The Danse Dilemma

11. In Deep

The next morning I awoken with a pounding headache. Even my body ached. I sat up and looked around. The dresser was still in front of the door and Danse sat on the edge of the bed. "Danse." I said as I sat up. I remembered the night before, whether he wanted to or not. It was only a kiss. It wasn't like we had slept together. I felt dirty the more I thought of what Nate would have thought of me now.

"Get ready soldier. We have a long day." He said flatly as he stood up and pushed the dresser back to its original position. 'Whatever' I got up, gathered all my things and stormed out the room, and the Inn all together. Danse hot on my heels.

I stopped dead in my tracks, blocking Danse in the narrow hallway outside of the office. "We need to talk... now." I said with fire in my eyes.

"What is it?" He asked, dreading the unavoidable talk about the previous night.

"Goodneighbor. It's not to far, what do we do?" I asked instead, relief flooded through him.

"We return to the Prydwen and await an available Vertibird and Elder Maxson's approval." I opened my mouth to begin my protest.

"That's an order, Knight." Danse said coldly as he went back inside the hotel. I followed him like a bat out of hell. I was furious and I was too late. The Paladin had already locked himself in the office with the HAM radio and was calling for a Vertibird. I slammed my fist into the door before storming out of the hotel all together.

Danse was pissed. Not at Y/N but at himself for being such an idiot. He knew that Y/N may not ever forgive him for delaying her mission to find her son but they didn't have enough supplies and he needed to remove himself from the situation. She deserved better and she'd never want someone like him, he had nothing to give. That sentence repeated over and over in his mind until Captain Kells confirmed that a Vertibird was on it's way. They were to board it in the open space near Homebase. "Your friend is feisty one, she nearly took the door off it's hinges on the way out." The owner of the Inn told Danse when he emerged from the office. All he could do was shake his head in a blind rage. What was wrong with that woman?

I really hadn't made it far when I looked behind me to see a furious Danse storming after me. The sun was high in the sky and he wasn't going to stop me. No one was. I bolted. Little puffs of dirt sprung up with each footstep. Danse was tearing after me. I push my way through a crowd in the center of the city and was almost certain that I had lost him. I slid into a narrow alley between two rows of shacks and leaned back against the dirty wall, letting my head rest as I caught my breath. The sky was beautiful and clear. I was rather enjoying myself... till something hit me with the force of a freight train. I found myself on my hands and knees in the dirt, sputtering as I tried to catch my breath. "What the fuck!" I shouted as I kicked at Danse's grasping hand. He almost had me but I scrambled away.

Was she still drunk or delusional? "What's wrong with you?!" He shouted after me. I reminded him of a wild animal as I stood, chest heaving, ready to bolt again.

"You are! This is my only chance to get all that's left of my family back and you're trying to stop me!" I shouted, my hands balled into fists.

"I'm not trying to stop you. You need to get more supplies and better transportation." He shouted at me.

I knew he was right and I knew that I couldn't get away from him, not even if he let me. Something had taken hold of me and I found myself hoping that, wherever Nate was, he would forgive me. In the distance, I could hear the blades of the incoming Vertibird. "Dammit." I whined as I wiped a tear from my face with the back of my hand. Danse didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He knew I'd follow him, I didn't have a choice, I couldn't defend myself long in Diamond City and I knew it. I followed him lamely to the Vertibird, climbed in and took my usual seat. Danse didn't look at me once and that was exactly how I preferred it.