It never got easier watching him walk towards the vertibird. You'd done it so many times yet you couldn't help but feel a lump in your throat and a hollowness in your chest when he said his goodbyes. Like every other time Danse assured you he'd be back soon. He promised nothing bad was going to happen on his watch, and if God forbid things went wrong you'd always be taken care of by the Brotherhood. But you didn't want or need to be taken care of by someone else. You didn't even need Danse to take care of you, the difference was that you wanted him to. Nights spent in the wasteland were a lot less frightening when you could feel him lying there next to you. Even when you were staying aboard the Prydwen, you felt more secure knowing he was close by. It didn't matter where you were or what you were doing, life just felt a little better whenever you had him by your side.
You didn't need him to stay you just really, really wanted him to. "We will meet again" he told you, managing a half-smile "before you know it I'll be back". This wasn't true of course. Time would slow to a crawl while he was away. But if it brought him comfort for you to go along with it, so be it. You had the routine down pact. He'd get ready to go, you'd both bid farewell, and then you would part ways for an undetermined amount of time. As you watched him walk away the lump in your throat grew bigger and silent tears escaped your eyes. For just a moment you allowed yourself to feel pity for your situation. And then wiping your eyes you left the Prydwen to find your friends. They'd bring you back to your ever-determined, hopeful self; they always did.