Work Text:
Jenny hadn’t expected to be shoved into the Wasteland at the age of 19. She had plans to settle down in the Vault, maybe have a kid or two. Becoming a wastelander and scrounging junk to afford food and water didn’t mesh with those plans well.
She also didn’t expect to find a short redhead that wanted her to go into a literal minefield for “science.” She definitely didn’t expect to actually do it.
But there she was, tiptoeing along the road and quickly disarming the beeping mines she got too close to. A bullet shot past her, barely missing her shoulder. She didn’t spare a second thought before pulling out her newly-repaired 10mm pistol and shooting the man that had sent said bullet towards her. She felt a little guilty, after seeing how old he was. But he hadn’t really given her a choice, had he?
She started her trek back to Megaton, back to the easily excitable redhead that sent her to what was almost her demise. It was hard to be angry with her after the smile too big and genuine for this hellhole spread across her face, though. That, and Jenny was a fairly forgiving person. She had forgiven Butch DeLoria for giving her a nosebleed on her tenth birthday and for pulling on her pigtails long enough to save his mom from radroaches, and he’d even given her his old jacket!
That jacket and Amata’s 9mm pistol were the only things that she left the Vault with. It was almost sad (it was sad if she thought too hard about it). There was definitely no going back to her old life, though. She had actually begun to accept that as collected the 300 caps the barkeep asked for information regarding her father. She’d thought it would be easier to agree to that than anger him further, with all that was at stake.
Jenny opened the door to Craterside Supply and was greeted with a very enthusiastic Moira Brown, grinning her famous grin and asking about the minefield. She tried to answer as accurately as she could, but she was tired and she’d been attacked by a small group of raiders on her way back. She had the bloodied leg to prove it.
“The next part of the first chapter has to do with the effects of radiation on the body!” Moira said, practically vibrating with excitement.
“You need me to get irradiated? You realize that’s dangerous, right?” Jenny replied. She needed a drink if she was going to go roll around in the water next to the now-disarmed bomb in the middle of town.
“I’ll fix you right up after I’m done, I promise.”
And once again, Jenny found herself doing something stupid for the tiny merchant. She really didn’t know how this kept happening, and she’d be damn sure not to let it happen again. After this, she was done.
At least the caps are good, she thought as she took a long drink of water. It made her stomach hurt but her PipBoy said she was only at 300 rads, and Moira wanted someone that was really fucking irradiated, apparently. 200 would have been good enough, but she found herself continuting on. She didn’t want to tell Moira that she didn’t want to put her all into helping her.
It was ridiculous, though, because she had only met the girl a few weeks prior. There were no good reasons for her to avoid her disappointment like she did, and she couldn’t help but wonder why . For fuck’s sake, if Butch saw her doing such stupid shit for her, she’d never hear the end of it.
You really can’t say no, can you Nosebleed?
Jenny laughed quietly to herself. Maybe the radiation was driving her insane.
She walked back to Craterside Supply, feeling rather sick. When she opened the doors, the effort almost made her vomit.
“You’re back!”
And the cycle continued.