A/N: ALRIGHT! So this is how it's going to work ;3 See right below where the name of the chapter is underlined? It says Day One? THIS IS A TIMELINE, PEOPLE! It is going to act as a sort of timer during Janny's stay in Rivet City, as she is staying for two weeks. I thought it'd be something fun to throw in, just 'cause I suck at dates and stuff so this is going to help me keep all my ducks lined up.

As you can see, yes, I'm continuing this story! Just 'cause I love you guys so much xD It's not exactly popular yet, so I'm on the fence trying to decide whether or not I should update every Tuesday or every second Tuesday... Review if you can't wait two weeks for another chapter! Oh, and let me know if you like how this story is starting out, and if you like Janny's character! Thanks a bunch!

Happy reading, happy writing!

~Konfessionist out!~

Chapter Three: Small Talk

Day One

Bryan watched Janny as she spoke with Aunt Vera about a hotel room, and his heart almost jumped in his chest when he found out that she would be staying for two weeks. Two weeks! Ten years of being supposedly missing, she suddenly appears and is staying for two weeks- it made his head spin with all the questions he wanted to ask her! Another jolt of excitement ignited in his belly and shivered up his spine like a strike of lightning at the thought.

For one thing, she didn't seem to be as bubbly or as charismatic as he had remembered... She seemed a bit more reserved, she spoke so intelligently (which made him feel a little self-conscious about his own knowledge, which wasn't much, as he knew), and she seemed to have a dark and formidable glint in her eyes. He recognized it right away; he had the same glint in his eyes when he looked in the cracked glass of his mirror after he had lost his father to the fire ants. He still had it sometimes- when it was really dark and cloudy and dense outside… He'd slip into a miserable world that he didn't enjoy at all, as it made him feel all gummy inside.

He couldn't help but wonder if something happened, something bad, and it had prohibited her from coming to visit him.

Or maybe she didn't care enough to return at all… He thought solemnly. The lightning strike of excitement that went up his spine shot back down into his stomach like a heavy and inevitable pit.

Then, Janny's laughter broke into his cloudy mind like a ray of sunshine, causing him to come back to what was happening.

"I never knew a mole rat could do that!" Aunt Vera exclaimed, laughing as well and motioned for him to come over. "Bryan, you remember Janny, don't you?"

How could I forget? He thought to himself quizzically, but instead nodded without saying a word. Janny looked to him with a thoughtful expression in her face as they formally shook hands. It felt awkward- shouldn't they have… hugged, or something?

No- that would have been even weirder…He told himself.

"Good!" Aunt Vera smiled. "She can stay in Seagrave's old room," She sighed, a little gloomily. "Bless his soul…"

"Is Seagrave no longer with us?" Janny asked quietly, turning to her.

She shook her head, her short blonde hair bobbing about her face. "I'm afraid so! He died a year or two after Bryan arrived- he was hiding the fact that he had red-lung from us! Can you believe that?"

Bryan rolled his eyes inwardly- he loved his aunt, she took him in unconditionally when his father died and made sure he was always happy, but her need to gossip was a little overwhelming at times, and she sometimes forgot to respect the dead.

"Oh, don't worry!" Aunt Vera exclaimed with a broad smile upon noticing that Janny's face had slightly contorted into one of concern. "He didn't die in that room, if that's what you're worried about!"

"Miss Weatherly, I've slept in bloody beds and shared floors with rotting skeletons." She pointed out indifferently, fishing out some caps from her bag. "If you are implying that Seagrave may still be hanging around his old room, I'm not worried in the slightest. I simply did not know what red-lung is, and it caught my curiosity."

"O- Oh…" Her face had paled significantly upon "bloody beds" and "rotting skeletons", and she swallowed hard. "The- The prices haven't changed, since you were last here… 120 for one night."

Janny smiled slightly, handing over the caps and Aunt Vera in turn handed over the key to her room.

"Here you go! I suppose you'd like to rest up now," She giggled, nodding to Bryan. "Bryan can take your bags for you, and he'll show you to your room!"

She glanced over to Bryan, who had been fidgeting and shivering behind her while staring at his feet shyly. He had changed out of his damp clothes the moment Harkness let them all go to escort James to his mother down in the Muddy Rudder, and he waited in the lobby once he was done because Aunt Vera asked him to stay there. He changed out of his beige shirt and baggy brown pants for a grey shirt that was formfitting and had long sleeves that went over his hands, and pants made of thick black material. His favorite combat boots with the steel toes adorned his feet, and he shifted uncomfortably in them. Even though he changed into dry garments, he was still trying to thaw out from the swim he took.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Wilks?" Janny asked softly, and the formal title caused his head to snap up to meet her eyes.

Mr. Wilks?... He wondered with a startled blink. No one had called him that before, it felt strange. Some people used to call his father that, though- as he remembered.

"You don't have to call him so formally, Janny!" Aunt Vera laughed. "The situation doesn't call for it!"

"I'm certain the situation does call for it, Miss Weatherly," She nodded with a smile as she slid her bag off her shoulders. "If I'm correct, Bryan is a grown man now, is he not?" She looked up at him (due to being a few inches shorter than his six-foot straight), and handed him her bag. "He certainly looks like one."

Bryan ducked his head away from her as a modest blush came to his cheeks, and he took her bag by its strap with a nervous hand. From the corner of his eyes through his bangs, he could see her still smiling.

"I suppose you're right," Aunt Vera sighed unhappily, folding her arms over her chest. "I can't believe it's been ten years since you were last here, bringing little Bryan to me… He's grown so much since then!"

Janny looked up at him, face lighting up as her smile broadened for the first time since she walked into Rivet City.

"I see that. He's filled out quite nicely, I must say." She turned back to her. "I gave you payment for a few days in advance- but do not be afraid to let me know if I have miscounted or if there is something wrong."

"Don't worry about it, you're a valued customer and guest at the Weatherly Hotel! Now get some rest, the restaurant is going to open in a few hours for dinner."

"I wished to go to Gary's Galley for a visit," She replied. "But I promise to come see you for lunch sometime this week."

"Enjoy your stay at the Weatherly Hotel!" Aunt Vera called after them as Janny left the hotel lobby, waving to Bryan encouragingly as he skittered out with her backpack after her.

"Bryan, would you mind leading the way to Seagrave's room? I don't quite remember which way it is…" Janny murmured, glancing up and down the hallways with an intimidated look in her eyes.

"Su- Sure…" He stuttered unevenly, brushing past her down the hall that went straight forward. "It's this way."

Janny followed him without saying a word, not even so when they arrived at the room and she unlocked the door, stepping inside and motioning for him to come in as well.

"Don't be shy," She urged with a warm smile. "You can place my pack anywhere. I'll make myself at home soon, anyways- I'm going to be here for a few weeks, after all."

"I know." He replied, setting her bag down at the nearby metal desk. They refurbished the room after Seagrave died- they got a new desk, a new wardrobe with double doors and a safe pressed to the back for valuables, a nice big bed made for two people, and an oval mirror nailed to the wall at the doors side. There was also a small trunk at the foot of the bed, just in case whoever used the room needed more space to place their belongings.

"Well then…" Janny began awkwardly for the first time since she arrived, peeling off her black leather long coat from her sweat-glistened skin and tossed it onto the desk top. "How have you been, Mr. Wilks?"

He still wasn't all that comfortable with the formal name, but he decided not to complain. "Things have been good. Vera's taken good care of me over the years."

"I certainly hope so," She nodded, glancing back at him over her shoulder as she bent over and pulled out a combat knife from her boot hem. "But I see that you're telling the truth- it looks like a few good meals have done you good."

Bryan blushed slightly, looking away. "Th- Thank you… Aunt Vera tried her best."

"I was glad that I was able to find her all those years ago," Janny admitted, gently placing the combat knife on the desk and began working at the pistol holsters she had strapped to her thighs.

"Why?" He asked, his voice peaking with curiosity.

"I was worried that I'd have to resort to… Other choices." She replied, and he noted that she did so a little hesitantly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He tensed slightly, not at all trying to sound rude, but noticed that his voice came off as rude anyways.

"I was afraid that I would have to escort you to Little Lamplight, so you wouldn't be alone and so, at the time, you could be with children your own age… I was afraid because I've seen what happens when a child turns sixteen in that community."

He tilted his head to the side, not quite understanding what she meant. He had heard of Little Lamplight before, sure, he knew it was like an underground city run by kids, but other than that he knew nothing.

"One of the rules the Little Lamplighters firmly abide by is that when their citizens turn sixteen, they are forced to leave to go to Big Town. Big Town is usually targeted by Super Mutants and Slavers or raiders. I couldn't let any of that happen to you…" She explained smoothly. "I had seen it all myself. I escorted a young boy by the name of Sticky in my earlier years, and I had walked into a warzone. Super Mutants came from a nearby Old World police station called Germantown HQ, and they were trying to… collect more captives."

"Did you save the town?" Bryan asked, stepping towards her slightly with interest.

She nodded, brushing past him to go to her bag and pulled out some fresh clothes.

"I did indeed. I rescued two captives that were taken during the fight, and upon returning, I rewired some robots- a Protectron and a Securitron- they had in their scrap yard to continue protecting the town."

A Protectron and Securitron? Bryan thought with wide eyes of bewilderment. The Protectron was alright, but a Securitron could protect a couple of towns on its own. It had a Gatling laser and a missile launcher! If that was the case, then why did she still feel unsure of taking him to Little Lamplight to eventually wind up in Big Town?... It sounded safe enough, right?

"The showers are still in the same place, correct?" Janny asked once she collected all her clean clothes from her bag and zipped it shut, standing up to look back at him. He finally noticed that the neckline of her off-white tank top was damp with sweat, and her ripped jean shorts and lean legs were smeared with blood. She must have gotten into a tussle with something on the way in to Rivet City.

"Yeah, you'll need a clean towel from the hotel, though." He answered with a nod of his head. "We kept them in the bathrooms for a little while, but someone was stealing them for some reason…"

She giggled, smiling brightly at him. "Did you ever find out who?"

"No." He shook his head. "But we keep them in the hotel now- you're gonna hafta get them from Aunt Vera before you head down there."

"Of course, thank you Mr. Wilks."

"N- No problem…" Again with the Mr. Wilks…

The two walked out of the room and she locked her door. As they turned left to return to the hotel, they bathed themselves in silence, not speaking a word. Once they entered the lobby, Bryan plopped down behind the desk, working at the terminal and typing up Janny's name into the guest log as she requested a towel from Aunt Vera. She got what she asked for in a few moments, bade a pleasant thank you and a goodbye and turned to the desk to speak to him once again.

"Is there a time that you get off work?" Janny asked, and the question caught him by utter surprise.

"Wha- What?" He stammered, brows furrowing together in confusion.

She chuckled. "What time does your shift end?" She simplified.

"O- Oh… 'Round eight, after the dinner rush. Why?"

"I was hoping we could spend some of my time visiting Rivet City catching up… I'm honestly quite curious about your new life here." She tilted her head to the side, brushing her curls out of her eyes. "Would we be able to talk over dinner, down at Gary's Galley?"

Bryan's heart began to pound against his ribcage like a sledgehammer, begging to be let free from its skeletal confines. His squared shoulders tensed in nervousness, along with every other muscle in his body, and he cleared his throat, eyes darting away from her.

She only wants to catch up on old times. He scolded himself. That's. All.

"Would that be too uncomfortable for you, Bryan?" She asked in a silken tone, face twisting into slight concern.

"N- No! No!" He stammered, eyes darting away again in embarrassment as his nose and cheeks broke out in a bright red blush- he felt like he had answered that question a little too quickly. "Di- Dinner's fine!"

"Excellent." She smiled, letting go an airy breath of relief. "So does eight o' clock work for you?"

"Can we meet up at 8:30?" He asked quietly, finally daring to look back up at her. "I need to help Aunt Vera with the dishes and stuff, it takes me a while to clean up the place after dinner."

She nodded. "I have all the time in the world. 8:30 it is, then."

With a friendly wave and another goodbye, Janny left with a clean towel and clean clothes in her possession, and Bryan noticed three things.

One- she finally called him by his name instead of Mr. Wilks. He didn't know if it was intentional, or if it slipped on accident, but he liked hearing her say it. It reminded him of back when he was eight years old, and she was reading him a goodnight story…

Two- small talk with her only raised even more questions that he wanted to ask when they got together later that night.

And three- he had never been so excited for dinner in his life.