A/N: I own nothing except the laptop I wrote this story on. Also, in the first chapter I was an idiot and named her "Ronnie Hicks," when the cagey old Colonel is in fact Ronnie Shaw. I'll update the error as soon as I can.

She didn't sleep a wink that night.

Piper got up the next morning after feeling like it was only a few minutes before that she'd closed her eyes, and tried her best not to listen to the lilting violins of Radio Freedom or Jonathan's pleasant morning announcements. Part of her wondered what the hell was in that man's blood: was he just constantly hopped up on Jet, or was he just not that interested in the fact that the biggest story in the history of the Commonwealth (other than the obvious destruction of the Institute) was about to take place. The Brotherhood of Steel and the Minutemen were about to decide upon the fate of the Commonwealth. While she was stifling yawns with every step, Piper still felt a massive degree of giddiness.

And also a massive wave of panic. This was the biggest story ever. This was the kind of story that, if reported upon properly, would make the Publick sell stories like hot cakes. Blue had gently pushed Piper in a certain direction when it came to publishing (but never content. He joked that if he wanted to censor her he'd just have Strong smash her printing press) in order to maximize readership, but this was in a whole new ballpark. This could be big. Maybe people would pay for courier transports to deliver copies of the Publick Occurrences outside of of the Dimaond City area. Maybe, for the first time in years, Piper could start turning a profit instead of merely breaking even. And maybe, if business boomed enough, she could hire another writer or two and spend a little less time running around chasing stories and a little more time at home with Nat. The girl was growing up, after all: she needed her big sis when the time came to talk about what life was like growing up and as an adult.

But if she fucked this up, then there would never be another occurrence like this in her lifetime. So she was nervous. Extremely nervous.

And there was Blue, helping load some supplies on a pack Brahmin for the trek to Diamond City, utterly cool as a mutfruit. He tightened the pack on the back of the animal, and then tugged the ropes again to make sure that it was snug. And with that, he gestured to one of the convoy Minutemen that this one was ready to go. He noticed Piper standing there, and he tilted his head to the side, the way Dogmeat did whenever he was confused by something.

"You seem nervous." He said. Piper rolled her eyes.

"Who, me? No. Not me, I'm not nervous. You know Piper Wright, I'm the calmest and most collected person in this entire place, Blue! I can handle anything that you throw at me. And this is just another thing. You know? So, uh…yeah. Yeah, I'm not nervous."

Blue just raised an eyebrow.

"You're nervous."

"I'm not nervous I'm panicking!" Piper hissed, lowering her voice so that she didn't startle the rest of the place with her words. She walked up close to Blue, leaning against the Brahmin that Blue was inspecting. "This is the biggest story of the Commonwealth, and the biggest story of my career. And I'm just a reporter who's going to be sitting on the sidelines! I'm not even responsible for the planning or execution of this whole thing. That's you!" She gestured to the General in front of her, the Man Out of Time as she'd once dubbed him. "And here you are…and you're not nervous at all. You don't look nervous. Shouldn't you be nervous?"

Blue's smirk became a little bit more visible, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Would it help?" He asked. Piper threw up her arms in exasperation.

"Ugh, you're unbelievable!" She said. She then turned back and looked him square in the eye. "I hope you're taking this seriously, you know. I've managed to wrangle a few words out of some of the Brotherhood types that came into Diamond City. Blue, they're all assholes. So smug and so superior to the rest of us. And so assured that their 'code' is the only way to live life. And they hate ghouls and Synths!" She narrowed her eyes. "And those are just the rank and file grunts. I've heard stories about their Elder Maxson. I know you've met him a few times, but this is a situation where he isn't on the best of terms with you. If you take this lightly, he's going to eat you alive."

"It won't come to that." Blue said. He'd made an effort the previous night to clean his uniform, though it was clear that the trek from the Castle to Diamond City was going to dirty up his uniform once more. "We did destroy the Institute, after all. The Brotherhood might not like us, but they have to respect that."

"They're not going to respect that forever." Piper warned. "Soon their respect is going to give in to jealousy."

"Then we make sure these are brief peace talks, right?" Blue asked, a smirk on his face. "Go get the rest of our friends. I want to quick talk to them about what's going on."

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Piper and the others were standing in the middle of the "command" room of the Castle. It was a sparsely decorated room, with a pair of bookshelves against the wall and Blue's desk in the center. There were a lot of letters and papers on the desk: since holotapes weren't cheap, Blue did an awful lot of writing the old fashioned way. Piper always liked how elegant his handwriting looked, despite the fact that he didn't look like a particularly writerly sort.

As the rest of them stirred slightly in impatience, the door opened and Blue walked into the room. Everyone had found a chair (save for Strong, who was stubbornly refusing to sit in a human chair), and Blue took his place in front of his desk. He cleared his throat and got right into it.

"Well, I suppose there's no need for buildup. You all know what's happening. The Brotherhood of Steel has formally reached out to the Minutemen to set up a meeting to discuss the future of the Commonwealth, now that the Institute is out of the picture." He began. "As the General of the Minutemen, I'm naturally going to be at the forefront of this, and Arthur Maxson is going to be my counterpart for the Brotherhood."

"So where do we come into this, lover?" Cait asked with a trace of mischievous sarcasm. Piper rolled her eyes. Ever since Cait had been detoxed of Psycho and properly recovered from withdrawals (with the help of Curie's medical expertise), she'd developed a rather sly sense of humor and a penchant for sexual innuendos. Comments like that were par for the course for the redheaded woman, as it seemed her new mission in life to make men (and even a few women) awkward around her. She was still kind of a bitch, in Piper's mind, but at least now it wasn't so ambiguous as to whether or not she was actually a good person.

Blue, to his credit, completely no-sold the remark.

"Well, if I know anything about Arthur, he's going to bring in some of his closest associates to help facilitate this deal…or, more likely, try to intimidate me into signing something that doesn't appeal to my best interests. Which is why I'm going to be bringing a few friends of my own." He then paused. "But this is a delicate situation. Everyone has a role to play in this, and no one can afford to mess it up by stepping out of their roles."

"You just come up with all of this last night?" MacCready asked.

"Once upon a time, MacCready, I was a captain in the United States military." Blue replied. "And if there's one thing that I remember from my training, it's to always have a plan ahead of time. I've been thinking about this day ever since I chose to give Sturges the information he needed to tap into the Institute mainframe instead of Proctor Ingram. Who will be at this meeting, most likely." He looked around the room. "I can't take everyone. But even those that stay behind have a role to play."

"Human talk too much. When Strong smash enemies?" The Super Mutant grumbled. Blue smirked.

"I'm glad you mentioned that, Strong. There's going to be a lot of talking in the next few weeks. That's definitely not something you would like. So you're going to stay here at the Castle with the Minutemen. If there are any raids, you're going to be right on the front lines, smashing people left and right."

"Hm. Human smart. Strong not like talking. Only smashing. Strong like this plan."

Blue nodded, and turned to the others.

"Since this is a meeting that involves the leaders of the strongest factions in the Commonwealth, it would make sense to get civic leaders involved in the affair." He said. "The first scheduled meeting for this series of talks is in Diamond City. But since the mayor is, ahem, currently vacant…"

Piper couldn't resist the smug look that was forming on her face.

"…then we're going to have to have a representative from the next best place: Goodneighbor." Blue said. He looked off to the side. "Hancock, you're coming with me to Diamond City."

"A ghoul returning to Diamond City?" Hancock asked, a smile on his face. "Man, if it wasn't for the fact that I don't see anything crazy, I'd think I was tripping right now. Glad to run it with you, boss."

"Not to be Johnny Radstorm here, but won't having a ghoul at the proceedings piss Maxson off?" MacCready asked. "No offense, Hancock."

"None taken, Mac." Hancock said. "It isn't you that's the racist prick."

"That's a fair point." Blue conceded. "But I have a way to get Maxson to at least listen to some of my little conditions of this meeting. If he's coming to these talks in good faith, then he'll understand that the trade-off for him bringing his Proctors with him is that I get to bring the crazy mayor of Goodneighbor with me."

MacCready nodded, but he didn't seem convinced.

"Preston is my Adjutant, so naturally he's coming with me." Blue continued. "He's my chief lieutenant, after all."

"With all due respect, General, I don't actually hold an official rank in the Minutemen." Preston admitted. "I haven't put in for reapplication since the loss at Quincy."

"Oh, well you should have mentioned that, Lieutenant Colonel." Blue said. He paused. "Congratulations, by the way. I'll have Codsworth notify Colonel Shaw and we'll get the paperwork drawn up immediately."

"I'm right on it, Sir!" Codsworth said cheerily. "And, if I may, perhaps it would be best that I stay at the Castle for now? I don't think there is much need for a Mr. Handy at a peace talk, even though I'd be excellent at whipping up snacks and refreshment!"

Blue smiled.

"No, you're right Codsworth. You're excused from the talks and can go back to your duties as Keeper of the Castle. Dismissed."

"Thank you Sir!" Codsworth beamed, as he floated out to notify Ronnie Hicks of Preston's new promotion. The latter was still sitting in his chair in a stupor, so Blue continued.

"Let's see…MacCready can come as a freelancer to my attachment of Minutemen that are travelling to the city."

"I'm recording that in the payment book as overtime, chief." MacCready said.

"Denied, but nice try." Blue said without missing a beat. "I'll allow regular wage payment for those extra hours but not overtime double-pay." He looked around the room. "Cait, you're not interested in politics. So you can stay here at the Castle. Curie, I think the Synth presence in Diamond City should be kept on the down low for the time being. Piper is with the press, so of course she's coming. Nick is already in Diamond City working cases for the agency, so I'm sure we'll see him around at some point. Am I missing anyone?"

"What about monsieur Deacon?" Curie asked. "Should he not be coming with you? He is very intelligent, no?"

"Deacon and the Railroad are sitting this one out for now." Blue said. "Desdemona has no interest in politics, just helping Synths get out of the Commonwealth if they wish. Considering we'll have the lion's share of the Brotherhood's attention, I wouldn't be surprised if the Railroad goes into overdrive smuggling Synths out under their watch. And I'm sure that Deacon will be drifting around at some point. I'll give 100 caps to whoever spots him this time. Curie got it last time: I expect better from the rest of you."

"Okay, so if Preston is coming with you, and Ronnie is leading missions to recon Quincy and Kingsport Lighthouse, then who are you leaving in charge of the Castle?" Piper asked.

Blue looked at her.

"…I was getting to that."

The door opened as if on cue.

Piper had to admit, there was a time that she thought Blue was going to cast his lot in with the Brotherhood of Steel. He'd gotten along well with some of the lower-ranking members of the organization, and had even earned the respect of a few of the "Proctors," which Blue told her was the organization's equivalent of a city council. Considering the way he was carving through the ranks, Piper started to wonder whether the Brotherhood might start easing off some of their more ardent policies with someone like Blue in their ranks.

But all of that had ended. Blue's interest in helping the Brotherhood of Steel as a member of their ranks had withered on the vine. Though he was not ashamed of the things that he had done for the Brotherhood, it was clear that he was not interested in renewing his commitment to the group ever again.

And it was all because of the man standing in the doorway.

Cait was the first one to speak.

"Holy shite, I didn't think you ever left that armor, Danse!"

It might not be proper to call him "Paladin" anymore, but there was no changing the name he'd been given. Danse was still Danse. For the longest time, he'd thought of himself as a noble defender of the Brotherhood's principles, someone who was clearly devoted to the cause and the goodness of cleansing the Commonwealth and even the rest of the old United States. He had risen through the ranks proudly, and at one time there had been talk that he'd take over for the aging Proctor Quinlan when the latter decided to retire.

But all of that had disappeared upon the discovery that Danse was in reality a Synth. The very thing that he'd spent much of his time in the Commonwealth fighting to eradicate. And just like that, he'd been marked an abomination and had been marked for immediate termination. If it hadn't been for the intervention of Blue, then he would have been taken down a long time ago.

And what an intervention it was. Piper was not there, as she'd been busy at the Castle, but she'd heard the whole story from Preston. Apparently the Elder himself had arrived, demanding to know why Blue hadn't immediately terminated Danse, and then ordered him to terminate the man on the spot. Preston told her that he'd been about to talk back to the Elder himself, when Blue had done something even more intimidating than anything Preston could have said.

He'd drawn his gun on Maxson.

And not just a gun, but that gun. The one that Blue kept holstered up on his chest in a leather bandolier, resting against his right breast. It was a big and ugly gun, a .44 caliber six-shot revolver that looked like it could blow someone's head clean off. Just the sight of the thing was enough to get most people to respectfully listen to what Blue had to say, or fearfully listen to one of his orders. There was almost a mystique to that gun amongst the Minutemen rank and file: Blue had been carrying that thing for a very long time, and yet to everyone's knowledge he had never fired it. Not even the rest of his companions had ever seen him take the thing out of its holster, much less fire the damn thing. He usually stuck to his shotgun or an assault rifle.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was one person who'd seen Blue fire that gun. Nick had gone with Blue to find the man that had kidnapped Blue's son and killed his wife, and when they'd come back Blue had that gun holstered on his chest. Whenever anyone ever asked the old Synth what had happened and why Blue had that gun, Nick's response was the same every time.

"There's only three people in the world that know the answer to that question: one's dead, one's not talking, and I don't spill my friends' personal information."

Evidently, the Brotherhood must have heard of that pistol, because Maxson had listened to whatever Blue's argument was, and had spared Danse's life. Though he made it clear that the former Paladin was dead to him as well as the Brotherhood.

So to see Danse here, in the doorway of the Castle's briefing room, wearing the same kind of clothing you'd find on a drifter or a settler, was incredibly jarring.

Danse looked over at Cait, and shrugged.

"The power couplings between the fusion coil and my armor's left leg have been sticking lately." He said. "Until Sturges comes in from Sanctuary Hills to take a look at it, there's not a whole lot I can do. So now I look like the rest of you, for once."

"Fake man still fake man." Strong muttered.

Danse shot him a glare. The two obviously didn't get along, and sometimes Piper wondered if they'd be at each others' throats if it wasn't for Blue's presence in mediating arguments. Except now Blue was heading off to Diamond City, and he was leaving the two of them behind. That could not possibly end well.

"Strong. If you keep that up I will take you to Diamond City. And make you listen to all of the talking." Blue said. That got the super mutant to go fearfully quiet. Blue turned to the rest of them. "Before anyone asks, it's simply a matter of tactical appraisal. Preston is coming with me to Diamond City. Ronnie Shaw has expressed not only zero interest, but possibly negative interest in handling the day-to-day affairs of the Castle. She's good at training men and leading raids, but that's her forte. I need someone who is meticulous and good at maintaining a position. Danse has the experience, and he has something else too."

"That being?" MacCready asked. Blue just looked at him.

"My trust." Blue said. "And the Minutemen on site don't have a problem with him."

That was a half-truth, and Piper knew that Blue knew it. When the truth first came out that Danse was a Synth, the reaction of the Minutemen in the Castle was decidedly mixed. Piper knew this because she was excellent at scuttlebutt and snooping around and, when all else failed, casually gossiping. Apparently there were a lot of Minutemen that were willing to get chatty when a pretty girl in a nice red coat started asking them questions. At least she didn't do what Cait did, however, and actually sleep with some of them. But most of the Minutemen were indifferent to Danse's reveal: they didn't think of him any different, because they all thought of him as the hardass guest drill instructor that Colonel Shaw used to teach close range fighting and proper formation. Those that had hatred of Synths were either smart enough to keep their mouths shut, or legitimately came to accept Danse as one of their own as a sort of middle finger to the Brotherhood.

In the end, most of the Minutemen were glad that Danse was simply on their side. And that was the end of that.

"I don't take these responsibilities lightly." Danse said to Blue. "I'm flattered and honored that you would choose me to head the Castle in your absence."

"It's no big deal, Danse. You're probably just going to be dealing with paperwork and keeping the lights on." Blue said. "I wouldn't put you in a situation that you would be unqualified for handle."

Danse nodded. He then looked at the rest of them.

"I understand that my demeanour in the past has been…somewhat brusque with the majority of you." He said. "But I assure you that I am a friend, and I will do what I can to earn a degree of your trust while I'm in charge of the base."

There was a general murmuring of agreement, and with that Blue dismissed the acting commander of the Castle. He then turned to the rest of the group.

"I think that about covers it." He said. "The caravan is leaving the Castle in about an hour. Make sure you've got enough caps to cover rooms at the Dugout Inn or elsewhere for a few days. Once I get the profits from trade to Bunker Hill, then I'll be able to reimburse you. But for now I'm afraid that you're gonna have to fund your lodging out of your own pocket."

There was a general groan of disappointment, but there wasn't a whole lot that Blue could do. Piper knew that he was a good and decent man, but he wasn't made out of caps. So they had to grin and bear it. Well, maybe the grinning wasn't going to happen, but the bearing it definitely was.

"Hey, uh, Blue. You got a moment?"

He turned around to see Piper walking up to him. It was just a few minutes past noon, and the caravan of Brahmin, Minutemen, and the leaders of the Commonwealth (Blue and Hancock) were just about ready to leave for the jewel of the Commonwealth: Diamond City.

"What's up, Piper?" He asked.

"It's just…I just wanted to wish you luck." She said. "I know that I'm gonna be there, and that I'm gonna be reporting on the whole damn thing…but I feel like you're going to be alone out there. So I just wanted to wish you luck. You know? Because you've done so much…and this seems like it's the hardest thing you've ever had to do."

Blue's expression grew melancholy. By his body language, it was clear that he wanted her to move in closer so that she could hear him in private. When she was sufficiently close enough, he practically whispered the words in her ear.

"This is not the hardest thing I've ever done in my life." He said. He paused, as if he was about to say something else. But then just like that, his demeanour returned to normal. "You're probably gonna enjoy yourself writing this one. Just…be careful not to editorialize too much, Piper. This is the sort of thing that requires delicacy, and a sensational newspaper might sell well…but it might piss off the Brotherhood."

"Are you suggesting I censor myself?" Piper spat, as if this was the most vile thing he could have said. Blue shook his head with a smile.

"No. I'm just suggesting that you report the truth."

Piper chuckled sardonically.

"Wow, Blue. That's a novel concept. 'Intrepid reporter determined to find the truth in the sea of propaganda!'" She held up her hands as if imagining a headline. She then looked over at him. "By the way, what are you gonna do about Shaun?"

"He's too young to understand the ins and outs of politics. And…" Blue trailed off. "And I don't want him to fear the messiness of the world while he's so happy. I asked Danse to look after him."

"Danse?" Piper asked. "Blue, I trust you but…seriously? Danse might not even know what children are."

"Danse is a good man. He's a little rigid, but that's the thing about Shaun." Blue said. "He has a way of worming himself into your heart. I think the interaction might be good for the big guy."

"That just fills me with confidence." Piper said. "But okay. Okay, if you believe it's a good idea I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." She said. There was a whistle blowing, and the caravan slowly started to move out of the Castle. "Well, I guess this is it. Here's to a successful meeting and peace talk, right Blue?"

He nodded.

"It should go well."

"Geez Blue, not even a sarcastic joke about how goddamn difficult this is going to be? Are you really not aware of or afraid of the magnitude of what you're about to do?"

Piper knew as soon as the words left her lips what his answer was going to be. She hoped that he wouldn't be so predictable. She hoped that he'd show mercy on her. She hoped that he wouldn't say exactly what she knew he was going to say.

He said it anyway.

"Would it help?"

A/N: I might have seen Bridge of Spies recently. So I hope you enjoyed this one! A lot of lore-building for this chapter. Next chapter is where the talks between Arthur Maxson and Blue (still not revealing his name) get started. There will be fireworks. Perhaps literally! We shall see. Until next time!