Fandom Why Does the Sun Go On Shining (closed)

[sumurset]

Calder had fallen behind Victoria as they approached the scientists. Though he had had an air of authority previously, he shied away as they approached. Had he been left to deal with them alone, he definitely could have managed, but far preferred leaving the job to Victoria.


When she addressed him, he shook his head. "No, that's alright. I can make do." It wasn't as if the whole town was in the vault, after all. Most of them were simply experiencing shock, as it were.


Inevitably, he hoped they had had the forethought to invite a psychologist on board. These people didn't just need physical help.


They were shown the clinic and the doctor couldn't help but feel relieved. It was fully-stocked. Had enough supplies in the clinic alone to last a month, if they were resourceful. Calder assumed, as well, there was storage somewhere.


He looked around; getting acquainted with the space he was undoubtedly going to become very familiar with as the days went on.


After a moment, he sat down at crossed his ankle over his knee. Calder invited Victoria to sit, as well. He would help her once his own feet were mended.


Which wasn't hard. A simple wipe-down with alcohol and a wash of hydrogen peroxide insured that no foreign bacteria was going to make a meal of his foot. Once the pain had subsided, he slicked on some neosporin and wrapped his feet up like they were a mummy's.


Victoria came next. The same treatment was given to her, though he was a bit more gentle and took longer, so she wouldn't have to deal with too much pain.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Once she was sure the two were situated in the clinic, Doctor Jones left, returning to her post out side the core of the vault once more.


Victoria watched her go and it was only after the door shut that she let herself sit down.


Once her weight was off her feet, they started to hurt. Frowning, she looked down at them. They were covered in a mix of dirt and blood, small rocks clinging to her flesh. God she hadn't even noticed.


After Calder fixed his own torn up feet, Victoria offered him her own one at a time. The hydrogen peroxide stung, but it was almost normal sitting there with him, letting him be the doctor that he was.


"In a room like this it almost feels like home."


Well, for him it might have. It was sterile looking with crisp white lights and air that smelled both too clean and like anti-bacterial spray.


She tried to smile a little at her own comment but it fell short. The slight humor was replaced with something almost tender.


"How are you feeling, Calder?"

 

[sumurset]

"How do you suppose we get them all in here while keeping things organized?" He posed a question to her in response to her own. It was purposeful. At the moment, Calder didn't really care how he felt. That could come later.


With a gentle touch, he wiped away the dirt and grime that had accumulated in the shallow cuts of her sole. "I'm worried people might.. panic. I'm afraid it will be like poking a bee hive." He chuckled at his own humor.


"I just really don't want them swarming the clinic, potentially breaking things.."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

He didn't answer her question. Victoria couldn't help but frown a little when she realized that. It wasn't as though it was an empty question, she was genuinely concerned. Still, she didn't press the issue. He had other concerns on his mind.


"I'm not sure if you've noticed but I'm kind of good with people. Ouch." She hissed slightly at a particularly sore spot.


She had always been the charismatic sort, but being the perfect house wife had only made her better at handling people like this.


It was one of the few skills she had.


"If you can get them fixed up I'll keep everyone nice and calm while they wait. Between the two of us we can keep it organized, I think."

 

[sumurset]

"You think so?" His brows knitted together as he began wrapping bandages around her second foot. When he was done, he tied them off and stood back.


Looking at her a bit uncertainly, he nodded. "If you think you may prevent any sort of.. riot.. from breaking out while I deal with each person, then I think it is best if we start sooner, rather than later."


He glanced over her and chuckled.


"It might also do to change into something a bit more modest. Something tells me they will take you more seriously, if you do."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"I'm offended you'd imply that a woman of my caliber could ever be anything but modest."


She placed a hand on her chest dramatically before standing on her newly bandaged feet. he had chuckled and she took that as a good sign.


He was right, she didn't exactly look like she was ready to entertain a group of people.


Well, maybe entertain them, but that wasn't exactly on her agenda right then.


Taking her vault suit, Victoria looked around for a moment before she found the adjoining bathroom to the clinic. Excusing herself, she slipped inside.


The lights were bright and in the mirror, she could see a dirty version of her face staring back at her, one that had been streaked with tears and dirt. Her hair was more than a mess, it looked like rats had tried to nest in it. So, with a sigh, she turned on the water and got to work.


More than a few minutes later, Victoria stepped back into the clinic looking nice and fresh in her vault suit that hugged a bit too close to her curves.


Her hair was brushed back into something of a stylishly lazy ponytail, exposing her clean face that had been dusted with a bit of baby powder to keep the shine away.


She didn't look perfect, like she belonged behind a white picket fence whit a husband and two kids, but, rather, she looked presentable, professional. Not her style, but it would work.


No one was in the clinic yet, but she could see faces starting to appear behind the windows.


"Well, are you ready for this madness?"

 

[sumurset]

"I suppose as ready as I'll ever be." While she'd gotten busy with herself, Calder had taken it upon himself to get the clinic ready. All of the base necessities he would need were in reach--bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and a stack of heavy woolen blankets for anyone who was going through shock.


The doctor himself was perched on a chair by a tidy-looking desk. One he suspected was meant for himself; head of medical.


"Only let a family in at a time. Much more than that and I'm afraid of what they might think is a good idea."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

With a nod, Victoria started the process.


She let families in one at a time, or small groups of good friends if they were otherwise alone.


More often than not she left Dr. Wilde with the small families as she went out into the waiting room to sooth others. She told stories, put band-aids on small scratches that didn't need them because it made the children feel better, but more than anything, she just kept everyone distracted. Some would burst into tears or start screaming, and dealing with the aftermath of that was the hardest because she was coming to realize just how herd-like people really were. They were frightened animals, over fed cattle who were on edge and fed off the emotions of others.


That in itself was almost sad.


The most important cases went in first, and hours later, the final dwindling numbers took nothing but a few bandages and calm words to get them all fitted up and sent on their way. If she was tired from all of that, she couldn't imagine how Calder must have been feeling. She hadn't even really been helping, she'd just been keeping the peace.


When the final duo left, a father and his little girl with big blue eyes and hair that looked like sunshine, Victoria smiled and waved at them. The girl waved back, a small pink bandage wrapped around her finger.


She turned and slipped back into the main room, listening as the door hissed shut behind her in time with her sigh.


"That was...fun."


It wasn't.

 

[sumurset]

He was swamped.


Calder had had busy days, sure, but none of them had been like that. Back at the hospital, there were others around willing to help. More staff. Even robots who were always eager to assist.


Being all alone with so many people was like being shoved through a meat grater.


When it was all said and done, when the little girl left with her father--the sweetest little girl who nearly made Calder burst into tears with longing and sorrow--he collapsed on the bed.


Perhaps he was being melodramatic, but he didn't care. He could hardly feel his feet.


Putting an arm over his face, he chuckled.


His chuckles slowly grew into outright laughter; body shaking with the force of it.


After the fit was over he exhaled weightily.


"Oh, god. It's all so sad you just have to laugh."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"You can say that again."


She couldn't help but chuckle, shaking her head as she leaned on the wall close to the bed in question.


The fact was that it was sad. Everything about it was all so sad. The people, the situation.


Calder.


She felt bad for him, genuinely, truly bad, and that wasn't feeling she was all too familiar with.


Victoria pushed a stray hair back out of her face. Knowing he probably didn't want her trying to reach out to him and that words meant nothing in comparison to actions, she pushed herself off of the wall and stretched her arms out.


"I'm going to go get us some food so you don't have to go out and deal with anyone else. Have any preferences?"

 

[sumurset]

"...Thank you." He slowly sat up; hands resting on the mattress at either side of him. Thinking it over, he shrugged.


"Anything that doesn't have peanuts works fine for me."


Calder offered her a smile, then, and leaned his back against the wall; eyes turning to survey the clinic.


It was far less orderly now that he had had to see to so many individuals. He made a mental note to start putting things back in their proper places the next days.


Damn, he just wished Allan was around.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Nothing with peanuts.


Though she nodded to herself and strolled for the door, she hesitated when she reached it. Looking back one time, she let herself give him a sympathetic half smile.


"You were amazing, doctor."


With that, she was gone.


The diner was just starting to really get going by the time she got there. People lingered, some drank, and others just whispered to their friends and loved ones. Victoria didn't talk to anyone and no one spoke with her as she got their meals. Steak and potatoes with a nice cold soda for Calder, and a hot sandwich for herself with a bottle of red wine because there was nothing classier.


The thought made her scoff and smile.


Careful not to drop anything, she nudged the button to open the door with her shoulder. When she got back inside, she sat the tray of food down on the desk near the terminal.


"You know, I think this is the most time we've ever spent together." It was an easy sentence, something of a normal conversation as she took her own plate and sat down.

 

[sumurset]

"I think you're right." He chuckled, then, and stood up from the cot. Walking over to his desk, he plopped down, pulling his tray of food closer.


He wanted to say "thank you" again, but felt it would be a bit too repetitive. People didn't say it over and over again, did they? No, that sounded like it would be weird.


Taking a sip of his cola before digging in, Calder managed to get a few potatoes knocked out before he continued talking.


"I think the longest you and I have spoken was when you come over with pies and the like." He smiled softly, almost nostalgically. As if those times were a lifetime ago. "I enjoyed it."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"To be perfectly honest with you, they weren't extras."


She had always told him they were. She acted like it was a total accident, that her recipes were wrong and she just accidentally made too much. But she didn't. It seemed like such a silly thing to have even fibbed about looking back on it, but Victoria had her reasons.


"I thought you liked them and, well, you deserved something a little special now and then. Besides, Donald never did like my baking much."


Or he just liked to tell her that to get under her skin.


Didn't matter one way or another though, did it?


She smiled, something bitter finding its way into her expression as she bit into her own food, leaning back in her chair as though she were already comfortable with all of this madness.

 

[sumurset]

"Huh." For the life of him, Calder really had no idea why she would fib about something like that. He really did enjoy her baking. In fact, her occasional trip to his house had had him growing an infatuation for the woman. One he never acted on, thanks to her being married.


Part of it was her genuinely interesting personality, another was her good looks, but mostly it was the gaping wound his ex-wife had left him with that he desperately needed to find a bandage for.


Even though he was a doctor he didn't want to accept the fact that maybe bandages would repair this one. This injury had to heal all on its own.


He shuddered at the thought.


"You're a very good cook, Victoria." He left it at that. Calder had started thinking of that crush again. For some reason, when he looked at her now, after the shit that they went through not 5 hours ago, well... it was like the shock of it all had just knocked the crush right out of his mind. All he saw when he looked at her now was a really good friend. Someone who would bond with him over the travesty.


He looked back to his plate.


"I'm just surprised you kept coming over. Was pretty weird at first." Not that she was weird, it was just weird that.. that anyone was willing to put up with the first stage of friendship with him. A stage that involved a lot of awkward, uncertain glances and dull conversation.


He started at his steak.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Thought you needed the company."


It was an honest answer, one spoken quietly. She was perceptive, had notice the woman who had seemed to live in the house but, more than that, she noticed when she just vanished.


What their relationship was she had never really been sure, but after that no one came in or out of the home but him.


It must have been lonely to have a house like that to himself.


"Besides you always came off as a nice guy and that was a bit odd to me. Nice guys aren't something you find just anywhere."


No, it seemed most men in her life were people Victoria genuinely loathed.


Her father, her husband, hell even the man across the street from her was more of an ass than anything else.


Maybe that was why she and his wife had gotten along so well.


She quickly cast the thought aside, deciding that thinking about the woman she had been so close with was a bad idea.


"God it seems like so long ago already doesn't it?"


She stood, searching around the room before grabbing an empty cup. She uncorked the bottle of wine with a bit too much skill and lifted her brows at him in a silent question, asking if he wanted some too.

 

[sumurset]

He looked at the bottle, brow furrowing slightly. After quickly chewing the bite of steak in his mouth and swallowing it, he nodded. "Just a bit, though."


"And, yes... It seems like it's been a long time. Longer than I think it should. We've been in here a few hours and it already feels like days.." He shook his head, setting down his fork.


Suddenly, Calder wasn't hungry.


Quickly changing topics, he cleared his throat. "But, yeah. The company was appreciated. You can only live so long alone in a big house before it gets to you." For him it took a month.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Pouring two glasses, one only half full, she took her own and sat back in the chair.


Stress was still buzzing in her brain, but it was nice to just talk for a bit. The doctor had always been something of an oddity to her and she finally had the chance to pick his brain, to really get to know him.


"Glad you didn't get too annoyed with my randomly appearing on your door step. I would have done it more had I known you didn't mind."


And there was something teasing in her words, something flirty and light.


"Now I know I'm going to sound really nosy but I feel I have to ask. Were you...always alone in that home of yours? I find it hard to imagine a bachelor would buy such a big place for just himself."


Victoria was careful with her words, aware to an impossible degree of how her tone sounded so she could keep it casual, personal.

 

[sumurset]

He deadpanned her when she posed the question.


Accepting the glass, he downed it quickly.


Setting the now-empty cu down on the desk, he sighed; relaxing back in his chair.


"No, I wasn't." He so desperately wanted to leave it at that but he knew she wouldn't be satiated. "I bought it for my wife and I."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

His wife.


Did that mean he was a widow then? Or had she left?


With the way Calder had responded, she wasn't about to ask, not yet. Instead, she took a long sip of her wine.


Maybe someone else would have apologized for asking, but Victoria didn't because she wouldn't have meant it.


"At least you aren't all alone in that big house anymore. Granted, being stuck underground with all of us probably isn't any better is it?"

 

[sumurset]

He snorted.


"It's not all that bad. Keeping the clinic running will keep me busy enough. Good distraction." He yawned quietly, crossing his arms over his chest.


After the mad rush of people to be mended, he was pretty beat.


The meal wasn't helping his case any, either.


"I, uh.. was actually curious about your husband. What was that crap he tried to pull earlier?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

That question required another long sip of wine.


Subconsciously, she rubbed the bruise on her forearm, the one hidden by the vault suit.


"My father served in the military, a four star general, and his service got me a spot in whatever vault I ended up closest to and Donald....well, he wasn't as lucky as I was. I guess he just didn't want to die alone knowing that I wouldn't."


She filled her cup once more after it was emptied.


"And he was a dick anyway."

 

[sumurset]

"Really?" That had Calder's brows raising.


He.. really hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary with them.


Perhaps that was the odd thing.


"You guys always seemed like you were the perfect marriage." He snorted. "God, and to think I envied you."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

The last comment made her hesitate, holding the cup just to her lips.


There was a beat before she lowered it, rubbing her thumb against the lip of the glass.


"The more perfect a family seems the more broken it is in my experience. When I cut my hand?" She lifted the bandaged extremity in question.


"It was right after we had a fight and I was so mad at him I hadn't even noticed I had stabbed myself until the pumpkin was fully carved and I was putting the knife up. All I could think of was how mad he'd be that I got blood all over the tile."


She sounded almost too casual, her eyes searching the distance, seeing something that wasn't there anymore.


"But I don't suppose it matters now does it? The world might have ended but at least I'm free."

 

[sumurset]

"Holy crap." His brows were raised; the expression on his face one of genuine sympathy and surprise. Calder felt bad that he hadn't picked up on any of the clues.


He should have noticed something like that.


"If it makes you feel any better, my marriage wasn't much better, but.. I think that's evident considering she left me." He hoped that was the right thing to say.