It was black and cold. Sophie McKinney sucked in air as hard as she could, frantically grasping handfuls of the stuff, edging her feet forward in tiny steps.

"I can't see, someone help me... please!"

She had been here before. She just knew it. If only she could just see where she was going, maybe she could find her way out of here, or see someone that she knew - someone that could tell her where to go.

Sophie walked further in to the darkness, struck by its apparent perpetuity.

"Please," she was starting to panic now, "SOMEONE, WHERE AM I?"

She gasped as she heard banging from what she thought was behind her. Spinning around and almost stumbling, she ran in the opposite direction from which she had come. It almost seemed that the further she ran, the more she could see light in the distance. Eerie and blue, almost glowing. She ran faster until shapes emerged from the glow, solid, hulking metal shapes. Sophie couldn't quite make out what they were, until she got closer. Tanks? Or some sort of pod? That was it. They were pods.

Walking round to face one of them, all of the breath in her lungs vanished and she choked for relief from the sudden shock that a lack of oxygen brought. She was staring at herself, an expression of horrified anguish, frozen in time, staring back at her. She knew where she was now.

Sophie turned around slowly, knowing what she was about to see and knowing the pain it was going to cause but doing it in spite of this. It would be different. If I just close my eyes, and turn around slowly, it will be different.

The face of her husband, Nate, was deformed by a gunshot wound to the head. Cryogenically frozen blood was pooled in his eyes and his head slumped to the side. Lifeless and cold, just like every time she had visited before.

"Nate," she whimpered, "oh God, Nate, NO!"

"Looking for this?" the voice asked.

She could never forget that voice. Rough, like sandpaper across her face.

Sophie turned again and was faced by a man. Tall, bald, scarred and holding a heavy pistol covered in Nate's blood. And her son in his arms.

"Give. Me. Shaun." she pleaded, "GIVE ME HIM!"

Sophie lunged forward to take the bundle from Kellogg, but he was too quick for her. His cruel, maniacal laugh filled her ears and as she watched he placed the metal barrel of the pistol directly between her baby's eyes.

"NO!" her scream was animalistic, it filled the dark abyss with echoing pain and merged with the sound of the pistol firing.

Sophie fell to her knees as her son turned to red ash in Kellogg's arms and for a second, she thought she could hear a woman calling her name.

"Leave me alone," Sophie cried, "he's gone."

"MCKINNEY!"

Sophie's eyes opened and with a start she sat bolt upright.

Scribe Haylen was staring down at her, sweat on her panicked brow and a syringe in hand, ready to inject. She considered Sophie for a moment, then without anymore hesitation, she jammed the thick needle in to the soft flesh of her thigh and pushed the plunger down with a steady thumb.

"Jesus, Haylen." Sophie winced, and watched as the needle was withdrawn and a small flourish of blood soaked through her blue vault suit. Not a total tragedy, Sophie hated the thing anyway, "Don't you think we should get to know each other a little bit better before you start injecting me with God only knows what?!"

"You were having some sort of seizure, I think" Haylen ignored her jibe, "it's just Calmex, it'll take the edge off."

"It was just a bad dream, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Sophie pushed her long, tawny hair out of her face, taking note that the shaking in her hands seemed to subside a little.

Haylen looked down at her again whilst packing up her medical bag, "Not like any kind of dream I've ever seen someone have before..."

"I told you she was a fucking liability Haylen, her wailing could have brought more ferals down on this place and then what? We'd be screwed!"

"...Rhys,"

"I was the one that came along and saved your ass from the ferals in the first place, God damn you! And you better get used to me, because I'm not going anywhere." Sophie retorted.

"Too bad," Knight Rhys gave Sophie a look of resentment, "I was getting used to the thought of you leaving-"

"Rhys, that's enough." the intimidating figure of Paladin Danse emerged from the main entrance to the abandoned Cambridge Police Station.

"But-"

"I will not hear it!" the Paladin was in full power armor, his face was stern but his features were chiseled, dark and attractive, "Like it or not, you're going to have to learn to work together."

Sophie shot Rhys a smug look from her spot on the floor.

"And you."

She started, and her eyes snapped immediately back to Danse.

"You need to understand what it means to be a part of the Brotherhood."

"Yes, Paladin."

"Scribe Haylen, Knight Rhys, I want all of our gear packed up and ready for our departure to the Prydwen. Now."

"Yes Paladin, Ad Victoriam!" they saluted, leaving the room together.

"Ad Victoriam?" Sophie questioned, "what does that mea-"

Before she could finish, Danse cut her off, "It means, 'To Victory' and in our eyes, defeat is unacceptable because we are fighting for the future of mankind."

"I'm honoured to be a part of this, Danse"

Danse's expression softened a little and Sophie noticed the scar on his right eyebrow where the hair didn't grow there anymore, and the scar underneath his right eye and that his eyes were as dark as hers were light. His head was covered by a hood, that Sophie assumed would be to protect him underneath his heavy armored helmet, but she could tell that his hair would be dark too. For a fleeting moment she had a strange, spidery sensation spread through her stomach that she had no control over.

"I've received orders that we're both to report to the Prydwen immediately-"

"The ship?" Sophie looked away from Danse for a moment, suddenly aware of her own intense gaze, "I saw it approaching the Commonwealth a while back."

"Don't interrupt me," Danse's face was taut again as she looked back, "but yes, the ship. I want you to be the first to know, that I am recommending you for a promotion to the rank of Knight, but nothing is certain until you speak with our commander, Elder Maxon. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

She followed Danse to the roof of the station. The silence was awkward, only broken by the odd clunking, whirring noises from his suit of armor. When they reached the roof, she saw the Vertibird. Sophie had heard people in Diamond City talking about Vertibird aircraft that were used by the Brotherhood, she never thought she would ever be in one. Danse climbed aboard and stretched his gloved hand out to assist Sophie. He supported her lithe figure with ease and allowed her sit beside the mini-gun whilst he stood.

From up in the air, she could see everything. The buildings became smaller, the streets were almost unrecognisable and for a moment, the weight of her situation didn't seem so crushing. Ever since Sophie had clawed her way out of Vault 111, she had been unable to control her sadness, her loss of purpose. Nightmares plagued her every time she closed her eyes. Her dead husband, her kidnapped son, over and over again with no sign of relenting. She had spend a year travelling the Commonwealth, navigating her way through a completely alien world filled with poverty, disease, radiation and murder, trying to find out why this had happened to her. With the help of a detective she had met in Diamond City, she had found out that her son has been taken by the Institute, and she had tracked down and killed the man responsible for ripping her family out from underneath her. The man that still haunted her dreams, Kellogg. She had even managed to access his memories and find out more about how the Institute operated, but that's where it ended. The detective helping her, Nick Valentine, was a synth. A synthetic human, made by the scientists of the Institute. A robot, a robot that you often did not know was a robot because they were practically human. Sophie had appreciated his help to begin with, but she could no longer stomach his company or his apparent kindness. It was too much for her to comprehend, fighting to find her son, fighting the people who took him away from her alongside... one of them.

"There she is, my God it's good to be back."

Sophie had been so deep in thought that she had stopped absorbing her surroundings, she glanced up to see Danse looking above towards the Prydwen. A great beast of an airship, steel in structure and in colour, it was more impressive than she remembered when she saw it arriving, standing on the rooftop of Fort Hagan, covered in Kellogg's blood having just ended his life in the name of revenge. Sophie felt a swelling in her chest, a feeling of immense hope. If anyone could help her get what she wants, it would be the Brotherhood, the Prydwen was enough evidence of that.

After boarding the Prydwen, Danse left to enter the airship and she was introduced to the second-in-command, Lancer Captain Kells. A strict military man, who made sure she knew exactly where she stood regarding her new position within the Brotherhood. Sophie did a lot of nodding and agreeing before she was dismissed and sent to watch Elder Maxon's address. As she entered, the hot air and smell of steel and grease washed over her. Directly in front of her, beyond a staircase leading in to the bowels of the ship, was a set of thick metal ladders and through the gaps she could see Paladin Danse speaking in hushed tones to a man in a long leather jacket, with the symbol of the Brotherhood emblazoned on the shoulder. Sophie walked around the ladder, wanting to get closer so she could listen a little without being seen.

"Arthur," Danse said, his hands behind his back in a show of respect for his superior, "I have never seen anything like it. She was... fantastic, outstanding even. The way she listened to my orders and destroyed those synth abominations in the ArcJet building without question. I think- I know, that she's right for us. Her intentions are good."

"Are you sure about this, Paladin?" Elder Maxon's voice was low and gruff, not at all what Sophie had expected.

"I want to offer my sponsorship," said Danse, "I wish to mentor her and see her through the beginning of her journey with the Brotherhood, and beyond if I can."

"Very well Paladin, but I am warning you, any insubordination on her part will fall back on you. I will hold you responsible for her actions for the forseeable future, do you understand me?"

"Absolutely."

"Dismissed Paladin."

Sophie turned to move out of the way, a small smile tickling the outside of her mouth at the thought of Danse's words. She shrunk in to the corner as she heard Danse's Power Armor approaching so the wouldn't spot her and watched as he ascended the ladders to the main deck. From where Danse had disappeared, the booted feet of scribes, lancers and knights began to emerge, animated chatter about Elder Maxon's address flowed over Sophie's ears. She waited for a few of them to enter the windowed room where Maxon stood awaiting them before she followed. Sophie found a spot near the back of the crowd, intending not to draw too much attention to herself, but her bright blue vault suit seemed to be doing that job without much interference from her.

"Brothers and Sisters," the Elder began, "the road behind has been long, and fraught with difficulty. Each and every one of you has surpassed my expectations by rapidly facilitating our arrival in the Commonwealth."

Now that Sophie could get a proper look at Elder Arthur Maxon, not only was his voice different to what she had imagined, but he was much younger. Possibly a man in his very early twenties, but with a much older head on his shoulders and more life experience than any young man from before the Great War, that much was clear.

"Beneath the Commonwealth, there is a cancer, known as the Institute. A malignant growth that needs to be cut, before it affects the surface. They are experimenting with dangerous technologies that could prove to be the world's undoing for the second time in recent history."

Sophie lapped up his every word with hungry intent.

"The Institute Scientists have created a weapon that transcends the destructive nature of the atom bomb. They call their creation the 'synth,' a robotic abomination of technology that is free-thinking and masquerades as a human-being. The notion, that a machine could be granted free will is not only offensive, but horribly dangerous."

Beside her, a scribe made a noise of disgust and the rest of the group agreed with fervent enthusiasm as Elder Maxon declared the Institute enemies of the Brotherhood of Steel.

"Ad Victoriam!" the crowd yelled as they dispersed from the room, leaving Sophie standing alone with the Elder.

"It's clear from Paladin Danse's reports that you understand our core values," Maxon beckoned Sophie forward with a look, "he feels you've become quite an asset to us."

"I heard." said Sophie.

"So, do you make a regular occurrence of listening to private conversations?"

A prickly flush of embarassment creeped up Sophie's neck, "My apologies, Elder. It wasn't my intention to-"

"In any regard, seeing as he is one of my most respected field officers, you couldn't get a better recommendation. Therefore, from this moment forward, I'm granting you the rank of Knight. You will have your own suit of Power Armor, befitting your title of course, and I require you to report to the Flight Deck for your next orders once you have familiarised yourself with the Prydwen and my staff. Do you understand?"

Sophie nodded.

"Very good Knight McKinney, you are dismissed."

Sophie closed her eyes as she took her turn in ascending the ladders. With each step she climbed, she tried to lessen her embarrassment at being caught listening to Maxon and Danse's conversation by imagining taking the fight to the Institute. At the top of the ladder, Danse was waiting for her. He'd changed out of his Power Armor and was wearing his Brotherhood uniform underneath. His dog tags hung around his neck and the fitted uniform accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular arms. He'd taken off his hood as well, Sophie was right. Warm black hair covered his head, it was thick and shiny on top, but short around the back and sides. Reminded uncomfortably of Nate, and remembering what it was like to run her hands through his hair, she pretended to be very interested in a scribe who seemed to be making some repairs to a pipe on the wall.

"Congratulations, Knight McKinney."

"Thank you, Paladin. I appreciate... your support."

Danse looked at her, confused by her hesitation, but did not comment, "So, I believe Maxon gave you orders to meet the team aboard the Prydwen, if you like, I could accompany you before showing you where you will be sleeping?"

They walked the length and breadth of the Prydwen together. Sophie met Proctors Ingram, Quinlan, Teagan and Knight-Captain Cade who performed her medical examination.

"Please answer honestly," Cade asked, "have you ever had sexual relations with any species considered non-human?"

"Do synths count?"

Paladin Danse almost choked on a swig he'd taken from a bottle of Nuka-Cola and Knight-Captain Cade did not take the joke with the good spirit that Sophie had intended and she spent the next twenty minutes receiving a lecture. She swore she saw Danse smile out of the corner of her eye.

Danse walked with her on to the upper levels of the main deck, explaining that this area above the mess hall is where she would be assigned a bed and a footlocker to store her things.

"Showers and restrooms are on the lower floors, they are segregated so I can't take you down there, I'm sure Scribe Haylen would be pleased to show you around... I'm not sure where they have put your bed... SQUIRE!"

A boy, no older than twelve, jumped to attention, wearing a scribe uniform, like a tiny version of Haylen's.

"Yes Paladin, Sir!" he said.

"Squire, can you please show Knight McKinney to her bed?" Danse absendmindedly ran his hands through the back of his hair.

"Uhh," the squire looked at his feet, "I'm sorry Paladin, there hasn't been a bed assigned for this Knight yet. Proctor Teagan said he would look in to this as a matter of urgency-"

"Not enough beds?!" Danse said, "Right, never mind. Off you go."

The squire ran off in the opposite direction, clearly glad for the chance to escape the conversation. Sophie watched as he stopped, realised he was going the wrong way to his destination, but decided to continue on regardless, in favour of not passing past Danse a second time.

"You can sleep in my bed, in my private quarters, McKinney."

"Danse, it's fine, I can-"

"It's just until Proctor Teagan can acquire another bed for you. I'm slightly embarrassed that we didn't have something already arranged..." he paused. "I have a perfectly good sofa in the room, I can use that."

"I'll take the sofa! It's fine."

"I won't hear any more about it, Knight."

Danse's room was through a door, across from the ladders to the main deck. Sophie smiled as she stepped inside. If she didn't know that this was Danse's room, she could have guessed. A Brotherhood flag hung on the wall, accompanied by posters of Vertibirds, the Prydwen and laser pistols. The footlocker at the end of Danse's bed had a pile of clean uniforms lying on top of it and she could see a white vest slung over the end of the sofa. Danse rushed ahead of her, picking the clothes up and stuffing them in to a near by drawer.

"My apologies, I wasn't expecting any one to be in here apart from... well, just me really."

Sophie loosened the zip from the neck of her vault suit, it was comfortable enough to sleep in for the moment. She lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin. The straw pillow smelled clean, but with a trace of metal. Like the smell of Power Armor. Like Danse. She watched as he crossed the room to turn the lights off. The room was dark, but not completely, as a dim glow from the red exit sign above the door kept things illuminated enough for her eyes to adjust to. Danse stripped off next to the sofa, Sophie pretended to look elsewhere. Down to just his underthings, Danse's physique became apparent and Sophie felt her heartbeat quicken. Stop it.

She looked up at the ceiling as she heard Danse lay himself down.

"I heard you yelling," he whispered in to the darkness, "earlier when Haylen was helping you, at the Cambridge. I heard it from outside."

Sophie didn't know how to respond to him.

"I just want to know what to do if it happens-"

"It's not going to happen again. Okay?" Sophie's voice was authoritative, strong, but inside she wasn't so sure that was the truth. Every night since she woke after being frozen in Vault 111, she had the same nightmare. Usually, no-one else was around to hear it.

"We're going to fight together." Danse said, "As a brother and sister of the Brotherhood of Steel. I'll watch your back, if you watch mine. It's imperative that we are honest with each other. I don't ask for much from anyone under my command, other than honesty. And respect."

Sophie sighed, "Do you have family, Danse?"

"The Brotherhood of Steel are my family." he said.

"No, I mean, have you, ever held a newborn son in your arms?"

"No, I-I haven't."

"It's incredible," said Sophie, "the best feeling in the world."

She closed her eyes and pictured her life before the war. The day she brought Shaun in to the world, screaming in pain as Nate held her hand and encouraged her to push harder. Sophie had never felt pain like it, and thought she would never feel worse pain ever again in her life. After the midwife placed Shaun in to her arms, she struggled to remember what the pain was like. But now she felt that pain every single day. Only it was more painful, more searingly hot and it didn't go away.

"The Institute... took my baby. They murdered my husband. And they left me to rot and suffer in this wasteland." Sophie heard Danse shifting his weight on the sofa. She wondered if he was looking in her direction.

"Sophie, I'm sorry."

She felt a lump in her throat at the sound of him using her first name. If she hadn't been preoccupied with the sadness of losing Shaun, she was sure that the same, spidery sensation that she felt earlier would have accompanied it.

"I have to find him Danse. I want to love the Brotherhood, but if you want my honesty, I need the Brotherhood to help me get to him."

"I understand." Danse said.

"You don't understand," she said, not unkindly, "not until you have a child of your own. This kind of love it's-it's too strong to explain."

"I want to help you. Let me."

She lay awake, fear of seeing Nate again and watching Shaun turn to ash kept the sleep from taking her. She stared at the ceiling, listening to Danse's slow, heavy breathing.