Danse had awoke when they reached the Kendal hospital. Years ago, Nora cleared out some raiders and had to put down a Deathclaw they were feeding travelers too. Now its became a popular place for merchants to set up and has turned into a new out post and resting spot for traveling caravans and travelers. Danse looked down at kali sleeping peacefully on his chest and gently shook her trying to wake her up.
Kali mumbled but didn't wake up. Danse frowned then kissed her forehead as he laid her on the makeshift bed he made with some sleeping bags. He left her with Daisy sitting close and looked for Hancock.
Danse found Hancock sitting at a fire stirring a big pot of something that might have been food. "JOHN!" he yelled as he approached the ghoul. Hancock looked up at Danse and took a deep breath. "Yes Danse?" he said in a casual tone of voice.
Danse stood next to Hancock and pointed in Kali's direction. "What did you do to her! She hasn't woke up since you injected her hours ago!"
Hancock put down the spoon he was stirring with and looked up at Danse. "Good. Let's hope she sleeps all the way to Diamond city. Cambridge crater is nearby and its best you go back to her and keep a close eye on her." Hancock looked back at the pot and glared at what was in the pot.
Danse shook his head and balled his fist. "You drugged her like that on purpose? Why? What is so horrible about Cambridge crater?"
MacCready was sitting on the other side of the fire when he looked up at Hancock and Danse. "John, isn't that where you said you lost your wife?"
Danse immediately glanced at Hancock and he stepped back letting his hands relax. Hancock had went back to stirring and paused as he looked down into the pot of grey sludge. He pulled out a jet inhaler and took a longer drag off it then normal. He finally nodded his head after a moment. "Yeah, that's where I lost Nicole."
Danse slowly moved to a log by the fire, sat down and stared at Hancock.
Hancock looked up at Danse and rolled his eyes. "Leme fucking guess, you want to know what happened?"
Danse nodded his head and waited.
Hancock inhaled the rest of the jet that was in the inhaler and threw the empty vile into the fire. It sizzled then popped. "Nicole was beautiful, she had long dark hair, blue eyes and an attitude you wouldn't believe. We grew up together in Diamond city. Can't recall how many times she beat up my brother because he and his lackeys were tormenting me. It was only natural that we ended up getting married as soon as we were old enough. Not long after getting married my brother became Mayor and forced out all the ghouls. She was about eight months pregnant and we lost the only Dr. the town had." Hancock reached into his pocket and pulled out a tin of mentats. He took a small handful and put them in his mouth. Danse heard them break as Hancock chewed them. "She went into labor and we had to rush out of Diamond city to head North to the only Dr. we knew about at the time. We had made plans to head that way anyway when we got closer to time but I guess the baby was done waiting. She gave birth in an alley way near the Cambridge Crater and I had just wrapped our new daughter in a blanket when a glowing ghoul appeared at the end of the alley." Hancock shook his head. "It was before I had started carrying a gun and we were defenseless, Nicky begged me to run with the baby since she was still week from the birth…I kissed her and told her I would be back."
Danse looked down and shook his head.
Hancock balled his fist. "I should have tried to carry them both! By the time I got back she was gone, then we found a trail of blood. I followed it to the crater and saw the glowing ghoul at the bottom with my wife screaming and writhing as she turned into a ghoul. Nick held me back and told me it was too late. I watched helpless as she became a ghoul and nothing could be done. I was a smooth skin at the time or I would have ran to save her in a heart beat. Nick was the one that asked me if I wanted my daughter to grow up an orphan or not."
Hancock took a deep breath and looked at Danse. "So there you have it Danse, that's what happened to Fahrenheit's mother, that's why I drugged Kali into a deep sleep. I can feel that damn glowing ghoul is still in that crater and it will lure Kali in so it can feed off the radiation she gives off."
Danse took a deep breath and shook his head. "I'm truly sorry Hancock. Thank you for watching out for her." Danse got up and started to walk away from Hancock.
Hancock looked up from the pot and pointed at Danse with the spoon. "Danse! I wouldn't sleep if I were you. Keep a close eye on her and don't leave her unprotected from this point on. I can feel that fucking ghoul and I can tell he wants her." A glob of grey stuff fell off the spoon and hit the ground with a plop.
Danse nodded his head and walked back to Kali. When he got to her Daisy was asleep and Billy was playing with Joy. Kali was still sleeping on the sleeping bags. Danse laid next to Kali and watched Billy play with Joy. The night air was pleasant and the moon was out in full bathing everything in a soft silver glow. Danse closed his eyes for a moment to take it all in.
"Danse! Damn it! where's Kali!" Danse sat up startled as he felt a boot on his back shake him awake. He looked next to where he was laying looked for Kali and saw she was gone. Hancock was standing behind Danse glaring at him with an angry look on his face.
"I TOLD YOU TO FUCKING WATCH HER DAMN IT!" Hancock yelled. Joy begun to cry and Daisy woke up. She picked up Joy from a sleeping Billy and rocked her gently.
Danse got up and looked around with panic and fear rising in his chest. "I was… she was right here damn it!" he yelled at Hancock as he picked up his gun and put it in a holster on his hip.
Hancock shook his head and grabbed Danse and pulled him out of the parking garage when Daisy gave him a warning glare. "I have a guess at where she might be, better pray to whatever it is you pray to that were not to fucking late!" Hancock spoke in a low angry growl.
Danse followed Hancock through buildings and down alleyways. He stopped suddenly and held up a hand to Danse as they approached a place that was bathed in a green glow.
Danse and Hancock ducked low and slowly made there way to the edge of the crater. Danse looked down and saw Kali standing in front of a massive green glowing ghoul that was huge with pulsating flesh and veins all over it. He started to get up to rush to Kali but Hancock pulled him back down as he tried to get up. "Don't even think about it, see all those other ghouls? They will rip you apart as soon as he sees you, and that green glow is not just a pretty light. There is just as much radiation down there as there is in the glowing sea. I know you're a synth Danse, but even that would probably kill you. Stay up here and don't make a sound!" Hancock whispered to Danse.
Hancock slowly made his way down being carful to not get the attention of the glowing ghoul. He almost had a heart attack when he saw a familiar face. Hancock stared at her for a moment then took a deep breath as he looked away to focus on Kali and the glowing ghoul.
Hancock got behind the glowing ghoul and pointed his shot gun at the glowing Ghouls head. "Hey! Asshole! I'm back!"
The glowing ghoul turned to look at Hancock blinked, realized Hancock was there and glared at him. "It cant be.."
Hancock grinned. "It is, and its time I finish what you started." Hancock moved around and stood behind Kali. He pulled his trigger and the glowing ghoul never got another word out as his head exploded into a green glowing mess.
Hancock watched Kali close and kept his gun ready as the other ghouls around him started to shriek and become independent again.
He started to worry about her and started to reach for her. "Kali?"
Kali blinked and looked at him finally. "What happened?"
Hancock put his gun away and smiled at her. He was afraid she had turned feral. Hancock looked at the ghoul he had recognized as his wife and told Kali to go to Danse. He waited for Kali to leave.
Hancock knew by the way she looked she was long gone and deeply feral. Nothing could bring back his wife. Hancock wasn't sure if he was happy or more sad knowing she was like this. He had always figured she was dead and gone by now.
Hancock growled in anger as he aimed his gun and pulled the trigger. He watched as another splatter of green blood erupted from the lifeless glowing ghoul. Hancock grabbed the feral ghoul that was once his wife and held her close crying out in pain as he tried to take it all in instead of running again.
Hancock looked at her eyes but the ghoul looked past him struggling to get loose. He let her go and watched her stagger off completely oblivious to her surroundings. Hancock closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He reached in his pocket for some jet and remembered he was out of it. "Damn it all." He quietly said to his self.
Hancock looked up at where he had left Danse and saw he was gone. Hancock gave the feral ghoul one last look and climbed the steep hill leading out of the crator to find Danse and Kali.
Hancock got to the edge and noticed it was very quiet, not even the crows were calling out there normal caws. Hancock gripped his gun and fallowed Danse's foot prints. He found Danse and Kali kneeling on the other side of a car. Danse was scolding her and she was apologizing.
Hancock shook his head. Danse missed another good time to propose to her. Hancock paused and looked around, he had a feeling they were being watched and he was uneasy about the quietness. Something was off and they needed to get out of there.
((((Later))))
Kali was glaring at the man in black leather as he licked his lips while looking at her. She shuddered and backed up into Danse. Danse put a protective hand on her shoulder and held her. Danse looked at the man and pointed at him. "You will not touch her, just let us pass."
The men that were advancing behind them laughed and kept slowly edging closer with various weapons held in front of them. Hancock laughed out loud. "Lets make a bargain, let me and the big guy go and you still get to keep the girl, hell we'll even pay you to take her."
Kali's jaw dropped and she felt Danse's grip on her shoulder squeeze her painfully. She heard Danse whisper quietly "Your dead if they let us go Hancock, I'm not letting her go."
Hancock scoffed as he turned and aimed his gun at Danse. "Let her go Danse and were free to leave, you can't tell me you want a ghoul for a wife? If you really wanted her you would have asked her to marry you long ago. Better to let her live a slave then force her into a smooth skin's life."
Kali could feel Danse shake with rage behind her. She looked up at him and saw his face red with anger. Kali looked at Hancock and saw he had a smile on his face. She shook her head as she looked at him. She saw him give her a slight wink as he quickly glanced around when the man in leather yelled for the others to stop. Hancock didn't turn to face him when he spoke.
"Give me the girl and one hundred caps from each of you and we have a deal."
Hancock gently grabbed Kali as he kept his gun on Danse. He walked backwards and leaned in to kali and whispered into her ear. "I'm going to need you to duck as soon as you feel me let go of your arm, hell is going to break loose, stay down and let Danse and I take care of these thugs."
Hancock let her arm go and Kali quickly ducked down. She looked up just in time to see Hancock fire his shot gun into the mans face, or what was now left of it. She gasped as the body dropped and the alleyway erupted into yelling and gunfire as more people poured in from the doorways on each side.
Kali saw Hancock fight several men and shoot a few more. She looked over at Danse and saw he had a woman clinging to his back trying to stab him with a knife. Kali stood up and heard a bullet whiz by her head.
She took a step towards Danse and felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and heard a woman scream at her. When Kali tuned to face the woman she saw a tire iron in her right hand and she held it high as she lunged at Kali again. Kali grabbed her hand and twisted it just like she had done with the Radscorpion and used the woman's momentum to make her stab her self in the leg with the sharp end of the tire iron. The woman let out a pain filled scream.
"You fucking cunt! I'm going to rip you apart!" She screamed as she pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed wildly at Kali. Kali balled her fist and punched the woman hard in her face breaking her nose. The woman let out a shriek and dropped her knife as her hands flew up to her face. Blood was pouring out of her nose. She glared at Kali "Your dead bitch!"
She took a step towards Kali and kali yelped when she saw a fist appear out of no where and hit the woman behind her head making her fall to the ground in a passed out heap.
Kali looked up and saw Danse was breathing hard and had a gash across his face. He looked down at the woman and shook his head. "I hate fighting women like that but I'm not going to let anyone hurt you Kali."
Kali looked around and saw bodies were laying everywhere and some people were running or limping away further down the ally. Kali held her fists high and turned when she heard foot steps behind her. She relaxed when she saw it was Hancock with a big smile on his face. He gently put his hands on her fists and pushed them down. "Nice fighting sister, didn't think you would be able to handle your self in a fight, but I say you did just…" Danse suddenly took two steps towards Hancock and punched him in the face. Hancock stumbled back and nearly fell. "Yeah, I deserve that." He said as he rubbed his now bleeding lip.
Kali rushed to stand between Danse and Hancock. She looked up at Danse and put her hands up to his chest. "Danse! stop!"
Danse looked down at her and took a deep breath. He exhaled and his face softened a little. Kali saw a flash behind Danse and realized it was the man in black leather from earlier. He was laying on the ground with a gun in his hand. Kali watched with fear filling her as he slowly lifted his arm and aimed the gun in there direction. Kali threw her self into Danse and pushed him to the side. Danse stumbled and fell with her on top of him. Kali heard a gun shot rip through the air. Danse quickly pulled out his gun from his side and shot the man in-between his eyes. The man slumped forward, dead before his head even touched the ground.
Danse dropped his gun as Kali wrapped her arms around him. Danse took a deep breath and kissed her forehead. "You ok Kali?"
Kali nodded as he smiled at her. She kissed Danse and smiled back at him.
"I'm glad you two are ok an all, but I really need to get back to the caravan…" Hancock stumbled and had to put his hand on the alleyway wall to keep from falling. He had blood dripping from under his coat and it was starting to form a puddle under him.
Danse quickly got up with Kali already a few steps ahead of him. She pulled open Hancock's frock coat and gasped as she took a step back for Danse to see.
Danse saw Hancock's white shirt underneath was slowly being soaked with his blood. The dark red blood was blossoming like a flower from a bullet hole in his chest. "I'll be fine guys…really, just need a little…" Hancock coughed and blood driped out of the corner of his mouth. Hancock let out a moan as his body went limp and he fell forward onto Kali.