Split point of view on this one, switches from Nate back to Maddy, didn't want anyone to get confused.

Madelyn's snort laugh had been shocking enough, but her words were what really caught Nate off guard. "Arthur would flip his–" she stopped and her eyes flickered between him and R.J. as they sat in the booth stunned into stares. She swallowed and then cleared her throat. "I mean, Elder Maxson…."

"On a first name basis with your Elder?" MacCready raised an eyebrow, trying to be playful, but Nate saw something else in his eyes. Jealousy? Confusion?

Madelyn couldn't meet their gazes and she gave a shrug. "He and I are… kinda close, I mean, he's the one that saved me from the slavers."

Nate remembered her mentioning that now. It made since that they would probably refer to one another by their first names when speaking to each other, but this was the first time she'd mentioned him in such a casual way, like she knew him personally not just professionally. "How close are you?" R.J. asked, looking a little too curious for Nate's liking.

"Heya there, General," Bond's deep voice broke in and the three of them looked up at the barkeeper. Lawrence Bond was a big guy, bigger than Nate even. But he had to be, as he'd been running bars since he was sixteen and sometimes he had to show a big guy –or five– what happens if you fucked with his place. He had hair like chocolate, always clean and worn brushed back from his face, and cut close on the sides, letting the top grow long and wild. His jaw was hidden behind a very Maxson like beard that was a few shades lighter than the hair on his head with a slightly redder tint to it. With pale green eyes and a lady-killer smile, the man was the most charismatic bartender that Nate had met, pre and post war. "What can I get'cha?"

"I'll just have a water and whatever you have that's fresh," Nate said, and glanced down at Madelyn who was staring at the tattoos that lined the bartender's arms. "She'll have a glass of wine and a deathclaw steak."

"Whoa, I wanted the steak," MacCready playfully protested and then smirked. "I'll have an iguana soup actually, thanks, Bond. Oh, and a Nuka Cherry."

"Nah problem, Mac," he smiled, rubbing his hands together, without writing down their order. "Have a birthday recent?" Lawrence nodded to Madelyn.

"How'd you know?" she asked, perking an eyebrow.

"Nate don't get steak unless it's special," he said simply and then shot her a wink. "I'll get'cha drinks out to ya soon and throw yer meat on the grill, how'd ya want the steak cooked, love?"

Nate glanced at Madelyn whose cheeks were flushed. "Oh, I don't know."

"Give it to her with a little blood."

"Mid-rare then, got'cha," he smiled at Maddy before heading off.

"He's… nice," she whispered with a ghost grin on her lips.

"Probably has a dick the size of a squire's pinky," MacCready huffed and looked at Madelyn who giggled. Nate realized he was missing something.

The squire took in a slow breath and played with the saltshaker on the table. Suddenly Nate felt like a third wheel. MacCready was cleaning the underside of his fingernails, and conversation had just died. "So, what's happening between you two?"

Nate watched their reactions and couldn't help but smile crookedly. Madelyn's eyes snapped wide and flickered to R.J. before returning to him, and MacCready choked on the breath he'd just taken. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I feel like I'm chaperoning a date and you two wish I was gone." MacCready rubbed his forehead and avoided looking at Nate. Maddy just kind of stared at him, unable to decide on what to say.

Finally she breathed, "I don't know, nothing I guess."

That caught MacCready's attention and he frowned. "Nothing?"

"What?" she looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I thought we may have had something going," he shifted uncomfortable, removing his hat and twisting it in his hand.

Madelyn's face turned bright red and she looked at Nate who was watching them like a sitcom. "Well, I… I just–didn't realize what exactly was happening…. There hasn't been much communication on the subject," she breathed, trying to look at the ex-gunner, but her gaze kept returning to Nate to gage his reaction.

"Well, for the record, I like you." R.J. sat up straight and locked a stare on her.

"Oh," her breath left her. Nate's attention jumped back and forth, waiting to see what would happen next. Part of him wanted them to just kiss, and the other part wanted to hit MacCready for making a move on his little girl.

"Here're yer drinks," Bond dropped them onto the table and split them up, sliding them to the person they belonged to. "I'lla get yer meat on the grill. Be back," and he was gone.

Madelyn used the distraction and to take a sip of her wine. Nate and MacCready were still waiting, though, watching the squire as she tried her best to avoid them. Finally she sighed. "I like you too," she said without looking away from the red liquid.

"So, R.J., what're your intentions with my little girl?" Nate asked, raising an eyebrow. The sniper stared in surprise.

"Really, Nate?"

"Yup."

"You know me," his eyes narrowed slightly, like he was trying to tell if Nate was going to laugh and expose this as a joke.

"I do, fairly well," the general agreed.

"I wouldn't do anything she didn't want to, I'm not that kind of guy." He frowned, looking offended. Nate also frowned. Why was he being like this? He and MacCready were good enough friends; he was better than a lot of scum in the Commonwealth.

"I just have to make sure."

"Um, Sentinel," Madelyn whispered, and Nate glanced at her.

"Yes?"

"Not… to uh, undermined you at all, but you aren't really my dad, and there for you don't really have the authority to determine my love-life." She looked very uncomfortable and Nate realized what he'd done. He had already mentally made her family, but she wasn't ready for that just yet. "Your opinion means a lot to me, sir, but… I don't really need your approval."

He cleared his throat and even MacCready looked surprised. "Damn," the ex-mercenary breathed and took a quick drink. Nate nodded his agreement.

"I'm so sorry, Sentinel," she immediately regretted her words and Nate shook his head, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"It's fine, really, Maddy, I over stepped. I forget that you're my squire, not my daughter, it's okay," he stood up then and her eyes widened. "You two have fun, I'll be at the bar if you need me."

"Nate," she frowned, reaching for him but he took his drink and departed.

At the bar he was able to see Bond right outside at his large grill cooking more meat than one man should be able to keep track of. With a sigh, Nate left his drink and rounded the bar, headed back to help him.

"Heya, there, gen'," the man smiled and Nate grinned back, forcing himself to lighten up. "Couldn't resist the smell, eh?"

"Got booted by the love birds," Nate shrugged. "Want any help?"

"Yah, grab a plate," Bond gestured and Nate did, holding it for the barkeeper.

"You should really hire more help."

"Had a pretty little thang to help, but she done run off with a provisioner," he sighed and then smirked at Nate. "When you gonna move out her' anyway?"

"Maybe after I retire, but I don't know about living here, might just buy a place and spend a few days out here at a time, this is a bit… busier than I like my home to be."

"I'd hire ya quick if ya stuck around," Bond tried, smiling to show Nate his straight teeth. Odd thing, having all of them and them being straight, hard to come by nowadays.

"Yeah, you might just convince me at this rate," Nate took the plate inside while Bond flipped the other meats and took a couple more off.

"Mirelurk goes to the lady in the corner couch," Bond nodded, plating the meat with some vegetables from a pot on his stove. "Mongrel to the man upstairs in the funny hat, and I'lla get yer girl and Mac." Nate nodded and took the plates off.

Surprisingly, silence fell between MacCready and Madelyn when Nate departed. Part of it was probably her fault, as she was watching him help the bartender.

"So you like me?"

Madelyn should have seen that coming. "Well, you started it."

"And how did I do that?"

"Well, you shot me," she looked at the scar on her arm.

"You know I would never hurt you on purpose, right?" His eyebrows pulled together, forming a pucker between them. The ex-mercenary had lines creasing his face from squinting, glaring, and frowning, but they didn't take away from his youth.

"I'm not afraid of that," she promised him. He nodded and then tilted his head to the side.

"What are your afraid of?"

"I guess… I've never liked anyone, not really–not like this. And no one has ever wanted any kind of relationship out of me, so I don't know what… I don't know how…" she frowned, looking at her hands resting on the table.

His fingers drifted in, traced hers gently. "Don't worry about anything. You're taking the lead on this, we won't do anything you don't want to." That put her at ease.

"But don't you want something out of this?" She didn't know what it was, but she had a pretty good idea it was what every guy wanted.

"Since I lost Lucy I've been… alone, a lot," he frowned, seeming to force himself to look at her. "Nate was the first person I could really trust here in the Commonwealth, and I found out just how much I missed having someone I could relax my guard with." She remembered how he had been at Hangman's Ally, sleeping so lightly that removing his gun startled him awake, but he had slept so deeply at Sanctuary.

"I have always been able to trust people, at least," she frowned a little in thought, "At least since the Brotherhood saved me, I've never been without security." He leaned away and withdrew his touch. She'd broken the moment by bringing up the Brotherhood. "I can't even mention them without you getting upset?"

He didn't seem to notice. "I just don't see what's so great about them," he decided after a moment.

"They saved me, MacCready," she leaned forward, looking into his face. "Without them I would still be in the Capital Wasteland, dead or a slave. They not only gave me a new life, they gave me a family."

"And they brainwashed you into thinking that anything that doesn't have smooth skin and is born from a human woman is an abomination," he added.

Madelyn frowned. "Yeah, Dogmeat's at the top of my hit list, after that, every radstag in this God forsaken Commonwealth." There was just a little too much bitterness in her response for it to be as funny as she'd intended. He didn't think it was funny either.

"You know what I meant."

"And you know as well as I that the Brotherhood is only here to protect."

"No, I'm afraid I don't know that," he frowned, his arms crossing his chest as he straightened up in the booth.

"We're here to destroy super mutants, like the ones that attacked us at Hangman's Ally, and the feral ghouls that plague the waste," she explained, leaning into her argument.

"Just the feral ghouls? That's why you have non ferals in your ranks, right?" he lifted a brow at her. His rhetorical question made her more angry than she cared to admit. "Oh, that's fine, at least they let people like Hancock onto the–oh, wait." His voice had picked up an edge that cut her deep. She didn't know what to say to that, and MacCready knew it. "Yeah, I get the whole super mutant thing, and trust me, I hate ferals just as much as the Brotherhood does, but I know the difference between people and monsters. Humans can be monsters too." The crunch of his nose and disgust in his lip pained her more than his words. He was looking her over as if he was wondering what he'd even seen in her. "Don't pretend like you believe in everything that they tell you, not anymore at least. Your Elder would kill Hancock without hesitation if they were brought into the same room, and I know that you would be hurt if something were to happen to that ghoul." She had to look away from him. How had this happened? They were having a moment and now he was making her doubt her beliefs. Her jaw tightened and she grabbed her wine, wanting a drink. "I'm a synth, Madelyn," MacCready said suddenly.

The wine in her mouth choked her as she gasped and dropped the glass. He stared at her and she felt a burning behind her eyes. "What? I don't believe you," she said, her eyes narrow. He was just trying to get a rise out of her, to prove a point.

"I am. My designation is R3-53." He was staring right at her, holding her eyes. She felt her heart break into a sprint and her breathing spike.

"I don't…"

"I escaped the Institute long before Nate woke up from cryo sleep. I was saved by the Railroad, and they gave me new memories to help me survive in the Capital Wasteland where I lived, met Lucy, had Duncan, and now I'm here."

"But you… Little Lamplight?"

"Never lived there, they just supplied me with the memories." Madelyn was shaking her head. He had to be lying: there was no way.

"I don't believe you, MacCready."

"Why?"

"You're real. There's no way you're a synth, I've seen you… be human."

"And you think Nate just magically noticed Danse had not acting human? Synths are… people. How ever they came about, the ones who believe and feel are just as human as you." MacCready relaxed some, his face twisting into a sort of pain.

"You're not a synth."

"Can you still care about me if I am?"

"I don't know." Madelyn looked at the glass in her hand. She felt sick. How could he be a synth? He had a son. Could synths even do that? She hadn't heard of that. But if they were as good as human then they could…. They did sweat, and breathe, produce saliva, and other bodily functions, so it wouldn't be that far off to produce sperm and eggs for reproducing.

MacCready was watching her face as she thought. "You okay?"

She looked at him. "You escaped the Institute? Then you shouldn't be a threat, since you've severed your ties with them," she said softly, it seemed like she was saying it to herself. "It would take me time, but…"

"You would still be willing to be in a relationship with me?" he raised an eyebrow at her, surprised.

"Well, for some reason you hate the Brotherhood and you're still here talking to me like you want to be with me, so I guess the least I can do is the same."

"I'm not a synth, Maddy," he said and she felt her breath leave her in relief. "I'm surprised, though, I thought that would be a deal breaker for you."

"So you're trying to break up with me?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

He smiled, "No, I just wanted to see your reaction. If you're willing to stay with me if I'm an 'abomination' then I shouldn't have to worry about anything else, right? And it shows you your feelings." He was right. She wouldn't have guessed being a synth wouldn't upset her more. How could she be so devoted to the Brotherhood and not have more of their ideals? She knew the words, but she didn't feel them in her heart.

"I still believe in them." Madelyn held her wine tight, the liquid had spilled and stained the table and made her fingers sticky, but she wasn't thinking about that.

"That's fine, as long as you don't go nuts and start preaching like one of them, I think I can forgive that side of you."

"I can see you making a good knight," she said suddenly and he raised an eyebrow at her. "We could really use some snipers, we don't have many."

"With those suits I just thought you charged in and ran over your enemies."

"We do, but sometimes you need the delicate touch of a headshot from a hundred yards away." He smiled at that, looking away from her. "You look like I just said something dirty."

"You have no idea," he sighed and placed his arms back onto the table.

"If we're going to make this work, we have to talk," she said and he nodded, meeting her gaze.

"I agree."

"I'm not leaving the Brotherhood, and I would love for you to join, but I'm not expecting that of you."

"Good, because I'm not."

She nodded. "But if you'd be okay with at least visiting the Prydwen and maybe coming with on missions that I'll get assigned when I'm promoted to Knight, I would be grateful."

"They would let a civilian on missions?"

"Can't stop you from happening to be there to help," Madelyn shrugged and he smiled a little.

"Yeah, I'll come with you when I can, Maddy."

"That makes me happy, MacCready," she smiled.

"Please, don't call me that, Nate doesn't even call me that." His hands slid across the table and took hold of hers.

A smirk pulled the corner of her lip up, "You just don't look like a Robert to me."

"Oh, I see, know many Roberts do you?" he asked, a brow perked.

"Well, you'd be surprised."

Sorry for this one being short, I swear the plot is kicking in, I just wanted to set things up. I have the horrible habit of diving into this kind of stuff for the long haul, but I do know what I'm doing, I promise. /shyly runs back to laptop to keep typing/