The mess hall on the Prydwen was still and empty save for the cook pottering about absently behind the counter, grumbling about rations and supplies running low; Paladin Danse's eyes lingered on him quietly as thoughts swam around his head. A frown furled his brow and he rubbed it away before someone approached him and inquired after his foul mood. It was late, but not so late that no one was kicking about the large Brotherhood ship - case in point, the cook Danse was staring at vacantly as he thought.

It wasn't long before pain began to spark its familiar niggle at the sides of his eyes; Danse leaned forward over the table, shielding his eyes from the bright lights hoping that it would abate; it did not. He grimaced, crushing down the pain and his reaction to it - for weeks, no, months, he'd been having these strange migraines, they were brutal and relentless and often completely deprived him of sleep. Even Cade, the Prydwen's doctor had no idea what ailed the Paladin, but he had said the very same as Haylen when Danse had complained of it to her; get some rest.

Easier said than done in Danse's opinion. He simply wasn't one for sitting on his hands, even for bed-rest. He was roused from his repressed grunts of agony by a strange gurgling sound; Danse's brow furled, was that a baby? He turned in his seat and saw, at the very end of the mess, in the corner was the newest Brotherhood Knight; Peg. Danse watched as she, with her back to him, sighed and her shoulders slumped. Danse heard a male voice.

"Hi honey!"

The recording on Peg's Pip-Boy stopped as she paused it. Danse got to his feet and made his way over, his power armour made his approach abundantly obvious so he wasn't surprised when she said dourly, her back still facing him.

"Can't sleep?"

"Negative." Danse responded in his usual tone, fearing he may have been slightly curt.

His fears were unfounded as Peg turned in her seat and looked up at him with her light green eyes, Danse swallowed a lump; they were bloodshot and red-rimmed and he nodded, "You?"

"Nah...I don't really sleep much these days either..." She said a little down and he nodded slowly, "Yeah...it's...It's tough."

His eyes slid up from where he'd put them down on the table, avoiding the light and her quizzical gaze; his heart softened to see her, he had to admit - Danse was always a sucker for a forlorn woman; sitting across the table, Peg's bloodshot green eyes were downcast, her hands wrapped around a cup of something hot, presumably coffee. He shrugged his shoulders and attempted to allay the thick air of sadness that surrounded her,

"At least we get to ride in style now, instead of being cooped up in the police station."

It was a weak attempt - even to him - but she smiled politely and looked up from her cup. "Maxson's a little young for an 'Elder', don't you think?"

He nodded, "Yes, but don't let his youth fool you. Maxson's a helluva soldier and a great leader."

"If you say so..." Peg uttered at his tone and he leaned forward a little standoffish and asked,

"What, you're unconvinced?" There he sounded bemused and she shrugged in her infuriatingly flaky un-soldier-like way and tried to palm it off with a flighty comment, "I just think..." Suddenly her eyes were on him, scrutinising his face; gauging whether she could confide in him or not - she chose not to and changed the subject quickly, aggravating Danse slightly.

"Have you tried rubbing your temples in circular motions?" She asked lightly, mimicking the motion with her own hands on her temples and he scoffed, leaning back,

"Dr. Cade prescribed the very same thing - that and bed-rest."

"Might do you some good, Pal."

She said familiarly as she took a sip of her coffee, using the moniker she'd come up for him whilst they had traveled the Commonwealth together. When he'd asked her why she kept calling him 'Pal' she'd told him it was an abbreviation of his rank 'Paladin' but Danse suspected it was her way to mischievously subvert rank altogether; she was the most chummy soldier he had ever encountered since Haylen. He didn't mind it too much.

"And what about you? Why can't you sleep?"

Danse regretted the question the moment it left his lips and inwardly grimaced as her bulbous green eyes embedded themselves in her cup again; she shrugged, this time not being cheeky but like she honestly didn't know how to explain herself and after a moment she looked up and said,

"Just...bad dreams. I dream that I'm cold...freezing, even. Looking through a window at my old blue house in Sanctuary Hills...Codsworth's trimming the hedges and the sun's out - splitting the rocks bright - I can hear a kid shouting for his buddies, they're playing kickball or something...Nate's..." She broke off before shaking herself and continuing onward with her description, "...He's out tinkering with the car, his sleeves rolled up. I-I can see it so clearly but my fingers are ice, my nose wet and cold against the glass. I feel like my arms and legs are slow and sluggish, y'know those types of dreams? The ones where you can't move...? Where you just miss something that you've spent all night trying to reach only to wake up...?"

Peg didn't look at him as she told him this; at last she looked at him and he could see that her haunted eyes were brimming with tears, "I dream about them every night when I'm not too exhausted to dream. It's always the same...and it always ends the same way..." Her face, grew very dark and Danse saw her grip the cup like she would squeeze it until it smashed in her palms;

"I see Kellogg. I see that sonofabitch and he's holding Shaun, my boy...He smiles at me through the glass before...he aims his gun at Nate and I hear the bang, the thunder of the bombs or is it his gun..?" It was too much for her and she let out a hiccup of raw emotion. Danse moved to do something - he was not quite sure what - but she waved him away with one hand whilst stifling her sob with the other, "I'm sorry." She managed, muffled by her fingers, "You don't need to hear this...It's just..." Absently she tucked a strand of ginger hair behind her ear and shook her head.

Peg took a deep breath and rolled the cup around in her hands before she said, "That dream every night feels like it lasts forever...I could sleep for an hour and have that dream and it would feel like it takes a lifetime to end and I wake up sweating but I'm just as cold as when I was in that damned pod."

He watched her finger the ring on her left hand, saw her chin quiver; "I do need to hear it, soldier." Was all he said after a moment to let her take a breath. Peg eyed him and he consoled her as best he could, "You wouldn't believe some of the things the soldiers have saw and done in these ranks; some of them don't come back from a third of the things you've endured. We all have our burdens, Knight." At that, Peg joked,

"You literally have yours on all the time." Meaning his power armour and he gave her a lopsided smile, "Well, we can't all be as strong as some."

"Hey, I've watched you come back from a rocket to the face. I think you're plenty strong, Pal."

"Thank you, Knight..." He grimaced at the pain in his head and she frowned worriedly,

"Seriously, Danse, rub your temples - see if it helps."

"I will." He said to placate her before she got to her feet. "I should get back to my quarters and you should at least try and get some rest...we have an assignment tomorrow - a big one."

"Oh?" Peg's interest piqued as she walked away from her commanding officer, ignoring all protocol.

"I'll let Proctor Ingram and Elder Maxson to brief you, it's not my place anymore to give you orders."

Before she departed he looked at her and slammed a fist against his breast and said "Ad victoriam."

Peg nodded and made for the sleeping quarters, feeling her freckled nose twitching at the thought of her nightmare.