Note: sorry, real life is painful and I'm trudging through. hopefully soon things will be back on track

James had no idea what Lillie had planned. He didn't really understand why she had this idiot man with her; he didn't like the look of him. And her decision to have this Jericho tell the Vault Dwellers a story about the nature of the wastes―

He seriously doubted that the man could convince a Brahmin to look at him with both heads, much less explain how awful things could be out there. Lillie seemed content to stare into the air and ignore them both, while Jericho laid back on the cot and picked his nose. James watched him for a minute before the man threw up a middle finger and grabbed his crotch with his other hand, all without looking at him.

He turned his attention back to Lillie. "Sweetie...?" he asked, gently. Moved to her side of the room and sat down on the cot beside her, her fingers running over the paper with Autumn's message on it.

God, and that man―he hadn't wanted to contemplate it, before. When he and Autumn were discussing the situation after Lillie had "escaped", Autumn had apologized for his rude behavior toward the both of them. Explained that his behavior had been put into play by Eden simply for the purpose of getting Lillie into the wastes. Autumn's body language at the time hadn't lent him to believe he was particularly inclined to romance Lillie―

But James had asked, point-blank, and the response was as if he had suggested the man dip his head in a bucket of irradiated water. Such a negative reaction... perhaps he felt that Autumn had protested too much. That he'd put the words off with such vehemence, that no other solution made sense. Between the odd behavior he'd had in the past―giving him escape, discussing Lillie's going through puberty, even the pleasant look on his face when referring to her being trained by the best―between all of that and the firm protest, James thought he had a fairly accurate idea of how Autumn felt about her.

But, God... he didn't want it to be true.

Lillie didn't bother to look at him, but stared into the air with her hands on the paper and tears at the corner of her eyes. "Ruined," she whispered, and closed her eyes.

"Lillie, I―" James sighed. "I thought that the training... that they were preparing you for a test of VIOLA. That it would only be trials, not actual missions." He ran a hand over his beard.

Her hands twitched on the paper and she breathed out calmly. "I don't think you ever knew much about the Enclave," she muttered, bitterly.

"I didn't, I'll admit that," he said, gently.

"But..." she sighed. "The Enclave is all I know."

"I chose to live, Lillie," he replied. "Your mother died. I couldn't let you die, too."

"And then you died," she said, slowly, opening her eyes and staring into the air again. "Colonel Autumn said you died and I was trying so hard to make the President proud of me―"

"He lied because he wanted to hurt," James said, his voice more firm. "He meant nothing but to hurt you."

"I know," she said, but her fingers were still stroking the message.

He glanced down at her hands for a moment, and frowned. "Lillie, the man doesn't like us. You shouldn't―hold onto this admiration. Autumn won't give us mercy, when he finds out―"

"I don't care," she said, her voice wobbling a little. "I don't have much else to hope for, now do I? I'm―" She wiped her face and shoved the message into her pocket. "I can't be Enclave. We're... we're going out the hard way, because that's the only option we have left."

James blinked in surprise. "Lillie, I don't know what you're thinking," he started.

"It's a game," she said, wobbling again. She stared at him the whole time she was talking. "It's a game and we're the pieces, and the President is moving us on his board. He sees through my eyes and he's planned for me to be here, and he knows more than he lets on." She set her face into a hard look. "Colonel Autumn was pushed into being rude. I was thrown to the wolves. You were kept back as a sacrifice. This is a game that you don't know how to play―and you have to be careful, Dad."

"I understand," he tried to interject, but she kept talking.

"Careful, because now that you're here, the President is counting on you to behave in a predictable way. He wants you to do what you want to do. He wants you to stop the feed and try to lock the door. But they won't let us stay. And you aren't taking out VIOLA." She kept her eyes on his for a long moment. "I won't let you."

James blinked in surprise. Certain conversations he'd had... suddenly made more sense. "Autumn," he said, slowly. "That's why you were worried about trusting him."

Lillie nodded. "Once I was outside, I realized something wasn't right." She breathed out. "Colonel Autumn warned me when I was blinded that we were being manipulated. He wouldn't tell me who it was... but he..." she closed her eyes and a trembling smile came over her face. "...He wasn't the man that I thought he was. He was kind, and understanding."

"The man treated us as second-class citizens," James put in. "I have been threatened with death every single time I talk to him, Lillie. He will not hesitate to kill me, if he is given the option―"

"Dad..." She turned her head to look at him with tears in her eyes. "He was working against President Eden. And he failed." She wiped her nose and looked down. "The President set him up to hurt me, on purpose. As punishment, he made Colonel Autumn act in a way he shouldn't have. And now... now he's being punished in other ways." She sniffled a little. "Ways that I don't like, and I know you don't either."

James knew exactly what she was referring to. He recalled Autumn's face when he'd glanced at James in the Vertibird. The man was anxious, and clearly concerned about Lillie, even if he'd tried to hide it. Lillie was concerned about Colonel Autumn in return, and that kind of anxiety could be used for unlimited manipulation... if the feelings were strong enough.

Was it too much for him to hope the feelings were only fonder due to absence?

When he'd approached Lillie at the Vault door, and put his hand over her face... she hadn't fought with him. She'd listened to him, carefully explaining why he was there with her, and then she'd asked if he had new orders. He'd read her the message from Autumn, and she'd sucked in a deep breath, and they'd fought again. About everything and nothing. About his lie, about her "combat test", about her being violent.

He knew then, when she'd pushed him down after his remarks about the Colonel, that she cared for the man. Hadn't wanted to admit it to himself. Lying by omission was the thing to do, for so long, it had become second nature for him. Shameful.

He'd debated about informing her that Eden was a supercomputer; she wouldn't want to believe him, though. She didn't want to listen to his explanations to begin with, much less let herself be educated about the real threat of the Enclave. He wanted to tell her, but he―he couldn't risk her being even more upset with him, right now.

Not with so much going on, not if he wanted her to work with him.

"Lillie, please," he said, his tone tortured. "Even if we are outside of the bunker, there is danger from the Enclave―Eden can still―"

"Shut up, Dad," she said, growing angry. "You have no idea what's going on. This―" she snorted. "This insanity has gone too far. I'm going to finish the mission. Then, I'm going back to Raven Rock and I―" she threw a hand up in exasperation. "I don't know what will happen, but I'm going to get to the bottom of this―"

"Lillie," James chided, as carefully as he could. "The President has to know what you're thinking. There's no way you can sneak up on him."

"I won't stop," Lillie said, seriously. "Saving Raven Rock from President Eden is the only thing I can do―to―" her voice broke. "To try to prove that I'm―that I'm worthy of being Enclave."

He felt for his daughter. James was sympathetic to her plight―to what she must feel. He understood that she thought she would never be able to fit into the strange nature of the wasteland, even if that was where she came from. He'd taken one life away from her and substituted another, and she was confused. She couldn't hope to fit in with the Enclave... but she was too brainwashed to fit in with the wastelanders―

At least, the ones he'd rather she fit in with. James shot a glance at the man across the room. There was nothing pleasant he could say about the man. And nothing else he would bear to repeat.

"Lillie," James said again, his voice stronger this time. "I won't ask you to forgive me. I don't think you can, right now. But I love you, and I've always wanted the best for you. Can you believe me when I say that?"

"I will consider it," she said, sullenly. "No one but you seemed to care about me for the longest time."

James tried to smile. "If you can convince the Vault that it should ally with the Enclave, and they tell the President that you aren't from the Vault―what will happen afterward?"

"We'll be executed," she answered, flatly. "Or we'll escape again. And we can't escape if I have VIOLA." She looked at him with a blank face. "So, we'll be executed."

"Can you let me―" he paused, trying not to sound too pushy. "Can you let me try, Lillie?"

"To do what?" she asked, her tone hard. "Turn off the signal? To fix my eyesight so I can see without the lenses? So we can just run away and let all those people in the bunker, suffer?" she scoffed and looked away from him. "That's a cowardly thing to do. I don't know why, but I expected more from you."

James frowned, angrily. "Lillie," he said, trying not to argue with her again. "I am certain that Colonel Autumn can come up with a way to get rid of Eden, if he's not distracted..." he sighed. "By you, and what's going on with this situation."

Lillie almost smiled. Her cheek twitched briefly. She didn't say anything, only stared at the floor.

"It is not your responsibility to ensure the safety of those people," James said, slowly. "You can't be Enclave, even if you try to help them. It's simply not an option."

Lillie sniffled again. "Thanks to you," she muttered, and wiped her eyes. "I have no home. I have no family. You―" Lillie stood up abruptly and moved, sitting down beside Jericho on the other side of the room. He flicked his eyes at the girl and then refocused on the ceiling without a word.

"You're dead, Dad," she whispered, and James' heart finally broke in two.