Silver Lining

Midnight, the Stars, and Her

Friday, October 8th, 2077

"-so, as long as little Marlene doesn't flush another pony miniature down the t-toilet, you shouldn't have any more problems, Mrs. Glass." Kent Connolly said, writing something on his clipboard. Fishing toys out of toilets and setting mouse traps in the basement was not how Kent wanted to spend this Friday. But that's how it was going. He had a dreamy look on his face as he did all of it. He barely even reacted when a mousetrap snapped at his finger earlier that day.

The call had come just as Kent had woken up. The building manager was panicking, saying a tenant had gone down to the basement, where the boiler room and the tenant storage area was located, and saw a mouse running around. Kent didn't know why he was being dragged out of bed for a little mouse. He didn't know any apartment building that didn't have at least one mouse somewhere in it, but the complaint came from a tenant in one of the nicer apartments upstairs, so of course Kent had to be right on it.

When he was done laying out the mousetraps, another call came. And then another and another. Soon, Kent found himself getting pretty acquainted with the inside of the elevator. Something sprung a leak, a door was knocked off its hinges, a garbage disposal jammed, broken thermostat; the list continued until it finally ended with Mrs. Glass's frantic call to Kent's apartment saying Marlene had flushed a pony toy down the toilet while playing "pony pool party", using the toilet as a Jacuzzi.

The Glass Family apartment was the last call on his list. He had started his day at 6:30am, which was an ungodly hour for him. It was now almost 6:45pm. Kent wanted to spend the day getting ready for his big night with Hannah Howard. He planned out every moment, down to what clothes he was going to wear. He was debating whether or not to go to the florist and buy some flowers. He could buy nicer flowers if he did these jobs today. That was his reasoning, anyway.

Kent finished what he was writing and gave a carbon copy to Mrs. Glass. "Thank you so much, Kent!" exclaimed Mrs. Glass, placing the copy on the dining room table. "I've told Marlene countless times that the bathroom is not a playroom." Mrs. Glass looked over toward the hallway, where Marlene stood with a guilty look on her face. She was squeezing a pony doll close to her chest.

"I'm happy to help, Mrs. Glass. Is there a-anything else I can do for you before I leave?" Kent didn't mean to ask that, but it was a force of habit. Kent just wanted to get back to his place, unplug the phone, and start getting ready for the evening.

Mrs. Glass smiled. "Oh, no thank you, Kent. I know you'd like to be at home waiting for that 'Silver Sheet' radio show."

"It's 'Silver Shroud', Mommy." Marlene chirped, coming to stand next to her mother. "His posters are all over the place."

Mrs. Glass giggled. "Oh, of course. Arlen and I haven't listened to a radio show in years. Not since we got that television. Marlene is particularly fond of that RALPHIE show about the flying robot. Arlen says that Wilson Atomatoys has been trying to get the rights to make RALPHIE toys since it first started airing. He already has designs for a line of little robot toys."

Kent smiled, said his good-byes, came back in just as Mrs. Glass offered him some cookies, and then left with a plate of cookies covered in plastic. He arrived in his apartment and set the cookies on the table after turning in his maintenance report to the building manager. Nothing was going to stop him this time. Anyone that called in would have to wait until tomorrow. It was the building rules that any maintenance needs after 7pm would have to wait until the next morning unless it was a dire emergency. He was back in his apartment and now he was going to get ready for his big night out.

Looking over at the clock (it read 6:57pm), Kent knew he only had an hour to get ready. Kent and Hannah were going to a Midnight Madness Double Feature at the Starlight Drive-In near Concord. Why a Midnight Madness showing started at 8, he didn't know. Of course, it could start at 6:17 in the morning for all he cared. If it meant spending time with Hannah Howard watching movies and discussing comic books, he'd be there. According to the program he had Buster pick up a few days ago, the evening would begin with a few comedy shorts and then the feature movies started at 9.

Kent didn't have a lot of suits. It was rare that there was an occasion that he needed to wear one. The last time he wore a suit of any kind was the awards ceremony for one of Buster's articles and even then, he had borrowed it from Buster because he'd grown out of the one he wore during high school graduation. Kent was wondering if a suit was too much for an outing at a drive-in movie. He wasn't sure what Hannah was going to wear, but he figured if they were going to be sitting in a car all night, he might as well be comfortable.

After picking out a simple pair of slacks and a button down t-shirt, Kent attempted to fix his shaggy hair in the mirror. He kept meaning to get a haircut, but he was constantly being distracted by one thing or another. Most of the time, those things involved comic books or Hannah. She didn't seem to mind how his hair looked, but Kent normally covered his hair with a hat. His lucky tan trilby that he got from Buster as a high school graduation gift, was usually Kent's first choice of headwear. But that was only because it was his only choice.

Many good points in Kent's adult life happened when he was wearing this hat, this included meeting Hannah Howard and her saying yes to the movies. He hoped many more good times would come as well. Kent went to his closet again and started rethinking the whole suit idea. "M-maybe Buster has some clothes I can borrow." He murmured, closing his closet.

Kent realized he hadn't really been in Buster's room since their parents moved out and he took over their master suite. He went in there one or two times when Buster wasn't feeling well to give him lunch and dinner, but other than that, never. He knew Buster wouldn't care if Kent borrowed some of his clothes, but he was still cautious.

Buster was going to be home soon, but Kent didn't want to wait until then to ask to borrow clothes. Kent slowly opened the door to Buster's room and went inside. Turning on the light, Kent saw that his brother's room was meticulously organized, almost like Kent's. The bed, which originally belonged to their parents, sat in the middle with a nightstand to one side. The dresser was on the opposite wall of the closet, and Kent walked toward it.

Kent opened the dresser and gave up after only finding undershirts, underpants, and socks. He walked to the closet and started rummaging through. As he shifted through suits and sweater vest combos, something blue caught the corner of Kent's eye. He looked over and saw the blue Vault-Tec letter on the night stand. Kent stopped his rummaging and walked over. It looked like the same one Buster brought in weeks ago and according to the postmark, it was. He had thought Buster threw it out. Kent wasn't sure why he was drawn to the letter. He knew what was in it. But his curiosity got the better of him. He picked up the letter and opened it.

To: Mr. Benjamin Connolly

From: Vault-Tec Massachusetts Regional Office

Regarding your application into one of our fine Vault-Tec facilities currently being constructed outside the city of Boston, we are writing to inform you that your family was not selected for inclusion in your chosen Vault-Tec facility. Your application has been added to a waiting list for your preferred Vault. The reasons may be as follows:

1) Your selected Vault, VAULT 114, is too far to travel in the event of a threat.

2) Your selected Vault, VAULT 114, is already full.

3) You, or a family member, do not meet the criteria of standards for your selected Vault, VAULT 114 due to past employment, medical or mental status, or other unrelated reasons.

The list continued, but number 3 bothered Kent a lot. "You or a family member…" he whispered. He knew this was a rejection and he had accepted it, but never felt he might be the reason he and Buster would have to ride out any end of the world scenario in the boiler room of their building's basement. Kent sat on Buster's bed and read that line over and over. He didn't even hear the front door open nor did he hear Buster shout for Kent when he came in.

When Buster entered his room, he was surprised to see Kent sitting on his bed. He barely noticed his open closet. Buster wasn't mad that Kent was in his room without permission. Buster had nothing to hide from his brother. "Kenny?" Buster finally asked. He saw what Kent was reading and sighed. "Oh, Kenny. Geez, listen, I was going to tell you, but I couldn't find the right words. I felt so stupid hyping up Vault-Tec in front of you, I couldn't bring myself to tell you we were rejected." Buster sat down beside his brother and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, it doesn't matter. I got a plan. Me and some coworkers-"

"-It s-said you or a family member d-d-didn't meet Vault-Tec criteria to enter Vault 114. It m-meant me, didn't it?" Kent asked, letting the letter fall to the floor.

Buster seemed taken aback by this question. "What? That's crazy, Kenny. They wouldn't let us in because the high-society types got their reservations in first. There's a reason the puff piece about that Vault was in the society pages. Look, we don't need them or their fancy Vault. A place that thinks it's too good for the Connolly Brothers ain't for us."

Kent shook Buster's hand off his shoulder and looked away. Buster tried to defuse the situation. Kent looked like he was about to have what his parents called "a moment". Kent had many when they were kids and it scared Buster each time. Most of the time, Kent would just stay in his room and mope until he fell asleep. There were instances, however, when Kent's anxiety got so bad, he needed to be taken to the hospital and those scared Buster more than just Kent moping.

"They think I'm cr-crazy, don't they?" Kent shouted. "They th-think I can't h-handle being around all those people!"

Deciding to nip this in the bud before it got bad, Buster cleared his throat and shook Kent lightly. "Look, forget them. Let's fix you up for your big night, huh?" Buster got up and went to his closet. He guessed Kent was probably looking for something other than a t-shirt, slacks, and his lucky hat to wear. "Hey, listen, girls say they want bad boys, but trust me when I say they'd rather go for the intellectual type and nothing says 'I've got brains' than a sweater vest and a bow tie."

Buster looked down at Kent and noticed he was still sad. Kent started rocking back and forth, which Buster knew wasn't a good sign. "If I'm not good enough to g-g-get into some underground tin c-can, then how do I know I'm g-g-g-good enough for Hannah?" Kent sniffled.

"Kenny, I'm actually glad we didn't get in." Buster said, sitting on the bed again with his brother. "Remember those borings parties Ma and Pop used to make us attend with all Pop's coworkers?"

Kent nodded. "It was t-torture. If it weren't for the snack table, I think I w-would have jumped out a window just to get out of there."

"Now, imagine that…" Buster continued. "…but going on forever and ever. That's what that Vault would have been like."

That thought made Kent shiver. He wiped his eyes, despite barely having any tears. "Sp-Spending an eternity at one of those swanky parties sounds more like H-Hell than security." Kent muttered, looking up at his brother and smiling. "You know, I-I think those Vaults are a front for something."

Buster didn't look surprised that Kent said that. Buster watched Kent stand up and go over to the closet. Buster joined him. Kent was slightly taller than his older brother, but Buster's clothes still fit him to a degree. The pants were often a little high, but everything else fit well enough. Buster took out a navy blue sweater vest and white long sleeve shirt combo that he wore on the rare occasion he dated. Buster didn't date much. He often said it was because he was too busy. Kent felt it was because Buster thought he needed to take care of his little brother.

"A front?" Buster asked, taking an outfit off a hanger. He tried to look unsuspicious, but knew it wasn't a good actor. He knew something, but Kent continued anyway.

"Th-think about it, Buster: those things have to be expensive. It probably cost a fortune to have Park Street Station shut down, and all those high society types like all the f-fancy stuff. And all we have to do is fill out an application and turn it in. No money exchanges hands, no credit check, n-nothing! I was talking about it to H-Hannah the other day when we saw a Vault-Tec van go down the street. I've been seeing them a lot lately. Heck, one was at our building last week." Kent looked at the sweater vest and nodded.

"Vault-Tec bought ad space in the paper recently." Buster said, helping Kent into an outfit. He sounded like he was admitting a big, scandalous secret. "Until recently, they'd only been on radio and television. I see billboards, posters at the bus stop, it's everywhere. It doesn't feel like advertising though. It feels more like recruitment."

Kent nodded. He felt the same way. He was starting to feel better about being rejected from the Vault program. "If all else fails, the b-boiler room seems to have survived over the centuries." Kent laughed, putting on Buster's outfit. "I mean, Washington brought that damn boiler over when he crossed the Delaware, and it's somehow survived."

Buster chuckled at Kent's joke. "Actually, Kenny…" he started. "…I already got a plan. I think this is a good time to go over it. You know my coworkers Mags and Tim?"

Despite only meeting them once, Kent nodded. "Yeah, I see you talking to them whenever I go to your work."

"There is a basement that no one uses at the Bugle. We stole a key from the janitor and we've been making it into a shelter since earlier this year." Buster gave Kent his hat back, but took it off again because it didn't match the outfit. "It's pretty inevitable that the worst will happen. When, I don't know, but in case it does, me, Mags, and Tim have been stockpiling the basement shelter with supplies for months. We each take turns checking on it to make sure no one has found it. That's why I sometimes get home late. Kenny, whatever happens, we'll survive this. We don't need a fancy Vault and we don't need some shmuck in a suit telling us we didn't get in for whatever reason. We'll get through this. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Kent felt reassured when Buster said that. Kent smiled and looked at the letter on the floor. "They used your real name. B-Benjamin. Not even Ma called you by your real name." Kent took off the navy blue sweater vest and tried on a tan one with a red bowtie. It matched his hat more and Kent was adamant about wearing his lucky trilby.

Buster laughed a bit. "I've been going by Buster for so long, I sometimes forget my real name is Benjamin. Hell, my paychecks even say Buster on them. The bank tellers don't seem to notice, either."

The Connolly Brothers stood there for a moment. Kent cleared his throat after a while. "I'm nervous, Buster." He said, after a long silence. "All those girls you set me up with in the past, not that I didn't appreciate it, but I never got the same vibe from them as I do for Hannah. Hannah and I like the same things and she's easy to talk to. M-most of the time, anyway. Sometimes, I get so tongue-tied that I don't know what to say to her. Maybe this wasn't a g-good idea…"

"Hey, listen to me, Kenny; it'll be fine. Try to imagine it like this: You're the Silver Shroud and she's the Mistress of Mystery." Buster stood back, watching Kent fix himself up. "Each time she finds herself in over her head, the Silver Shroud is always there to swoop in and help her out of her jam. He helps her. He doesn't solve her problem for her or berate her for not getting it the first time. They are equals. He isn't better than her and vice versa. Hannah is your Mistress of Mystery. Don't let some crazed Commie Scientist take her away."

Kent laughed, but decided not to point out the reference he got wrong with that last sentence, and tried to relax. He felt his chest tightening. "Buster, I-I don't think…" Kent started breathing a little heavy. Buster looked at his brother curiously, hoping what he thought was happening wasn't. "…I don't th-th-think I can do this…"

Buster put his hand on Kent's shoulder. "Kenny, don't give this Vault thing a second thought. To big corporations like Vault-Tec, we're no more than hamsters on a wheel. But who cares now, Kent. We're safe, no matter what." Buster knew he probably could have worded that better. Now he was starting to panic.

Kent stood there, trying his hardest to keep his breathing down. He grabbed his stomach and tried to look at his older brother. He felt dizzy and he could hear his heartbeat. This was not good. He couldn't already feel himself loosing wind. "Buster…I can't do this." He wheezed. "I c-c-can't do this tonight. I…I don't feel very well."

Buster knew what this meant. He loved his brother, and he wanted Kent to get out there in the world, but he couldn't risk Kent having another "moment" and Hannah not knowing what to do when this happened. He wasn't going to force Kent to do anything. "Alright, Kenny." was all Buster said as Kent left the bedroom in a rush. The apartment was quiet, save for the sound of Kent walking to the living room and the rotary phone being used.

"Yeah, operator, I need you t-t-to patch me through to Cambridge 5-9909…yes, Hannah? Hey, it's Kent. L-l-listen, I'm not feeling so hot tonight, so m-m-maybe we should skip the movie…yeah, I w-w-was looking forward to it too…I don't want t-t-t-to tie you up, so I'll c-c-call tomorrow."

After going to his room to lay down, Kent thought about everything Buster said. "He says it's okay that we didn't g-get in, but I know he's just trying to make me feel b-better." Kent went to his mirror and stared at himself. "L-Look at me." He mumbled to himself. "I'm tall, I'm g-g-gangly, and I can't even remember to get a haircut. H-H-Hannah would be nuts to g-go out with a lump like me." He reached for his brush and nearly knocked over his Silver Shroud action figure. He had posed it on his dresser vanity and it stood, ever vigilant, in the manner Kent posed it when he took it out of the box. "I bet y-you were never this nervous, right Shroud?" he asked, attempting to brush his hair. He gave up after a minute and dropped the brush on his floor.

The figure didn't respond. It stood there, in the iconic Silver Shroud pose that took Kent an hour to get right. It looked rather lonely on his dresser, despite being surrounded by all the robot figurines that Kent had assembled over the years. Kent wondered if they were going to release more action figures in the Unstoppables line. A Mistress of Mystery to keep the Silver Shroud company would be nice. Of course, Kent would have to buy two; one for the Silver Shroud, and one for Hannah.

"I really liked Hannah, too." Kent said, as if talking to another person. "She's sw-sweet, she's funny, and she's easy to t-talk to. Not like those other girls that Buster set me up with a while back." Kent chuckled and brushed his hair. "Man, Buster says the world is in denial, and he wasn't k-kidding with those ladies. All they talked about were new clothes they bought at Fallon's, or how they had to take their Mr. Handy robot butler in to be serviced for something m-minor and stupid. But Hannah…"

Kent looked down at the action figure. Once again, it did nothing. Kent smiled and picked it up. He wondered if Hannah had a Silver Shroud action figure. Kent nodded to the doll, as if responding to a question and then set it back down. Kent walked over to his bed and laid down, curling into a ball and holding the action figure close. He looked over at his alarm clock after a while. It read 7:30. If it weren't for his damn anxiety, Hannah would be pulling up in her uncle's car and coming up to meet him.

"She sounded disappointed on the phone. I b-b-bet she never wants to see me again. Nothing turns a g-g-girl off than a shmuck with a stutter and anxiety issues." Kent couldn't believe he was letting his anxiety ruin his perfect night. Once again, this bugaboo snuck up on him and took control. He wanted to run out of the apartment and go find Hannah, just to see her. But he couldn't risk having a "moment" in public and not being near Buster. Buster knew what to do in such a case. Hannah would probably panic and leave him there and swear to never date a "freak" like him. Kent covered his ears, letting the action figure fall to the floor.

Hoping he was imagining things, Kent thought he heard the buzzer for their apartment make its horrible buzzing sound. He made a mental note to fix it. Another thing he put off.

"Connolly Residence." He heard Buster shout into the intercom. "Oh! Well, come on up. Third floor. First one on the right, you can't miss it."

"Maybe Buster ordered take-out for dinner." Kent mumbled. Not many places delivered, but some did. "Might as well eat s-s-something. Not that I can ever show m-my face at the comic shop again."

Walking out of his room and into the main living area, Kent was nearly knocked off his feet. Hannah Howard stood in the doorway wearing the same blue dress he first saw her in. She had on a cardigan over it as the night was pretty chilly. Hannah looked like a miniature (and younger) version or their mother wearing little white gloves and carrying her purse on her arm. She had some kind of dish in her hands. Kent looked over at Buster, who apparently saw this resemblance as well. Their mother would stand in the same way by the door when waiting for her husband and sons to be ready to go out.

"So, I finally get to meet Hannah Howard." Buster teased, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm Buster, Kent's brother. You know, Kent speaks praises of you."

Kent started to turn red. He practically jogged to them before Buster could say any more. "Hey, H-H-Hannah." He stuttered. "Look, I'm sorry about that call earlier. I j-just…"

"You sounded a little sick on the phone." She started. The look on her face let Kent know she understood and wasn't going to fault him for anything. "I know going to a movie would be a bad idea if you're not feeling well. So, I decided to make brownies for you." She presented the dish to him. "It's the instant stuff, though. We didn't have everything in the communal kitchen make them from scratch. Brownies always make me feel better when I'm…" she was looking for the right words. "…not well…"

Hannah nodded but then turned to Buster. "Kent says you're the same Buster Connolly that wrote that piece about the Roxbury Food Riots." She chirped, gripping her purse. "I'm glad you wrote it, even if it did end up on the back pages. I used to live over in Roxbury before I started college and my parents moved. It wasn't so bad when I left, but things got a lot worse. They passed your article around in between classes at my college. It really got us talking. Though, what a bunch of college students think about world problems might be a moot point."

Buster smiled. "I'm glad people are talking about it. People need to look past the puff pieces and read real stories." Buster cleared his throat. He looked at Kent, who was blushing bright red. Buster looked at his watch and cleared his throat again. "Hey, it's about eight! I should get to my office and finish some work. You kids have fun out here!" Buster rushed out of the living room and both Kent and Hannah heard his office door slam.

"Listen, Hannah, I'm sorry I ruined our evening." Kent started. "I understand if y-y-you want to leave…"

"Kent…" Hannah started, putting the brownies next to the untouched plate of cookies on the kitchen table. "I don't care about that movie. Watching a cheesy Vera Keyes movie is not how I want to spend my Friday night and I know you don't want to, either. I know…" she looked like she was searching for the right words again. "…you'd much rather stay home and listen to the Silver Shroud than sit in some cramped car and listening to some overly dramatic romance movie. I hate romantic dramas, anyway,"

Hannah walked past Kent and walked over to the couch in the living area. She seemed to be examining it, as if she was the building inspector. The only difference is that Kent didn't like the building inspector who came around once a year to make sure it was still up to code. To him, it was like he was being judged for the one talent he was proud of (aside from a vast knowledge of comic books).

"I like your place." She chirped, putting her purse on the end table. "Much bigger than the dorm I share with three other girls. Your couch looks a lot more comfortable than that stiff bunk I sleep on." Hannah plopped herself down on the couch as if she lived there. She was already making herself comfortable. She could tell two bachelors lived here.

Not sure what to do, Kent grabbed some Nuka-Cola out of the refrigerator and grabbed the desserts from the kitchen table. He balanced all of this as he made his way to the living room. He placed all these items on the coffee table and then sat down next to Hannah. He noticed her hands were in her lap.

"So…" she started, looking for the words. "…if you ever feel 'sick' again, you know you can tell me. I understand. I know it's hard to go out and be among the people. Especially knowing what we know. But like you said the other day: we have to live the life we have now. But I won't rush you to do anything you aren't comfortable with. But don't think I'll accept sitting in your living room eating fattening desserts every time we have a date." She smirked, unwrapping the cookies Mrs. Glass gave Kent earlier.

Date? Kent thought. A goofy smile inched across his face. Wherever this was going, Kent liked it. He decided not to assume they were an item just yet. Just because she called it a date, doesn't mean it's serious just yet. P-Play it cool, Kent.

Kent looked over at the clock and nearly panicked. He went to turn on the radio just as a Nuka-Cola advert was ending. "Hey, want some stove-top p-popcorn?" Kent asked. Hannah nodded and Kent ran to the kitchen to get the lone stove-top popcorn pan that occupied the cabinet. He made a mental note to go grocery shopping with Buster because now they had no dinner for tomorrow night.

The popcorn popping, the Nuka-Cola bottles being opened, and the sounds of the downtown crowd heading into the evening outside, Kent and Hannah looked more comfortable on the couch eating junk food than they probably would have sitting in a car at the movies. Kent brought the popcorn over just as the Galaxy News Radio promo started.

There was one couch cushion between the two. Kent still felt bad about not going to the movies. When he felt a warm hand take his, he instantly felt better. He wasn't going to rush this. Kent liked where this was going, but he wanted to take it slow. Hannah looked like she appreciated that.

When evil walks the streets of Boston, one man lurks in the shadows. Shielding the innocent, judging the guilty! That guardian is…the Silver Shroud! Today's Episode: Fat Fahey's Foley…


Hello, my dears! It's Luna Peachie again!

So, everyone excited about the new DLCs coming out soon? I know I am! I bought my season pass before they jacked up the price and now I'm waiting for news of any kind. I'm super excited. I wish they'd add nicer options for settlements, though. I saw that update they did and I'm not impressed. You know what would we really useful? An option that lets you automatically scrap all the scrapables in a settlement with one push. There's probably a mod for that already, though. You know what would be SUPER DUPER useful? Something that gets rid of all the debris you can't scrap that just gets in the way. Again, probably a mod for that too.

Concerning the stove-top popcorn I mentioned up above. It's pretty clear that Fallout's timeline diverged somewhere in the early sixties at least, when people were still fearing the cold war and it looked like the fifties were winding down. Stove-top popcorn has been around since at least 1967, and while I know it's not early sixties, I fudged the canon a bit since I couldn't find any microwaves in the Fallout world. Plenty of hotplates and stoves, though. And yes, I think the Connolly Brothers are the type of bachelors that eat popcorn for dinner in lieu of buying groceries. We all know someone like that.

So, how did I do? Did I get anything wrong? Did I do well this chapter? Is there anything you think I missed or want to see? Let me know in a review and I'll see to it with the best of my abilities!

We're getting close to the big event! Don't miss it! Keep this story going and send me some feedback!

Kent Connolly and Fallout belong to Bethesda.