I sincerely apologize for the slow updates. I was away on break for a while for personal reasons. But I assure you I am alive.

Chapter 44: It's a Girl

The metal screamed in protest as the bridge swung our way to let us back into Rivet City. Dad swayed to and fro over Charon's shoulder haphazardly. Charon's heavy footsteps thumped across the expanse of the old steel walkway towards a nervous Harkness.

"I was told I was not to let the two of you enter the city." Harkness muttered, switching from foot to foot.

Dad coughed lightly to get his attention. "Excuse me, sir. I am back and need these two to come with me. We must speak with Li."

He eyed his body slumped over Charon and accidentally made eye contact with the menacing ghoul. Charon's glare burned into him and he shook it off. "Fine, but make it quick. I'll be escorting the three of you so don't try anything stupid."

Charon grunted and pushed past him. I avoided contact with the security guard. He still managed to make me feel less than a person just by being near me. I pushed back the memories of that night and opened the hatch to the stairwell. He followed behind us.

Dad carelessly hummed along to a song coming through his Pipboy like everything was fine and dandy. I pushed the door to the science lab open with a rusty creak and everyone in the room stopped what they were doing. Not many people visited while they were working.

Doctor Li's eyes widened in shock as we descended the staircase to the bottom floor. Disgusted sneers and glares were thrown our way and Dad pretended not to notice. I crossed my arms once we stopped in front of a stunned lab.

"I..." Li started. "I can't believe you actually found him." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and pressed a hand to her neck.

"Hello, Madison. I'm back." Dad chuckled. He tilted his head back painfully to look at her. "It appears I have been in an accident and my muscles have deteriorated quite a bit."

I scoffed at the use of the word "accident". That stunt wasn't a fucking accident and he knew it. He just wanted her fucking sympathy. He was pathetic.

"James," Li muttered. "what are you doing back here."

Dad sighed and tried to shrug. "How would you like to get the project back up ad running his time?"

Li's brows furrowed in confusion. "Are you sure any of it even still works? We abandoned it almost twenty years go. Mutants took over sometime."

"The mutants will no longer be a problem." Charon's gruff voice broke their conversation.

Dad craned his neck to look at Charon. "And why is that?"

The two exchanged glances. "I took care of them a while back when I went in to find the holotapes."

Memories of that day flooded back to me painfully. He doesn't remember it but I sure as hell remember him throwing me against the wall. I also remember looking back and telling him the only reason I still had his contract was because I didn't want it ending u pin the wrong hands. And then the first kiss.

"Eleanor, I asked you a question." Dad's voice interrupted my thoughts. "How long ago was that?"

I shrugged lightly. "I guess it was a little bit over a month ago. I didn't want to listen to them at first because I was going to flip if you were somewhere else. Which you were."

Dad smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, honey, but there was business that needed to be attended to."

"Which was?" I spat.

He looked away from me. "I was looking for the location of a G.E.C.K. And I was certain that Braun had the answers I needed."

I snorted. "And how did that work out, sir."

Dad tsked in response. "Honey, I thought you would've grown out of your cruel ways."

Charon jostled him roughly to get a point across. He smiled and turned back to Li. "Anyway, if the lab is cleared out now, we can start right away."

Li looked at the ground in thought for a moment, analyzing what to do. Her eyes drifted back and she smiled gently. "Of course, James."

We stood in the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial, surrounded by agitated scientists and engineers. The lab had seen much better days and the work to get it back up and running seemed it would take a few weeks for this project to even get started.

My bag was heavier than before, loaded down with fresh apples and potatoes I had snatched from the lab in Rivet City when everyone else had left. Charon chuckled and shook his head when he caught me stuffing the produce into my bag greedily but let it go.

Someone had pulled a chair into the rotunda and dragged it up the stairs for Dad. He took the seat gratefully and sat up with more dignity than being slung over a shoulder. He looked over the list of damages and sighed. He slumped in the chair tiredly.

"Honey," he called to me. "We will need a lot of help with this. Would you mind if we had your help?"

Charon and I exchanged glances and looked back at him. I nodded and he sighed in relief and smiled weakly. "Thank you, sweetie. We really will be understaffed here."

I nodded once again and rubbed my stomach gently. Charon noticed and leaned closer to whisper. "Everything alright?"

I kept my voice low so only he could hear. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just felt the urge to feel her."

He pulled back and looked at me with confusion. "Her?" he asked above a whisper.

Li looked over to see what was going on and side stepped behind the crowd of assistants. "Is something wrong?"

I shook my head quickly and pulled my hand away from my stomach. Unfortunately, she noticed the movement and looked down at my stomach. I could see her visibly piecing it together and gasp.

Charon pushed the woman away gently and put a finger to his lips. Her tight mouth stretched into a grin and she nodded, understanding what he meant. She returned to the other scientists quietly and didn't draw attention. At least she could be subtle.

Unfortunately, Dad had noticed the three of us and grew suspicious when Charon had told Li to be quiet. We locked eyes and I groaned internally when he motioned for me to come over. I made my way through the crowd and knelt down by the chair next to him.

"What was that about, Eleanor?" Dad asked with concern lacing his words.

I didn't bother leaning closer to him. He had good enough hearing. "I think I'm having a girl. I don't know ho, but I can just feel it... Mother's instinct I guess."

He leaned back and nodded. His face didn't give any indication of what he was thinking. I held my breath nervously, awaiting whatever it was he would say. He looked over and smiled sadly.

"Honey, that's great. Daughters can be a handful though," he chuckled.

My heart sank into my chest. That's all he had to say? Was I really that hard to deal with? Was I not what he wanted me to be?

"But they are wonderful and remind you that there is hope for the world," he whispered. "And even though they can be hard to handle by yourself, that just means they know how to handle themselves."

I let out the breath shakily and it made my eyes sting. My throat was getting tighter and I could feel the tears threatening to spill in front of all these rude assholes. I nodded and stood up quickly. I pushed people out of my way and left the small room. My footsteps were loud on the metal stairs and were quickly followed by much louder, heavier feet.

"What is wrong, Eleanor?" Charon asked worried.

I tripped on the second to last step and yelped. Charon caught my wrist and pulled me to him. I buried my face into his chest and let out a muffled cry. I didn't even know why I was crying. What Dad had said was life changing and so simple.

Charon ran his hands through my hair soothingly and kissed my head. "What happened?"

I pulled back to face him. "Dad aid something really nice and I honestly have idea why I'm crying about it. It's this fucking baby making me so emotional all the time."

He lifted my chin and pressed his chapped lips to mine. He leaned his forehead to mine and placed his large hand on my swelling stomach.

"I can't wait to meet her, Eleanor."