling down the pile he raced back to the town shouting about the incoming machine.

He found the few remaining citizens arming themselves, preparing for another attack with terse looks and grim silence. Nat ran out of a nearby house and grabbed him, telling him that he needed to come with her and Curie to the bunker. He almost fought back, but when he saw Strong run by with his huge hammer he was realized just how vulnerable his tiny body would be in a fire fight. Scared by his sudden feeling of vulnerability he allowed Nat to drag him to the bunker.

There, huddled in the dank root cellar turned bunker with Nat, Curie, Duncan, and the Vault-Tec Rep, Shaun thought over his lot in life. He figured that if he wanted to be treated like an adult, he should act more like one. And step one would be to fight his way out of the bunker and join the other adults in defending his home. But first, he would need a weapon. He looked around the room, hoping to find something he could use, but the room was filled with only furniture or food for whoever was hiding there.

Just as he was deciding whether or not to use a can of meat as some sort of hand club, the door opened, the bright noon light blinding him. He scrambled back and grabbed the canned meat, his knuckles white around the corroded metal. Curie stepped before him and pulled out a large laser pistol. Aiming it at the silhouetted figure at the top of the stairs she lightly kicked him out of the way.

"Curie, it's me." At the sound of his dad's voice, Shaun pushed past Curie and leapt into his arms, softly sobbing as he hugged his dad. Derek rose and picked Shaun up, wrapping his arms around him.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Shaun." The rest of the apology was lost in Shaun's fervent sobbing.