"600 Rads!? Are you insane Moira!?" Kirk exclaimed. "Well, I need to study the effects of radiation poisoning and how well my Super RadAway works." she explained, unbothered. "You will be fine hun. You didn't develop any of the expected side effects with the Super Hydra to fix your broken arm. I bet you won't with the Super RadAway either!" she explained with positivity. "Expected side effects? You told me there were no side effects!" Kirk said in shock. "Did I not?" Moira wondered. Kirk groaned and looked over the schematics one more time. "Alright, I will defuse the bomb while getting irradiated for your survival guide. You will stand nearby with Doc Church to help me if needed. he said. "Sounds good! Just follow our plan we can up with for the defusing, and you should be done in 2 hours!" she said, getting excited. '2 hours...fuck me.' he thought.
The town had gathered all around the bomb to watch the event. There was no point in running, nowhere to go safe enough to survive the blast. They had all decided to watch the man who survived raiders, and Talon Mercs defuse the bomb. Simms had to place the Church of Atom folks under arrest since they had formed a barrier around the bomb. He didn't like it but knew it was for the best. Kirk approached the bomb and took his boots off, and rolled up his pants. Moira had set up the tools nearby and her Super RadAway. Doc Church did the same with his medicine in case it didn't work. After Kirk told him what Moira gave him to fix his broken arm, he scolded him for even trying it. In the future, Kirk was to tell him of any experimental drug that 'crazy woman' wanted to try on him. Kirk took a deep breath and stepped into the water and taped the schematics and guide him, and Moira was created to the side of the bomb next to the access panel. He already heard his geiger counter ticking, so he went to work and opened the panel. He started with the first step. 'You are gonna fuck this up.' he thought. 'Whoa, where did that come from?' he thought instantly after the last. He shook it off and started to work.
An hour had passed, and everyone was getting nervous, even Simms. He was pacing nearby watching Kirk work. Kirk was sweating profusely. He didn't know if it was the heat of the day, his nerves, or the radiation causing it. Likely a mix of all three. He checked his radiation levels on his PIPBOY and saw he was at 250. 'Oh boy, that explains the nausea.' he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Pliers, please." he said with his hand reached out. Moira gave him the tool. "How are you feeling? Nauseous? Fatigued? Hallucinations? Oh, please don't let it be hallucinations..." she said quickly. "Nausea and fatigue, but I can keep going. Focusing is helping." he replied, working. "Oh good, these are great notes!" she squealed, writing them down. "Moira let him focus." Doc said nervously. She nodded and backed up, talking to herself.
Gob, Nova, and Silver watched from the Saloon. "Is he gonna be okay?" Nova asked. "I think the better question is, will he defuse it or blow us all up?" Gob added. "He's got this." Silver said plainly. "Did he really kill a bunch of raiders with a kitchen knife?" Gob asked, eyeing Silver. "We don't talk about what happened in there." she replied dryly. "You have a lot of faith in him. It must be true." Gob said, looking down at him.
Kirk was at the final step to disarm the bomb. His vision was blurry, but he could focus it if he willed it. 'Fuck, this is awful.' he thought as he stared at the five wires he had been working on exposing during the last few steps. All he had to do was cut the yellow and green wires at the same time to finish defusing it. He didn't want to look at his radiation level. The last time he did, it was at 450. He brought the cutters up to the wires. 'Fuck what if I'm hallucinating the colors? Oh fuck they are blurring together. Focus! Focus!' he thought desperately. "You are gonna kill all these poor bastards." a womans' voice said. He whipped around but saw no one near him. He knew that voice too. 'Shake it off, she is dead, you killed her. It's just the radiation.' he thought, looking back at the wires. "Are you sure I am just the radiation? You hurt me, and here I thought our bond went deeper than that." she whispered. Kirk did his best to ignore the voice and focused back on the wires. He had two placed in the cutters, the yellow and green. He took a deep breath and snipped them. He heard a beep and then silence. He threw the cutters at the toolbox and gave a thumbs up. Everyone exploded with cheer. Kirk walked out and collapsed on the ground. Immediately, the cheering stopped, and Moira and Doc rushed to him.
"Talk to me honey, what are you feeling?" Moira asked prepping the Super RadAway. "Oh for fucks sake woman! Just use your wonder drug and leave him be!" Doc Church snapped getting his stuff ready as well. Kirk held up his hand and said, "I can hear... colors, that's how... I was able to... cut the right wires." Kirk passed out after that statement. Doc Church and Moira looked at eachother and both agreed not to mention that to anyone ever. Moira started the Super RadAway and waited to see the results with excitement.
Kirk woke up the next day feeling like a new man. 'Whoa, that must've been the best sleep I have ever had.' he thought. He stood up and felt... different. He was full of energy and felt... new. He walked out of the room and realized he was in Morias' Craterside Supply. He went downstairs and saw Moira leave her work shop. "Oh! You are awake! How do you feel?" she asked, grabbing her notes. "I feel great, like a new man!" Kirk said happily. "That drug of yours worked too, I see. No radiation levels, according to my PIPBOY." he continued. "Good, good. I am happy to hear." she said, but then she took a breath and looked at Kirk. "What is it?" he asked. "Well, we found a teeny, tiny, uhhh mutation." she said. Kirk stared at her blankly. "What kind of mutation?" he asked, getting angry. "Well, have you noticed any changes on your arms or legs?" she asked. Kirk looked over his arms and legs. "Take off your shirt hun." she said. Kirk looked at her hesitant. "Could you...uh...look away, please?" he asked. She turned around, and Kirk removed the long sleeve shirt and looked at his arms. The torture scars were gone. He took off his pants. Same result. Scars were gone. He looked at his chest... Those were still there. He put his clothes back on. "Okay, so what?" He asked and looked at her, confused. "Well, it seems when you have a high dose of radiation...that your limbs heal fully, bones included, we guess." she explained. "Only my limbs." he repeated. "Yeah, and sorry for playing with your DNA like a cat with a ball of yarn." she added sheepishly. "Well, it could be worse. I could have an extra arm or eyeball." he joked. He touched his chest and wished those scars were gone, too.
Kirk walked out of Craterside Supply to see the town back to its bustling self. He went to the Brass Lantern and got his free meal for the day. "Well, look who is up and at em!" Jenny said with a smile. "How are you, darlin?" she asked. "Never better." he replied, eating the iguana on the stick. Multiple people came by and patted him on the back or shoulder, thanking him for what he did. Some even gave gifts like Stimpacks, food, or caps. He tried to decline these gifts, but people insisted. Simms finally showed up and dropped a big bag of caps, keys, and paper. "Sign that, and the house is yours." he said, sitting down. Kirk signed his name and passed the paper back to him. "So I hear there was a...hiccup in the radiation thing." he said, folding the paper. "Yeah, turns out my limbs will heal now when under a great amount of radiation." Kirk said plainly, rolling up his sleeve. "So just your limbs then?" Simms asked, grabbing his food from Jenny. "Just the limbs, Sheriff." Kirk answered, drinking his Nuka Cola. "I see. Well after I finish this meal, I'll show you the house." Simms said, taking a bite of food.
"This can't be right, Sheriff." Kirk said, looking at the big house. "No, this is the one I'm giving you." Simms said, unlocking the door. They entered, and Kirk got teary-eyed. His house was decorated like his vault. "Moira got some fellas together and decorated it while you were recovering from the radiation. She figured you were homesick, so." Simms said. "How did she know how a vault looks?" Kirk asked, walking around. "There are other vaults in the Capital Wasteland son, and Moira is the curious sort. It doesn't surprise me that she went vault diving at some point. All this stuff is from her vault diving days, apparently." Simms explained, taking a seat. "Explains why she was interested in how life worked in mine." Kirk said, opening the fridge. He then heard humming, and a robot came floating down from upstairs. "Oh! I thought I heard someone enter! Welcome Master Kirk, I am your Robo Butler! You may call me Wadsworth." it said. "A Robo Butler? Does everyone have one of these?" Kirk asked Simms. "No, this was Moira's too. She wanted you to have it as thanks for helping with the guide." Simms said. Kirk turned to Wadsworth. "Hello Wadsworth, pleasure to meet you." Kirk said. "The pleasure is all mine, sir! My sensors say you are a bit dehydrated. Here you go, sir, a little top off won't hurt!" Wadsworth said, dispensing water in a glass and handing it to Kirk. "Thanks, Wadsworth." Kirk said, drinking the water. It was purified! Moira was crafty for sure.
Kirk had a housewarming party that night. Simms, Gob, Nova, Silver, the Stahls, Doc Church, Moira, and Stockholm (under Doc's supervision) all came by. Gob had brought liquor, and Jenny brought food. Kirk noticed Leo and Silver had gotten close. He brought the two of them together to help each other through their recovery from chems. Stockholm was doing better, and in another week, it should be good to start work again. Nova and Gob were best friends, and it showed. It was a nice evening of eating and drinking. Kirk for once since he had left his Vault had felt at peace. But then he thought of his father... and how he wished he was here with his new friends. He knew soon he would have to venture out and find him, regardless if he was ready for the wasteland. He decided to discuss this with Simms.
While Kirk was enjoying his night with friends, Burke had returned dressed up with the garb of a common wastelander. He went for the bomb and stopped when he saw the schematics and guide taped to the side. 'No, that little bastard!' he thought and ripped open the panel. He saw Kirk's work and knew it was too late. The little bastard defused the bomb with the schematics he provided. He slammed the panel shut. "Fuck." he said under his breath. 'He outplayed me. No one has ever out played me. I have never failed a job.' he thought getting more angry. He saw a passerbyand asked, "Excuse me, where is the man who defused the bomb? I haven't had a chance to thank him." The man pointed toward a house and said, "He lives up there. Have a good night." Burke nods and heads up to the house. He peeked through the window and saw Kirk and his friends having a good time. Burke thought of all the ways he could kill him tonight. 'No, that would be too easy, too forgiving.' Burke thought. He left Megaton thinking of all the plans he will use to make Kirks life a living hell.