Deacon didn't even bother to open his eyes when the door opened. If Nora was pissed, so be it. It would be easier for her to leave if she was pissed off at him. As footsteps came closer to the bed, however, he realized that they were a heavier step than Nora's.

"She send you in here to babysit me?" he asked, still without opening his eyes.

"No," Danse said. "I'm giving her a break. And you, whether you like it or not, should not be left alone right now."

"Couple of cracked ribs. It's nothing." He almost said, it's just a flesh would, but figured the ancient British humor would be lost on Captain America here. Well, he supposed it would be Captain Commonwealth, since America as a whole, unified entity hadn't existed since the Great War.

When Danse said nothing, Deacon opened one eye and looked at him. The man...or synth, as Deacon suspected...had pulled a chair over and was now sitting in it, leaning forward with his hands clasped in front of him, elbows resting on his knees.

"Yeah, I know I'm being an ass." he said finally. "I'm guessing you heard some of our...discussion."

"I heard enough." Danse replied. "Whatever is going on between the two of you is none of my business, but I can tell you, Nora is not an ordinary person."

"You're right. On both counts, actually."

"I don't know why you joined the Railroad," Danse continued as if he hadn't spoken, "whether you were following an ideal, or if it was just a means to an end or something to pass the time. But I'll tell you why I joined the Brotherhood. I believed their rhetoric. I honestly believed they were trying to make things better. For the most part, I think most of them believe that too. Most Brotherhood soldiers are just good people trying to help. But, as with everything, ideals can be corrupted."

"Is this going to turn into a sermon?"''

"My point is, fear can make us do stupid things, make stupid decisions. People tend to hate what they're afraid of. I hated synths and supermutants. Then, I found out I was a synth."

Now Deacon opened both eyes. So his suspicions were correct.

"She really didn't tell you, did she?"

Deacon shook his head, immediately regretting it as he became dizzy.

"No. You heard her, man. Not her story to tell. For the record, it isn't mine either, so your secret is safe with me."

"Well, it's not exactly a secret, at least to the Brotherhood . Maxson has let them believe that Nora carried out her orders. Scribe Haylen is one of a handful of people who know I'm still alive. She took a big chance talking to Nora. When Haylen found out that Nora had been given orders from Elder Maxson to kill me, she tracked her down and confronted her, asked her to hear me out. As for me, I was prepared to let Nora execute me. She had her orders. As a soldier, I understand that. And I knew that I was the enemy. I was my own enemy. Finding out I wasn't who I thought I was...that was rough. I was taken aback when Nora not only refused to execute me, but when it turned out Maxson had followed her, she stood up for me. I wasn't used to that. I honestly don't know if I would have done the same thing if I was in her shoes and had discovered that she was a synth. That fact shames me."

Danse paused to give Deacon and chance to respond. When he didn't, Danse leaned forward and squeezed his hand, an act that so surprised Deacon he froze.

"Long story short, son...don't let fear lead you to hate. I have a strong suspicion that you are afraid of yourself. Don't start hating yourself."

A bit late for that advice, Deacon thought.

"Trust me, I know a little about that." Danse continued. "Don't go down that road. There is already too much hate in the world. Believe me, if Nora sees something in you worth sticking around for, you're worth sticking around for. Her high esteem isn't given easily."

Deacon closed his eyes again and sighed. Man, he was really getting a headache on top of everything else that already hurt. He felt a tear forming and was glad that he'd grabbed his sunglasses after Nora stormed out. He couldn't even remember her taking them off if him, and that was not a good sign. Thankfully she knew him well enough to leave them where he could easily find them.

How had he let himself get this involved with people? Having people who cared about him, it sucked. It really sucked because he had a helluva lot of baggage, and face it, he was not a nice person because of it. Or maybe he was never a nice person to begin with. At any rate, it all boiled down to sucking really hard.

To make matters worse, he didn't know how well Danse kept this bunker stocked. He was clearly trying to stay under the Brotherhood's radar, but if they were trapped for any length of time, having two additional people here could really deplete the synth's supplies. The Institute would no longer be a problem for him, but Deacon did not want to put Danse in any danger from the Brotherhood.

Danse seemed to have decided he'd said enough, so Deacon refocused on his breathing. It was getting harder to breathe, but as long as he kept it shallow it wasn't too painful, and he could count his breaths to take his mind off of...well, just about everything right now. It gradually started working and soon he felt himself drifting off to sleep. Maybe for Nora's sake he wouldn't wake up again, and she could stop risking her life for him.