The Cure For Curie (Complete!)

Welcome Home

"I can't believe the overseer allowed this." Officer Edwards spat as he checked boxes off on his clipboard. He was the head of security for Vault 81 and he wasn't shy about voicing his displeasure at the new arrangements.

"We will be stationed in the lower laboratory. You won't even notice we are here. Just as it was before." Curie replied trying to be as polite as possible so the check in process could move smoothly.

"Yeah well, if I remember right, people almost died last time because of your experiments down there."

"Actually Officer Edwards, it was thanks to Curie and the General here that my Austin survived." Dr. Penske interjected as she checked Curie over.

"Yeah let's just get this over with. Follow me. We will escort you down to the lab." Edwards said as he waved over three more guards.

"Curie dear, I'll let Shaun know you're hear. He's so excited to see you. He's just in the atrium with my grandson."

"Thank you doctor." Curie smiled as she turned to follow the men.

She followed the guards, pulling a calm John behind her, to a separate elevator that lead to the once secret labs underneath the vault. Once off the lift, the view almost took Curie's breath away.

The maintenance crew of Vault 81 and the work of her own people, had breathed new life into the labs. What had once been a ruined desolate atrium that she had called home, now shined with the sterile white matching the rest of the vault. The computers and terminals had all been repaired, the mole rat cages fixed, the floors swept, and bits of paintings and little statues now lined the walls.

It was unrecognizable to the prison she once wandered. She took a deep breath as her eyes swept over the place. It would be good, she thought. This was were she would change lives. If she could cure John, she could help the other ghouls all over the Wasteland. This was an incredibly important task she was taking on. Her heart knew it would all be worth it. She would beat this.

"Mother!" A familiar voiced squealed from behind her. A beaming Shaun barreled into her arms as she turned around. She squeezed him tight. Seeing his face made her realize just how much she had missed the boy.

"Shaun, how are you? You are well, yes?" She said as she knelt in front of him to meet his gaze.

"Yes, mother. I'm worried about father though. The Minutemen said he was unwell." He spoke as he moved his head to look behind her, horror fled to his features as he caught sight of John.

The vault security were behind Curie, fighting with the now very hostile ghoul to secure him in the old mole rat cage. His teeth bared, he growled at the men, swiping his hands at anyone who tried to get close to the noose. Officer Edwards pushed forward and grabbed the wooden stick holding the Sole Survivor.

"You idiots. You're gonna get us all killed." He shouted.

He pushed John ahead of him into the cell, putting one hand through the bars. Once his hold was good he moved the other hand in between the metal. After he slammed the gate closed, he yanked hard, slamming John's head into the cell. He yelped in pain but could not move against it. Curie had to stop herself from intervening. Edwards loosened the cable and freed him from his bonds, as John tried desperately to grab the men on the other side.

"There." He said throwing the pole to the ground. "Move it. Back upstairs, all of you."

"Thank you, Officer Edwards." Curie said.

"Yeah. Just don't expect us to help you if this thing kills you down here." He grumbled before making his way back to the elevator.

Shaun walked closer to the bars, inspecting his father. The fear gone now, replaced with an inquisitive gaze. He turned back to Curie after a long moment.

"What should we do now, mother?"

"We should get to work. We have quite a bit to do."

                                 -----
Curie worked tirelessly for days on studying John. She needed to know how his mind and systems worked now. She had the Minutemen bring in bodies and bodies of dead ghouls to autopsy and study. Shaun had become her faithful shadow, taking it all in, learning more and more each day.

Without rest, days quickly turned into weeks and weeks into months. Collecting data, writing new formulas, testing the solutions. Nothing had made even a ding in John's condition. She refused to stop pushing, keeping in mind how long she had stayed in these labs in her previous stint.

Preston had come by once a month to bring her news from Castle and receive updates on John's condition. After years had started to tick by, Garvey sent only provisioners to collect the information.

Six years had come and gone, sequestered in those labs. Preston and Haylen had stopped in to beg for Curie's help in defeating the raiders that were now plaguing the Commonwealth.

They had started capturing settlements from all over, demanding caps be sent to their home base in Nuka World. Boston had quickly become enslaved again under a new tyrant they called the Overboss. It was no longer Curie's fight. Her work was more important. She hated turning them away, but they left her no other option.

Nine years now had flashed before her and her work. Shaun and her had been down in the depths of Vault 81 for nine years with no luck yet. The provisioners had long stopped coming and she had begun to fear the worst. No. She couldn't worry about that now, besides she had plenty of ghouls left to study.

In the years that followed she had only stopped her work once. She had started to forget just how long they had been down there when she had heard gunfire in the upper levels. The vault above her was being attacked. She had questioned whether she should take up arms and fight the strange looking raiders pouring in.

They had skipped past her secret entrance as they looted the vault and took prisoners. After watching on the monitor for a few days, she was relieved to see they were clearing out and her secret was safe for now. Besides, not many lives had been lost in the fight. Those captured would do fine as long as they did as they were told. Curie had cut power to the elevator and continued on with her work. This was much more important. This was everything.