Anna Solomon had finished meeting the crew and met up with Danse in the mess hall and told him about everything. When she met Cade, he numbed her cheek and back for a bit so that he could stitch up her cuts. After, he gave her a stimpaks and she was surprised how much better she felt. Danse was surprised when Solomon told him that the Elder wished to see the two of them after meeting the crew. He was afraid that she had already gotten into trouble. "What did you say to him?" he asked worriedly as he followed behind her. He had taken off his power armor which left him feeling defenseless.

"Nothing, Danse," she assured him. "We were just talking about the Brotherhood. Now come on, we don't want to keep him waiting."

Danse was hesitant to knock on the door, but when he did he was surprised to see the Elder in gym clothes. "Ah, Danse, Solomon! I was hoping we could go to the gym and spar."

"I'd love to, but I don't have any clothes," she told him.

"I'll buy you something from Teagan and you can pay me back later," he said to her. "Danse, we'll be waiting while you change."

While the Elder and Solomon waited for Danse, she couldn't help but appreciate how defined the muscles on his body were. Some part of her wanted to rub her fingers all over them and kiss the death out of him, but the logical part knew to keep her distance. When Danse walked out, she felt the same strange urge. Oh, to be caught in between those two she thought to herself What a ride that would be. "Solomon?" Shaken out of her dirty thoughts, she looked up to see the two men staring at her with worry. Sucks I only had two people who cared about me…One is dead and the other is missing. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry," she blushed, still thinking about before. "Just lost in my thoughts."

Surprisingly, Solomon's butt was so big she had to wear medium sized shorts. Since she was only a Knight, she didn't have her own room and thus had to change in the public barracks. Arthur and Danse glanced over to see her pulling off her vault suit. They were both surprised to see a plethora of scars marring her tanned skin. In the middle were two that stood out: the Chinese flag and a snake coiled around a blade. What horrified them was that they were drawn with a knife.

They exchanged a look. The two knew of her time as a spy, but they wondered who would torture someone of her personality. Although, she was a spy; who knew what she was like when on a mission. Many other soldiers that slept beside her turned to gape at her, yet she chose to ignore them. In the end, she was dressed in black sophie shorts and a gray sports bra with black and gray socks. "I'm ready, sir. If you'll lead the way."

Danse and Arthur flanked her and glared at any man who looked her way. Once Solomon saw the workout room, nostalgia set in. She thought of when she and Roger Maxson had been placed in the same squad. The two of them had been working out and decided to spar. She had broken down saying that she had become pregnant with Shaun. He comforted her for about an hour when she kissed him. The rest of the night was spent in ecstasy.

She was called on a mission the next morning and she did not see him again until after Shaun had been born.

When she shook her head to clear her thoughts, she looked up to see the men already sparring. When Arthur beat Danse, Solomon took her place inside the makeshift ring mainly composed of four poles and rope. Rolling her neck, her eyes followed his every move. "I'll try to go easy," he taunted her with a smirk.

She smiled at him. "And that'll be the last mistake you'll ever make," she warned.

This wasn't the first time Arthur had sparred with a woman, but he always went easy in fear he might hurt them. They would never make eye contact and only punch; never using anything else in their arsenal. But Solomon was different. Her eyes watched his every move as they circled the ring. He could tell she was going to be vastly different in fighting from people now. He lunged forward attempting to grab her around the waist, but she slid right through his fingers and spun around him. She moved with elegance that he'd never seen before in sparring. She looked like she was about to lash out when a squire burst into the room out of breath. He had disheveled blonde hair and ocean green eyes. "Knight Solomon, there's a broadcast from the Minutemen saying that raiders are surrounding the settlement called Sanctuary. They're not advancing or firing, but he says they need you right away." The boy bent over and rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

With wide eyes, Solomon looked at both men and started to pull on some boots and clothes she had carried with her to the training room. "I-I'm terribly sorry, but I must head out. I'd love to stay and spar, but I need to help them out." She turned to Dogmeat who had made himself comfy on the ground and watched lazily as they sparred. "Dogmeat, stay. I can't have you getting hurt while I deal with this." The German Shepard whined and walked off to where her bed was.

As she began to head towards the door, they also pulled on clothes and boots that they had in gym bags. "We'll go with."

"But-"

Arthur held up his hand to silence her. "Danse is still your supervisor and has to be with you every step of the way for the two of you to be a great team. I need to stretch my legs and even talk with their leader after helping them to propose a deal to make an alliance."

Nodding, she let them follow her to a vertibird where the squire had called for a pilot. While sprinting outside, they all three had grabbed their weapons: Solomon had her silenced 10mm pistol, serrated machete, and sniper rifle; Danse had his laser rifle and power armor; Arthur had a modified version of the laser rifle. Solomon sat on the floor of the vertibird inspecting her rifle and cleaning it off with an old cloth while the two men did the same. "Why are these people so important to you?" the Elder wondered.

She sighed deeply and continued her actions despite the weapon being incredibly shiny. The men realized this must've been a nervous tick of hers; something to keep her distracted and focused on one thing. "When I first left the Vault, I had gone back to Sanctuary which is where I used to live before the bombs and discovered settlers were in Concord. They were trapped in a museum by raiders. I helped them out and in the process got a mini gun and a T-45 suit of power armor from before the war. I couldn't just abandon those people afterwards." They listened intently. Whenever she spoke, it was like having your mother tell you a bedtime story or all of her old adventures. Of course, neither of them knew the feeling well.

Danse couldn't help but feel that Solomon would have been an amazing mother-even as a spy. He felt unparalleled anger towards her husband. Despite not even having seen a picture of him. He and Arthur both felt their hearts clench when they realized she never got to watch her son grow up: see him take his first steps, say his first word, his first day of school. She missed all important things in his life. Arthur secretly hoped his first word was, "mama."

Anna leaned back against the closed door of the vertibird. "Anyways, I was taking out the rest of the raiders that arrived when a deathclaw came out of nowhere."

The two men's jaws dropped to the floor. "That is…outstanding!" Danse said. "For one, you were not experienced in the ways of the Commonwealth completely and, two, the only other recorded time someone survived a deathclaw attack without a crippling injury was Arthur Maxson. That's how he got the scar."

She gave him a look of shock. Her eyes slid down to the painful looking stitches on his cheek. "Aren't you, like, twenty? How old were you when it happened?"

He placed his gun on the floor beside him. "I was about thirteen. Speaking of age, how old are you? I mean, honestly, you look so young, yet you have the skills and experience of those twice my age. I can't help but wonder."

A blush crept up her cheeks and she looked out the window in embarrassment. Both men found it somewhat adorable. "Um… seventeen," she muttered.

After a tense moment, Danse brought a hand up to cup around his ear as if he couldn't hear her very well. "I must've misheard you. It sounded like you said you were seventeen. And that's preposterous because you were a Captain in the military, a spy, and have a child."

"You heard right. I started my training from a young age due to a majority of my family being either a spy or a member of the military. Like I told you before, Danse, things were much different back then." Solomon looked out the window and found them almost to Starlight Drive-In. We'll be there soon she thought. She reached over and slung her rifle over her shoulder while rising to kneel in what they thought to be a perfect position for a sniper on the move.

"But even still," he muttered. "You just seem so young to be exposed to such horrors."

Solomon unlocked the door and slid it open to get a good view of the settlement below. "I've moved on, Danse!" she yelled over the whirring of the propellers. "You should, too!"

The pilot spoke through the intercom. "Ma'am, from what I can tell Sanctuary is completely surrounded and the raiders seem to be overtaking the settlers. How would you like to proceed?"

"Danse, you have explosive vent mods on your armor, right?" He nodded. "Bring us over a populated area of the attackers," she ordered. When Anna reloaded her weapon, and brought back the lever to eject an empty casing the Brotherhood members had never seen anything sexier. "Elder Maxson, it might be a bit awkward for two people to hold on to Danse, so I will have the pilot let you land once it's over. For now, I need you to man the minigun."

"Of course."

"Ready, Danse?" she smirked, inching closer to the edge.

The Paladin put his helmet into place and handed her his own weapon. He picked her up bridal style and took a small step forward and plummeted downwards. From inside his suit, he watched as her golden blonde hair whipped through the air, her hazel-green eyes alight with excitement, and her tanned arm wrapped around his armored neck. She looked like an angel trapped in Hell.

The second after he landed inside the group of raiders and the aftershock of the explosion settled, Solomon used her 10mm to take out a few on their right that were outside the blast radius before switching to her sniper rifle. As she neared another group, she took out a grenade, pulled the clip, and deftly tossed it in the middle with a practiced hand. Danse followed behind her and assisted her as they cleared out enough raiders for her to be able to enter the settlement by climbing up a wall. "Danse, circle around! I'll meet up with you in a second."

She ran over to some settlers who were about to be overrun and handing them some grenades while throwing over a few herself. Things were going well for them when a woman around her mid-thirties was shot from four different directions. Anna caught her before she hit the ground and began to apply pressure to her wounds as much as she could. But there was too much blood pooling around them; too many wounds and not enough hands to help. She was just one girl. The spy could only hear a ringing and the woman's weak breathing as she screamed for a medic, the noise tearing through her throat and cracking from emotion. She placed the woman down and started to rip her shirt to help, but the lady smiled sadly up at her as she weakly stopped her actions. The battle around them vanished as she forced herself to speak. "I wanted to fight for my family. They saved me from raiders. I was able to help others and now I get to see them again."

The life slowly faded from her eyes and her hand- which had been cupping Anna's cheek- fell limp to the ground. A single tear fell upon her pale skin as Solomon carefully put her down and got to her feet, wiping away the tears that spilled from her eyes and glared at the raiders near Danse.

At first, Danse was plowing through the raiders at a steady pace, but soon they were overpowering him and climbing onto him to take him down. He had just fallen to his knees when several of them were physically wrenched off him. Killing the rest, he looked up to see Anna- once looking like an angel sent from heaven- now looked like an angel changed by war and turned into a demon; perhaps even the devil herself. Her eyes were alight with fire and white-hot anger as she slashed at the opponents' necks and moved on.

To Arthur's horror, Knight Solomon had placed all her weapons in their correct place and sprinted with astonishing speed towards the last and largest group of raiders. He watched with interest as she flipped and dove out of the way of a barrage of bullets. She finally got close enough to begin using her training she had perfected to easily take them down. He swiveled the mini gun around and aided her. Soon after, the gunfire ceased.

Danse exited his armor and ran over to Solomon to see the same dark look in her eyes from before as she dropped the pipe pistol she had taken from a raider and shot them with. It honestly scared him. He was used to the kind, sweet-spirited young woman who had saved him and his squad from feral ghouls. "Solomon, it's okay," he told her, gripping her shoulders and trying to get her to look at him. But her stoic posture stayed; as did the unfocused gaze. "It's over."

Arthur ran over as the vertibird landed and stopped short when he saw her expression. "What's wrong?"

Without saying a word, the Paladin pulled her petite frame against his body and motioned for the Elder to do the same. "Anna," he murmured. "It's okay. It's all over." This caused her eyes to snap over to his chest since this was all she could see of him. He had never called her by her first name in the time he'd known her and didn't expect him to any time soon. The feeling of the two men entrapping her in their comforting embrace calmed her down enough to turn and wrap her arms around Danse's muscled body.

The soldiers felt relieved when Anna hugged Danse back, but tensed when they realized she had begun to shake with suppressed sobs. After some time, she cried out, "I wish I had just died!"

The statement surprised them and looked down to see her small body being wracked with evident pain and sorrow. She released her hold on her superior officer and sunk to her knees. They knelt in front of her and Arthur gently lifted her head by gripping her chin. Her usually bright golden eyes were now red as tears spilled down her raw cheeks. "Anna, you can't mean that," Arthur whispered.

"I wish Nate had just killed me," she sobbed, still allowing them to hold her head up. "I shouldn't have fought back. I should've just given in."

Danse set his jaw. "Anna, look at me," he ordered firmly. She reluctantly shifted her gaze to settle on him and kept eye contact. "If you had died, so would me, Haylen, and Rhys. If you had died, the man who ruined your life would still be destroying families. If you had died, the Institute would never have a compatible enemy. If you had died… Arthur and I would never have met you."

A small smile tugged at her lips. "No one would have made the Elder look like a fool while sparring."

Even though the insult was directed towards him, Arthur couldn't help but laugh. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"General!"

At the noise, the two Brotherhood soldiers shot to their feet and moved to block Anna from the approaching Minuteman. They glared at the black man sprinting over with a laser musket in his hands. "State your business, Civilian!" Danse commanded.

He gave the two of them a disgusted look before going around them to kneel next to Anna. "General, are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"General?"

She looked up at them sheepishly and nodded. "Yes, Preston, I'm okay. Can you meet me later? I need to talk to them."

"Yes, ma'am."

As he walked away, she got to her feet and wiped off the dirt from her clothes. "Before you say anything, I met them just after I left the Vault. They asked me to help a few settlements and they decided to make me General of the Minutemen. All I do is go around helping farmers, set up secure places for people to live, and try to lift some of the weight from their shoulders."

Arthur crossed his arms over his chest and scowled while Danse placed his hands on his hips. "Why didn't you say something beforehand? This is an important piece of information you decided to leave out."

She shrugged. "You never asked who the leader was or what they were like. Look, I need to make sure everyone inside Sanctuary is okay; they really took a beating today." She walked up the road and over the bridge, leaving them behind. They followed her through the walls to find her squatting next to some kids who seemed visibly shaken and slowly calmed down as she spoke to them. Then, she moved on to a boy around Arthur's age and began to examine the slash on his upper thigh. They got close enough to hear her say, "go to my house, take off your pants, and wait for me in the bathroom so that I can patch you up."

"Yes, General," he laughed, beginning to limp away.

Danse and Arthur immediately glared at the young man. They would not let him have her in such an intimate situation. But before they could even take a step in his direction, her voice cut through the settlement's commotion. "If you two even think about doing something I will break your legs."

Danse looked innocently offended and brought his arms out to his sides to complain. "But- "

"No buts. Follow him to my house and sit in the living room. Feel free to look around if you wish. I'll be there in a minute."

Danse muttered something about hormones before he went inside.

The house was surprisingly clean and rebuilt. The room was decorated with intricately painted pictures hanging on the walls and small picture frames on the cabinet, shelves, and coffee table. The two men sat on the somewhat intact sofa and looked at some of the photos. In one, Anna laid on a bed seeming worn out, but happy nonetheless as she cradled a small baby in her arms while a man with Danse's build and height surrounded the two in his arms. In another, the three were dressed in strange clothing with carved pumpkins burning behind them. In the last one, Anna and the baby sat on the floor playing with a variety of toys. It wasn't until the two looked closer that they realized in each picture her bruises got worse and the happiness in her eyes slowly dissipated.

A small voice spoke up being them. "I'm not sure why I kept those pictures." They turned to see Anna holding a med-kit in her hands and a frown on her lips. She moved to sit on the table in front of them while picking up one of the frames. "I guess I just miss having my family together…Even if it was broken."

"General, is that you?" The young man limped out of one of the rooms with a sideways grin on his features. When he noticed the Brotherhood soldiers, it fell. "What they hell are they doing here?" he snarled.

"Excuse you?" The Elder growled, both he and the Paladin rising to their feet.

"You heard me!"

Anna moved to stand in between them. "Hey! They are guests in our settlement, potential allies of ours, and close friends of mine, so you will give them the same amount of respect you would give me. Is that understood?"

He pouted and nodded while looking away from her. "Yes, ma'am." After a moment, he looked up at the pair. "I apologize."

"All is forgiven. We're sorry as well."

"Do you still want me to patch you up or do you want someone else to do it?"

"No thanks," he smiled. "I'll just go to Sturges."

"I'm sorry, James!" she called out as the boy hobbled down the street.

"Yeah, you better be!"

Several silent moments later, Arthur chuckled softly which caused her to give him a confused look. "So, we're friends now?" he wondered with a sexy smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head slightly to the side. Danse shifted to a similar stance and Anna knew she had never seen anything so attractive.

A blush settled on her cheeks. "I mean- "

"Don't worry," Danse waved. "We feel the same way; he just wants to tease you."

Anna glanced out the window to see how dark it was. "It'll be way too late before you get back to the Prydwen. Would you like to stay here for the night?"

"That would be appreciated."

Anna raised her pointer finger and said, "I'll be right back." She was gone for a few minutes and came back with a bundle of clothes and food. "So, I went ahead and gave the pilot a bed for the night, but that was the last one. I have a bed here in my house that you two can take; so, you'll be there, and I'll be on the couch. Just give me- "

"Even though it's not customary in the Brotherhood we are in Minutemen territory and that means you handle things differently. If sharing a bed for those who need one is how you operate, then we must adhere to those rules." Danse gave her a pointed look and Arthur winked.

A large grin stretched over her lips as she bounced on her heels. "Well, then, follow me!"

They entered the last room on the left to find a large queen-sized bed, two dressers in each other the corners, and a closet with several outfits. The Paladin recognized several wasteland outfits like the Long-Johns, Gunner Harness, Vault 111 Jumpsuit, and Athletic outfit. There was one that consisted of a black button-up and cargo pants. He saw dried blood on the collar and wondered if it was the outfit she took from the man who stole her son. "How long did it take you to rebuild the settlement?" Arthur inquired. Anna handed he and Danse the clothes she had brought for them and rifled through her drawers to find something for herself.

"Well, I'm not completely done. When I had first left the Vault, I spent most of my time working on my house to help save the memories and try to feel like I wasn't two hundred years in the future with none of my loved ones left. Once I re-established the Minutemen, I decided to have a few of them continue what I started."

"It's coming along well."

The three of them changed into their clothes and the men's faces flushed red. Anna was wearing nothing but a pair of underwear and a large flannel shirt. "Ready for bed?"

They exchanged a look. "As we'll ever be."