*Author's Note: For whatever reason I found this chapter difficult to write, and I'm still not 100% satisfied with it... so I may come back and make edits later. Hopefully it's alright for now though.

I know this chapter (and probably the next too) aren't super interesting, but they're kinda necessary for my plot development. Apologies if you find them boring :(. I promise the action picks up again soon.*

They made it to the precinct just as the storm hit. Mustard-yellow fog crept through the air all the way up to the door, and Rose shuddered as she felt the rads sink in through her clothes and light armor. Radiation was warm, and to her the irradiated fog always felt like hands clutching at her limbs.

Once inside the precinct, Danse removed his helmet; in a moment of foolishness Rose felt startled that he actually had a real face underneath it. That was quickly replaced by a greater shock when he turned back to face them, and she got a good look at his features.

"Oh my god," she murmured, eyes wide.

He looked so much like Nate that it was uncanny. Clean-cut dark hair, with tanned skin and almond-shaped brown eyes. Nate had somewhat thinner lips and his nose had been slightly crooked where it had once been broken, but aside from these differences she felt like she could have been looking at his brother. The military bearing only strengthened the resemblance.

Danse didn't miss her awed look, and frowned. "Is there a problem?"

She shook her head too quickly. "No, no, it's nothing." She saw Hancock studying her with his brow furrowed, and she silently mouthed "Later" to him.

Danse arched an eyebrow, but mercifully didn't push the issue. He motioned to one of the soldiers.

"Scribe Haylen, take our… guests, for a dose of Rad-Away," he instructed. "I know we weren't in the storm long, but we can't take any chances. I'll be in shortly." He turned to the male soldier. "Rhys, check our perimeter. Make sure nothing slipped in while we were out."

The team disbursed. Rose, Hancock, and Dogmeat followed the leather-clad woman through a couple of doors into what appeared to be, ironically, an interrogation room. It looked to have be transformed into a makeshift med bay; the table was covered in a variety of bandages, metal instruments, alcohol, and medicine. She moved immediately to the table and began prepping two bags of the yellow medicine.

"So that's two doses, yes?" she asked as she worked. "It's my understanding that ghouls aren't affected by the radiation the way the rest of us are."

"Yeah, I'll be just fine, thanks," Hancock replied, seeming a little surprised by the lack of venom in her tone.

"Can you sit down?" Haylen asked Rose. "It's easier to do this when you're not standing."

"You don't have to help us," Rose replied, picking up on the scribe's tension. "It's not like we have a personal doctor to administer the stuff when we're on the road."

"Suit yourself."

Haylen handed the IV bags over and moved off to the side, scribbling in a worn notebook that she had pulled out of a pocket. Thankful that she wasn't going to hover over them, Rose handed one of the bags over to Hancock and patiently held out her forearm. She did fine dosing herself with chems and stimpaks, which could usually go into the thigh or bicep with little trouble, but Rad-Away actually needed to be fed through a vein. Hancock had enough experience to be able to inject the drug with minimal pain, and he usually could find her vein in the first try… Rose always left herself black-and-blue when she tried to do it on her own. She injected Dogmeat herself though; he had a bad habit of snapping if anyone but her tried to stick a needle into him.

"Hey," Haylen said after a moment, looking a little awkward. "I remember you guys helping us out with those ferals. I know that the paladin didn't say it at the time, but thank you. Seriously. He can take on a lot of enemies at once in that power armor, but with Rhys injured the way he was I had been positive we weren't going to make it through that."

"Thank her," Hancock said. "She was the one who picked up your distress signal and insisted that we come investigate."

"Regardless, you both risked your lives to help strangers," Haylen said. "I know that people serving in the Brotherhood don't always communicate that well where gratitude and emotions are concerned, so just know that we are glad you helped us out." Her gaze flickered over to the doorway, and she abruptly stood at attention. "Paladin Danse, sir."

"At ease, Haylen." Outside of his power armor, Danse moved surprisingly quietly; Rose hadn't noticed him enter. He was dressed in a similar jumpsuit to Haylen's, only his was black instead of orange. Rose offered a brief, silent prayer of thanks that he wasn't dressed in military fatigues; keeping her mind off of Nate was going to be difficult enough without Danse dressing like him, too.

"If you three are squared away, you can follow me," he said, a bit stiffly. "This room's a little small for so many people."

He led the three travelers out into a room to the right of the entrance that was set up with a table and several chairs. Rose noticed that he took the seat that was positioned kitty-corner to the front door, which allowed him to not only make sure no uninvited visitors tried to break in, but to keep an eye equally on her, Hancock, and Dogmeat as well.

"So what exactly are you two doing in the Cambridge area?" Danse asked, getting right to the point.

"Traveling on our way to Goodneighbor," Rose supplied shortly. She was determined to give him as little information as possible.

"Why were you in that warehouse?"

"Looking for salvage, obviously. Anything we can sell or use ourselves."

Danse frowned. "You didn't appear to be carrying anything when you came up out of the basement."

Hancock shrugged. "Not a whole lot to find. Place was pretty cleared out."

"I see." Danse's tone was unconvinced. "And what's your business in Goodneighbor?"

Hancock rolled his eyes. "Well, after kidnapping her and faithful pooch, I decided that I could probably find another no-good lowlife to sell her off to… she'd get me two, three hundred caps, easy."

Rose lightly kicked him. "Really? Three hundred caps?"

"People aren't made of money, doll." He chuckled as she kicked him again.

"You're going to pay for that later."

"I look forward to it." He winked and put an arm around her shoulder, lightly brushing his thumb over her lips.

Rose dropped her forehead into her palm. "You're impossible."

Danse cleared his throat, frowning. "From what I hear," he said, "our scouts have caught local militia who call themselves the Minutemen referring to a red-haired woman traveling with a dog and a ghoul as 'General.' I take it that would be you."

Rose shrugged casually. "What's your point?"

"What is the goal of these Minutemen? They sound military, but don't appear to have that kind of organization."

"Just to help protect the Commonwealth," she said. "I agreed to help them rebuild their numbers so that settlements can work together to stand up to raiders, supermutants, whatever, and so they call me General. If you're worried about us being a threat to the Brotherhood, don't be. The Minutemen could care less what you do so long as you don't try to harm or steal from innocents."

"I've also heard rumors that you're involved with a group who call themselves the Railroad. Is that true?"

Rose felt a spike of tension go through her body, but outwardly forced herself to remain casual. Both Deacon and Desdemona had warned them that the Brotherhood disapproved of the Railroad's quest; the Brotherhood saw synths as dangerous at best, and thoughtless machines at worst. They were interested in the advanced technology that made synths- particularly Gen 3's- possible, but believed that synths and the people who created them could not be trusted, and were best exterminated.

"We've heard about them, but haven't actually met anyone who claims to be a member," she said after a second, praying he didn't pick up on her brief hesitation.

"Evidently that warehouse you two were poking around in is supposed to be one of their safehouses."

Fuck. "Is that so?"

"No wonder we found so many busted terminals down in that basement," Hancock said, playing along. "Thought that was sorta odd."

"So you had no idea that you were in Railroad territory?" Danse asked disbelievingly.

"None at all." Rose's gaze narrowed. "Is that what this is all about? You're looking for leads on how to find the Railroad?"

"We're looking for intel on potential allies in the Commonwealth… and potential enemies as well."

"Well if either of us were intent on doing you harm, we would've left you to die when you were overrun with ferals," she replied sharply. "Though if you keep wasting my time, I might end up reevaluating that decision."

She stood as though to leave, and so did Danse. "If you weren't running a mission for the Railroad, then what is so urgent?" he asked, tone challenging. "I know you aren't telling the whole truth."

Rose hesitated, looking over at Hancock as she tried to decide how much to tell the paladin. Hancock's brow was creased, but he gave her a small nod. She sighed.

"I'm trying to find a way into the Institute," she said reluctantly. "They kidnapped my son. We have may have a lead on how to find them, but I have to find the guy before they do or they'll kill him."

Danse seemed surprised, and awkwardness passed briefly over his features. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said, and actually sounded genuine. "The Institute has caused a lot of problems for the Brotherhood as well. Why didn't you say so from the start? We can help you."

Rose crossed her arms. "If I wanted your help, I'd have asked for it."

"Where is your lead really located?" he asked, not dissuaded.

"The Glowing Sea."

"You'll get irradiated to death out there."

"I have a plan for that."

"Look, let me help you," Danse said. "I'd be lying if I said I believed every word of your story, because I don't. But I don't think you're out to cause trouble for the Brotherhood, and at any rate I still need to pay you back for that assist with the ferals."

Rose's jaw clenched, gritting her teeth. She didn't trust the paladin farther than she could throw him, though she knew his power armor would be a valuable asset on an excursion that dangerous. She looked him over, reflecting once again on how much he resembled her late husband. Hancock got to his feet and reached out, touching her elbow.

"You know that I really hate sayin' this," he said in a low voice, speaking into her ear. "But the more help we get goin' into the Glowing Sea, the better. And letting him keep the ferals and whatever else off our backs could convince him to trust us enough to keep his superiors off our case." He glanced over at Danse, his dark eyes evaluating the soldier. "No promises that I don't end up shooting him in his sleep, though."

"Fine," Rose said, voice coming out in a huff. "I guess we can use an extra gun. If either of you refuse to behave, however-" she addressed both men, "- then I have no problem kneecapping both of you and leaving you as bait for the next deathclaw that comes wandering around."

Hancock smirked. "When don't I behave myself?"

Danse's expression was grave, but he nodded. "When do we leave?"