Was that Danse…?

With a dog…?

Now that was something Allison hadn't expected to see. The man standing in the field behind the barracks, dressed down to his fatigue pants and tan t-shirt, playing fetch with a large German Shepherd, certainly looked like Danse.

Allison squinted trying to focus against the midday sun. For a moment, she stood there and watched as the dog ran in full force after the ball before retrieving it and trotting happily back to… It had to be Danse.

On command the dog dropped the ball in his hand as Allison approached the pair. The ball was easily thrown into the distance and the dog darted after it once again. Upon its return, the dog spotted her and immediately abandoned its target.

A sharp whistle rang through the air followed by a string of firm commands that confirmed her suspicions. That was definitely Danse-and yet-the dog paid no heed to the Captain's austere tone. The wild look in it's eyes, the complete disregard for following commands, blatant insubordination- Oh yes, she like this dog already.

Allison knelt down to catch the dog as it galloped toward her but instead was bowled over and pinned flat on her back beneath the enthusiastic Shepard. It lapped at her face, tongue relentless in its affection. She couldn't help but giggle as she tried to cover her face and roll away. It was no use though, she was trapped.

"Leave it!" Danse's deep, authoritative voice rumbled above her halting the dog's jovial barrage.

For a second the dog just stared down at her as if contemplating whether or not to continue the onslaught of kisses.

"You better listen pup," Allison whispered and reached to scratch behind its ear, "That's the Captain speaking, he means business."

At last, the canine hopped off her, tail feveriously whipping the air, and pranced around searching for its ball.

Still snickering and wiping slobber from her face, Allison stretched out her hand and was effortlessly pulled to her feet. Danse caught her elbow as she stumbled to brush off the dirt from her pants.

Having found what it was looking for, the dog marched up to them with the ball in its mouth. It dropped the ball and sat in front of Danse. The dog beamed up at him and pawed at the ground, patiently waiting for him to throw the toy again.

"Sorry," Danse held her gaze for a moment before quickly releasing her and averting his eyes. He fidgeted, tapping his fingers against his thigh, and ran a hand through his ebony hair, "Dogmeat doesn't mind very well when he's out of uniform."

She looked down and saw the insignia stamped on the dog's collar indicating he was a military dog.

"Dogmeat?" Allison chuckled, "You named your war dog Dogmeat?"

Danse frowned and absently picked up the ball and tossed it into the field.

"He is a military dog specially trained in detecting IEDs, immobilizing enemies, and conducting search and retrieval. Dogmeat has saved countless lives out in the field."

"War dog." Allison insisted. Danse sighed and scowled in disapproval, likely fighting the urge to roll his eyes at her.

Allison watched as the dog retrieved his ball and scampered back to them. A smile played at her lips at the thought of Danse on the battlefield with a dog by his side and unconsciously muttered, "You named your war dog Dogmeat."

"Well technically he's not mine." Danse scoffed and crossed his arms, clearly annoyed by her teasing and overly simplistic evaluation of the dog. "He's government property and belongs to our unit as a whole. Most military dogs have names. It's not uncommon-"

"But you named him Dogmeat?" she cut through his bound-to-be-lecture and tilted towards him with eyebrows raised, waiting for his reply.

"Uhm...yes?" Danse was taken aback by her sudden interruption. Although he shouldn't have been, he didn't often get to finish his sentences when she was around.

"What about something more fitting for a war dog. Like Gunner or Rader, Chief, General, Scout, Nuke, Captain." Allison ticked off the names from her fingers as she went, "Any number of appropriate military names."

Danse's eyes narrowed and he pressed his mouth into a thin line. His demeanor was rapidly becoming sullen.

"I like Dogmeat." His expression was stoic and his tone flat. He was not amused.

"Of course you do." Her grin grew as she basked in his irritation and she leaned in to nudge his shoulder.

Danse quickly stepped back, avoiding her approach. "Are you mocking me Cooper?"

"No! Absolutely not. I would never be so insolent." She stood up straight and feigned offense.

"Mhm." There it was again, the Danse eyeroll, "I'm sure."

Allison snorted and reached down to pat Dogmeat on the head.

"Never would have guessed you were a dog person. Or any kind of animal person for that matter."

"And why do you say that?" It wasn't a request, but rather a demand, explain yourself soldier.

"I don't know Danse, you're-" she looked up and gestured to his overall appearance, "-this big, gruff military man. Not exactly the soft and cuddly type."

Allison noticed the expression that flashed across the Captain's face and quickly added, "I'm just surprised that's all."

"That's an unfair assessment of my personality." Danse seemed genuinely offended by her statement, "There are a great number of things you don't know about me."

"Like what?"

She jumped at the opportunity to gain more information about the straitlaced Captain.

"I like cats too."

Allison was about to say that he couldn't be both a cat person and dog person but a thought occurred to her… The feral cats.

Someone had been tending to the feral cats the roamed the base; feeding them, putting out makeshift shelters, caring for them if they became sick, ensure they weren't overpopulating.

"Have you been taking care of the feral cat colony?" Allison's eyes lit up and she seemed ready to burst as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

Dance rubbed the back of his neck but didn't answer. He seemed to take a sudden, astute interest in the dog rolling and barking in the grass.

Allison's eyes widened with glee, "Oh my God! You are totally feeding the feral cats!"

Danse looked down and shifted his weight between his feet and Allison didn't miss the color that crept up his neck and splashed across his face. The spirited canine came bounding toward them. He whined and pick up his ball again and nudged it into Danse's leg before dropping it at his feet.

"I'll take your silence as confirmation," Allison gloated, bouncing and vibrating with giddiness.

Still Danse said nothing. His boots appeared to be exceptionally interesting.

"Did you name them too?!" she howled and elbowed him in the ribs in jest.

"Cooper!" Her name was a warning. Don't push it.

His head snapped up and-oh if looks could kill! She would certainly be cold on ground by now. Every muscle in his face was taut and his brows were drawn so deep in a scowl that Allison was sure it would become permanent. The normal warmth of his muddy brown eyes had become dark and full of fiery contempt that should have burned her alive.

The laughter that bubble up from her gut was uncontrollable and had her nearly doubled over as tears streamed down her face. This was priceless and she would relish every ounce of this moment because it had been far too long since she had had a good belly laugh.

Allison didn't know which was more satisfying, knowing that Danse had war dog named Dogmeat or watching him squirm in embarrassment that she had discovered his little secret.

He turned his gaze back to the ground to continue staring at his feet and dragged his palm over his face.

"You aren't going to let this go are you?"

No amount of facepalming or huffing and puffing or embarrassment from the Captain could wipe away the huge shit-eating grin that was plastered across Allison's face, but somehow she managed to compose herself for a moment to choke out a response.

"Nope. Not a chance."

Danse sighed in defeat.

"Outstanding."