"Michael!" Madelyn ran down the hallway of the Recreational Deck, pushing against the doors to open them. "Michael Glass!" The door to the weight room flew open and smacked the wall, making everyone inside jump. The lancer she was looking for was on one of the benches, arms pressing against the bar weighing down on his chest. "Michael!"

He grunted, and his spotter snagged his bar before it could fall. "What the–Maddy?" he looked up, his ginger brows shifting.

"I need you to fly me to a settlement in the northwest," she panted and he groaned as his spotter put the bar down, and he got up, towering over her.

"I have orders not to fly you, virgin," he frowned and she glared.

"I'm not a," she coughed. "I'm not a virgin anymore, I'll have you know," she tried to stand straighter and his face went red. Then he smiled.

"Well damn, Reagan owes me some caps…." Apparently Reagan hadn't told him yet. She didn't have much in common with the lancer, so she only saw him briefly during meals in her time back on the airship. She'd also been spending her time trying to keep busy, doing research and helping Quinlan in Merrin's absence.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, and get me to Sanctuary," she barked and pointed, grabbing his wrist.

"My orders–"

"Fuck your orders, he's going to kill him!"

"Who's going to kill who?" Michael pulled his hand back.

"Maxson! He's going to–" she stopped, her throat swelling and she felt sick. "I'm…" she pressed her hand to her mouth and Michael's ginger brows tugged together.

"You okay?"

"I'm…" she felt the burning of stomach acid rise from her stomach and she ran over to the trashcan.

"Oh, shit, Maddy," the lancer came over and winced. "Ew."

"What the fuck, Michael?"

"She just started throwing up," the lancer stepped away and someone pulled her green hair from her face.

"So you were just going to stand and watch?" Merrin's voice growled and her cool hand pressed to Madelyn's forehead. "You going to be okay, Maddy?" she asked when the squire straightened up, bracing herself on the wall.

"I… I don't know where that came from," she confessed and bit her lip. "I… I feel… fine, I felt fine," she corrected and looked at the scribe she hadn't seen in years. Merrin had been on a lengthy recon mission in the south near Quincy. "Oh, Merr, I have so much to tell you."

"Yes, yes you do, but right now we're getting you to Cade." The scribe started pulling her up the walkway, and Michael followed behind.

"So… Merrin, turns out Madelyn beat you to poppin' her cherry…"

"This is not the time, Michael," the scribe breathed, and Madelyn flushed.

"Think Maxson's on his way to kill the guy –if that's who she was talking about that is," he sighed and helped push Madelyn up the stairs toward the infirmary.

"I… I shouldn't have said anything," Madelyn sighed.

"Did the guy hurt you?" Merrin stopped them before they went in.

"No," the squire breathed. "No, I wanted it… I… really wanted it. I… I love him, and he loves me," she flushed and Merrin gave her a small smile.

"Then everything will be fine. Maxson won't hurt him if he shares your feelings," she promised and pushed the smaller girl through the doorway. Merrin was short, but Madelyn had her beat by an inch, and she was thinner and less muscled –somehow– than the scribe.

"Thanks, Merrin," she breathed, and Cade looked up from his paper work.

"Ah, Squire Dangerfield, it's been a while, what is it that I can do for you?" he asked, coming around.

"I… I suddenly threw up, for no reason, Knight–Captain, nothing other than that," she suddenly felt foolish for letting her friends bring her here.

"Come have a seat," he waved her over. "Can you tell me anything that might have done this? What have you eaten in the last twelve hours?"

"I… just some mirelurk with mutfruit jelly," she shifted, and watched as both Merrin and Michael shared a quizzical look at the combination. "Oh, and I've had seven Nuka Colas."

"Seven?" the medic's brows lifted and Madelyn's cheeks flushed.

"I've been craving sweet things," she confessed.

"Craving?" Cade raised an eyebrow at the word choice. "Have you been sexually active, squire?"

"What? I…" her brows lifted. "Just… once."

"How long ago?"

"Um," she counted the days and told him. He nodded and grabbed his clipboard. "But, he pulled out," she added.

"That still leaves the possibility of pregnancy, squire, you should know that," he frowned at her and then turned. "I'm going to run a test."

"Ho–how long will that take?"

"Twenty minutes at most," he promised and grabbed what he needed to begin the test while Madelyn sat between her friends on the bed, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Oh! Back for another! Nate, I'm starting to think you have a crush on me," Rick's voice echoed and Nate pressed his hands against his face.

"Get out of my head!"

"Maybe, soon, come on, you can wake up," he cackled. Everything was black, though, only Nate stood in the darkness. "You just have to wake up!

"I am trying!"

"No you're not, damn it, Nate, don't you want to see Maddy again? R.J.? That… thing?"

John… he wanted to see John again. His heart hammered, and he shook his head. "John, I want to see John."

"Not the others?"

"Fuck you," he barked. "Of course I want to see them! But John is my life!" he shouted and pulled at the hair on the top of his head. Too hard, it hurt, and then he tried to let go, and he couldn't.

His roots screamed in protest. "Wake up, Natie!" Rick's voice barked in his left ear.

"Let me go!" Nate yelled, his throat burning with the effort.

"Wake, the fuck, up!" Rick jerked Nate's head, and he woke up, the brightness of lights blinding him.

Nate blinked and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Christ, about fucking time," Rick barked, and let go of Nate's hair. The Sentinel looked up. He was lying on his back with his arms and legs strapped down to a table. He couldn't lift his head.

"Where am I?" he couldn't see passed the light over him, the room around him was dark other than that light.

"What did I say before about asking questions?" Rick asked lowly.

"I think he's earned an explanation, Jacob," a new voice spoke, this one was softer.

"If you say so," Rick sounded unconvinced and stepped into the light, standing over Nate with his killer grin.

"Your name's not Rick either?" he asked, his brows pulling together.

"Nope, I'm Jacob Glass, not that you'd know who that is," he frowned with a sigh before tilting his head. "You're at our Headquarters, by the way."

"And where's that?"

"In the west," he shrugged. "You wouldn't know it."

"What am I doing here?" Nate gritted his teeth.

"Oh… Natie," he sighed and shook his head. "I told you before, I have people to feed. And… I have to admit, you're quite delicious," he smirked and turned away. Nate's heart pounded in his chest and he fought against his restraints, realizing he couldn't move his limbs.

"Oh my God…" he breathed, his head going light. "No…" he shook his head and tried to lift it, to see down himself, to see what they'd taken from him.

"Oh, shh, shhh," Jacob returned and lifted a slab of meat. "It's just your… shit, was this his bicep or thigh?" he asked over his shoulder and Nate felt a whimper rise from his throat.

"You're sick…"

"Oh, only if we eat certain parts of you," Jacob agreed and nodded, holding up the meat and sniffing it. "I think… it's the thigh, yeah," he nodded and took a bite. "Definitely thigh."

Stomach acid burned Nate's throat and he coughed, choking on it as he couldn't turn his head.

"Shit," Jacob turned away and returned in a moment with a rag. "Don't go dying on us just yet, big guy, you stay fresh longer if we just keep carving off you," he smiled and Nate threw up again. "Oh, stop it."

"You're going to die…" he promised the man who was already nodding.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Maxy's got his men after me already. But don't worry, he's a little… distracted," he smirked. "Madelyn's back on the Prydwen, but… oh, I have word Maxy's on his way northwest… what's in the northwest that he might be interested in?" Jacob tapped his chin. "You think he learned Maddy and Mac did the nasty?"

Nate's brows jerked together.

"Oh, you didn't know?" he laughed before he could stop himself. "That's right, you were here. Yes, they were bumping uglies while you've been trapped here." He shook his head. "They haven't found that abomination yet, incase you're wondering," Jacob added and Nate felt his heart stop.

"'Abomination'?"

Jacob's face twisted and his brows jerked together, then he wiped his face clean. "That thing," he clarified.

"I know who you're talking about, but only the Brotherhood call them that," he growled. "You were a member of the Brotherhood of Steel?"

Jacob straightened up and then a hand rested on his shoulder, squeezing the blue fabric of his coat. "Go, Jacob, before you ruin everything."

"Yes, Mother," he turned away and disappeared.

"Who are you?" Nate asked, his tone not all that threatening, but not at all submissive.

"I am simply called 'Mother' around here," she said and came into view. Nate had expected an older woman, but she was only around his own age. She had bloodshot eyes and frazzled hair, and looked very different from Jacob's crisp and clean appearance.

"Well, I'm not calling you that," he glared at her.

"I suppose you wouldn't want to, not after your son wished to be called 'Father' among his own," she sighed and tilted her head. "You see, I am Mother because I take care of all my children, I do not claim to make them family through biology, but through the care and protection we offer each other."

"By eating each other?"

"Not each other, just… outsiders," she corrected, and sighed again, looking tired. "This would have been so much easier if you would have just stuck to your settlement, stayed with your… disgusting pet, and those closest to you."

"And sit idly by and allow you to kill and eat my people?"

"You were going to retire, yes? After you learned what happened to them?" she tilted her blonde head at him. "They wouldn't be your people then, and you wouldn't have to worry about them. You wouldn't be here…." Her hands trailed over his shoulder and he stopped feeling her just after the joint. Christ, his left arm was gone completely.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus his breathing. There was nothing he could do about what they've taken from him now. All he could do was find a way to get out of here and warn his people. "I would always worry about them."

"Of course you would," she sighed and he met her gaze, hazy blue to bloodshot brown.

"What all did you take from me?" he breathed.

"Both legs and arms to the torso," she said easily and he nodded, closing his eyes.

"I thought I was strapped down."

"Oh, no, just at the neck and belly," she sighed and he nodded. "You're one of the best we've tasted…. I think it's because you're prewar… We'll have to open up some of those cryopods in that vault of yours and see if they're still good," she straightened up and he swallowed. She started to turn away. "You should rest, take all this in."

"Why not just kill raiders?" Nate asked suddenly.

"What?"

"If you would have taken raiders instead of settlers, you could have done this… longer, at least, before someone noticed," he breathed.

"Pickman's got a claim," she shrugged and Nate squeezed his eyes shut. He should have killed that sick man a long time ago. The man used raider corpses as 'art' and made paintings out of their blood and bits. "Besides, sheep taste better than wolves."

Then the woman left, and Nate was alone with his thoughts. He could just see he was in a space that was about the size of an interrogation room on a table with concrete walls around him. There were no windows, just the door that Jacob and the woman came in and left from.

Tears dripped down from his eyes toward his temples then down the stubble on the sides of his head. He wasn't getting out of this alive, and he knew it. He just hoped he could see John one more time before he died. And Maddy. He had so much to tell her.

But John… John he wanted to see more than anything else. His heart pounded and the tears picked up. He had so many things to say, to explain, to apologize for. But mostly, he wanted to make sure he knew that he loved him, more than his own life.

"I'm…" Madelyn gaped down at herself and then returned her grey eyes to the Knight-Captain who stood in front of Merrin and Michael. The scribe scratched the back of her head and the lancer bit his lip. It had only been five minutes, but it felt like an hour.

"So… first time and you get knocked up? Nice going Mads…" Glass breathed and Merrin bumped her elbow against the man, though Maddy would have rather her do it harder.

"You are pregnant, squire," Cade said and lifted his clipboard. "Now, I will have to inform Elder Maxson, and your emergency contact… Elder… Maxson," he sighed and nodded. "Yes, I forgot about that."

"He's… not on board," she breathed and touched her face. How could she…? Robert had… he'd…. Her cheeks flushed and she bit her lip. She shouldn't tell him. He was probably so mad at her for leaving. He would only be more mad…. She pressed her hands into her forehead. "I need a moment."

"Of course," the medic turned to give her some privacy.

"You okay, Maddy?" Merrin came up and rested a hand on her.

"I… I wasn't expecting this. This means I'll… I'll be sent back to the Capital, and Robert won't get to see his baby," her eyes grew wet and Merrin shook her head.

"You have options," she started.

"I'm not going to get rid of it," she said and then swallowed. "I'd rather leave the Brotherhood than Robert."

Merrin and Michael's brows shot up. "You… you sure, Maddy?" the lancer's voice shook. "You've… out of all of us, you've always been the one to get so…." He didn't seem to know what to say. "I don't think I've ever heard you doubt the Brotherhood."

"I have had a lot of reasons to since being with the Sentinel," she breathed and pushed off the bed. "Michael, you're flying me to Sanctuary!" she shouted and the lancer stiffened.

"I can't, Mads, I have orders," he protested and she glared at him.

"Damn it, Michael, stop being such a pussy," Reagan's voice came from around the corner, and she stepped into the medbay with Dangerfield a couple steps behind. He stopped in the doorway and waited. "I'll fly her if you're not going to."

"You can't, you'll be stealing a vertibird–" Glass took a step toward the knight who glared at him.

"You going to tell a pregnant lady no?" she raised a brown brow at him and his jaw set. "Besides, I don't have orders not to fly her there, so I would only be committing a level five offense," she shrugged.

"Reagan," Madelyn's brows lifted in surprise. "You'd… for me?"

"'Course I would, Lynnie, you're my friend, and you need me," she shrugged. "Plus, I can't let Arthur hurt that little sniper, he's far too cute," she chuckled and Madelyn felt her heart swell.

"Okay, come on, let's go."

Cade let out a long, loud sigh, "I know at this point my opinion is void, but I have to at least tell you this is a horrible idea."

"Duly noted, Knight-Captain," Reagan saluted him and Madelyn copied. As they passed Dangerfield he also offered the man a fist-over-heart.

"Ad Victoriam," he breathed and fell in behind Madelyn and Reagan. Merrin and Michael were behind him. "My men are on the Flight Deck, awaiting my orders."

"Why are they there?" Madelyn asked.

"I was about to go hunting, seeing that your Elder has neglected to give me any other orders," he then gave a lose gesture to Reagan. "I was in the middle of asking Knight to accompany me when she heard you."

"You're coming with?"

"You wish for your Sentinel to be found, do you not?" he lifted a brow and Madelyn smiled.

"Thank you."

"Thank me when he is found," Dangerfield said and they stopped on the Flight Deck. Knights Yaider and Jupiter were waiting near by. "Change of plans, we are hunting down the sons-of-bitches that took the Sentinel," he informed the knights who both smiled, ready.

Reagan walked up to the Primair –Michael's Vertibird– and climbed in. The lancer ran up, "Oh, God, Reagan, tell me you remember how to do this," he breathed, his face red.

"You want to be my co-pilot and make sure I get it there safe?" she tilted her head and he rubbed his face.

"I can't…" he grabbed the sides of the bird and then sighed. "Fine! Fine! I'm fucking coming!"

"Save that kind of talk for the bedroom," Reagan chuckled and buckled herself in, starting the bird up like she hadn't been away from it for nearly six years.

Dangerfield and his men climbed in and Madelyn turned to look at Merrin. "Are you coming?" she raised an eyebrow.

The scribe looked at the rest of the party, and then sighed, "I might as well at this point, right?"

Madelyn smiled and they climbed into the bird together.

"Maybe… I should fly and you be the copilot, Knight?" Glass said, his face still red.

"Then you'll get in trouble for flying her," Reagan pointed out and he sighed, looking very uncomfortable.

"Fine."

"Come on, you never forget how to fly one of these," she smirked and they dropped from the Prydwen.

The flight wasn't that long, but it felt like forever. Maxson had to be about ten minutes ahead of them. Madelyn's heart pounded, and it made the hour feel like a day. At her side Merrin held her hand and squeezed it, and on her other Knight Yaider gave off a very comforting heat. He gave her small conversation, little comments about the wasteland, and mentioned comparisons to the Midwest. She tried to let it distract her, but seeing Dangerfield standing, holding onto the straps in the ceiling to steady himself while he watched the knight and lancer fly, reminded her of what they were doing and where they were going.

"Here we are," Reagan's voice obviously had a smile in it.

There was already a vertibird parked near the Red Rocket Station, and the lancer was giving them a very, very curious look when they landed beside him. Glass let out a long, loud breath. "Christ, we made it, I can't…"

"Michael, I was the best flyer in my class," Reagan glared at him and then stood up once she was freed from her belts. "Come on, Lynnie, time to save your boyfriend from our fearless leader."

Madelyn and Merrin fell out of the vertibird and were followed by the more agile Knights and Inquisitor.

"Knight, we will start on locating the Sentinel. If we find anything, we will return here and summon a vertibird," Dangerfield told Reagan, displaying a smoke grenade.

"Don't bother coming back here, just get a safe distance away and call it, okay? I'll be here with Glass and we'll come get you," she said and his brows slid together before he nodded and turned to his knights. Then the three were off at a surprisingly fast pace, falling in sync with each other naturally.

Madelyn smiled at her friend, "He's cute."

Reagan's brows shot up, "Yeah, very…. Since when do you notice that kind of thing?" her eyes narrowed.

"Since you like him," she retorted and Reagan's cheeks flushed.

"Hey, we have a mission," she pushed the squire into turning around and starting toward Sanctuary.

Madelyn picked up her pace and ran, hearing Reagan and Merrin behind her. Michael was probably staying with the bird with the other lancer. There was only one person at the gate, but they were distracted. "Hey!" Madelyn called up and they looked over at her. After a pause, they opened the gate, recognizing her. And when the large doors parted, she was able to see why he was distracted.

Maxson was standing chest-to-chest with Robert, and Madelyn's heart stopped. They were about to kill each other, she could see it. Her eyes watered and she ran forward as Maxson's fist drew back and Robert started taking a step back, his arms coming up.

"No! Stop! Please!" Madelyn screamed and hit the Elder, knocking him sideways, sending her to the ground when he stumbled.

"Madelyn?" he growled, looking back at her. "I thought I told you–!"

"Maddy, love," Robert slid around Maxson, bending to help her to her feet and look at her to see if she was hurt. She was in her squire's uniform, so she didn't have anything but a few new bruises from hitting the concrete so hard.

"I'm okay, Robert," she breathed and met his eyes. He looked so sad, like he'd been upset, maybe even crying. She swallowed against the lump in her throat and gripped his sleeves. "I'm here."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Maxson straighten and Reagan come up beside him. She tugged on his beard and he glanced at her. "Hey, so I know this might not be the best time, but I sort of stole a vertibird… so if you'd like to yell at me instead of Maddy…."

Madelyn and Robert looked at the Elder whose face went as red as a tato. "I… cannot believe this," he growled, looking between Reagan and Madelyn before spotting Merrin behind the knight. The look of betrayal on his face turned the scribe's cheeks pink.

"I couldn't let you hurt Maddy's baby daddy," Reagan smirked, and there were a collection of gasps.

"You're…?" Robert looked at her, his hands holding her at her hips.

"You're pregnant?" Maxson's voice was low, and threatening.

Madelyn swallowed and looked at her brother, "I… just found out, while you were gone." Her grey eyes shifted to Robert and she smiled little. "I guess our first time was all it took…."

His lips curved up and he gazed at her with his MacCready blue eyes. They were a wonderful shade, the kind that only he and Duncan had. She hoped their baby would have those same blue eyes. "We're going to have a baby…?" he smiled at her, his hands on her sliding behind her to pull her to him.

Madelyn's throat closed and she nodded up at him, holding onto his mismatched sleeves tighter. Everything around her faded. It was just the two of them with a child growing between them. Robert leaned down and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and she felt tears sting hers.

"I love you, Madelyn," he whispered, and she let out a slow breath, saying the words back with every fiber of her being.

"Artie, I swear to God if you break them up I'm shaving your entire body," Madelyn heard Reagan threaten and she was drawn back from her high of being in her lover's arms.

The squire looked at her Elder and felt her heart beat against her chest, threatening to punch its way out. He was glaring, but that wasn't uncommon from him, and to her surprise, he didn't look all that angry. His brows just hung over his eyes in the way they did when he thought, and when he saw something he didn't like. She'd seen him give that look to a lot of people, even her. With his shoulders high and back, his chest out and strong, and his jaw set tight under his beard, he could have made someone who didn't know him like she did shit themselves.

Robert's arms around her tightened and she glanced up to see her sniper giving her brother the hardest glare she'd ever seen him display. His pointed jaw was locked shut, straining against the muscles of his neck, and the pucker between his brows was pressed hard enough to add new creases. His hat sent shadows over his face, giving him a different kind of intimidation than Maxson had. While Arthur had authority, Robert had a look that screamed stealth. One would come right at you, and the other you'd never see coming.

"Madelyn," Arthur started, his voice low, and his jaw still tight. Robert's fingers flexed on her back, gripping her uniform. "I have to admit I never considered you would choose to be with someone who wasn't in the Brotherhood. I regret to say I am mildly disappointed," he breathed and relaxed some, and Madelyn felt a swell of new tears come to her eyes. "But at this point there isn't much I can do, is there?"

"I love him, Arthur, I told you…"

"I would have reacted the same no matter who he was," he informed her and she pulled away from Robert to go to her brother. She threw her arms around him and he held her against his huge chest. "You're my little sister, pup, I can't let guys think they can just have you," his hand ran over her hat, and he sighed. "I trust your judgment of him. But I will need to form an opinion of him on my own." He was speaking slowly, purposefully, and she looked up to see he was staring at the sniper, his brows heavy.

"You'll like him if you give him a chance," she breathed and he glanced down at her.

"I cannot allow you to remain on the Prydwen while you are pregnant. We have protocol, and it says I have to send you back to the Citadel," he frowned at her and she felt her heart rate pick up.

"I… I don't want to leave him," she swallowed against the lump in her throat, and then Robert stepped forward.

"What if I join the Brotherhood?" he asked, and Madelyn and Maxson looked at him. "I'm the best shot in the Commonwealth, and… that's not boasting," he tried to smirk, but he was nervous. "Ask anyone," he cleared his throat.

Reagan grinned, "Yeah, nearly got me in the head."

"Nearly?" Arthur turned to her.

"I heard the action snap, if he would have been farther away I'd be dead, and… we both know how hard I am to kill," she rested her hand on her hip and Merrin smiled a little behind her.

"When was he firing on you?"

"That's not the point," Reagan's brows pulled together. "He's a good shot, and we could use him."

"No…" Madelyn breathed. Everyone looked at her. "No… he…" she looked at Robert. He was going to join for her, but he didn't want to, she could see it in his eyes. He didn't want Duncan to be a squire. He didn't want to work with the Brotherhood. He was willing to make himself unhappy to be with her and their child. She couldn't bring herself to make him unhappy when she knew another option. "No," she repeated, and met Maxson's confused blue eyes.

"Maddy?"

She swallowed and took a step back from Maxson and removed her hat, her green head bright in the light of the midday sun. "Discharge me," she said and met his gaze. "Honorable or not, I… I'm done with the Brotherhood. I'm staying here in the Commonwealth, and… I'm staying here with Robert and Duncan."

Maxson's brows furrowed and his jaw set. Reagan and Merrin gaped at her, and looked between their Elder and the squire.

"Madelyn?" Robert's voice was low behind her. She looked back at him and saw his face twisted in confusion. "What're you doing?"

"You would never be happy with us," she sighed. "I can't let you sacrifice everything, especially your happiness, when there's something I can do."

"You… would leave them, for me?" his brows arched up at the center and she nodded.

"I know I said I wouldn't… but… I don't want to leave the Commonwealth," she breathed and looked back at Maxson. "If I stay here, I can still see all of you, I'll just be a vertibird trip away, instead a month of travel…" Madelyn frowned and bit her lip, meeting her brother's narrowed eyes. "Say something, please, Arthur."

Maxson opened his mouth to say something, but the scampering of feet and a child yelling cut him off, "Mommy!"

Madelyn turned to see Duncan running as fast as he could to them, Robert knelt and scooped him up before he could reach Madelyn and Arthur, though. The small boy protested, pushing against his father's chest.

"Mommy! I missed you!" he reached for her and her heart melted. She'd been away from him for weeks, and it killed her.

"Shh, precious, I'm here," she waved at him, and looked back at Maxson. His blue eyes were settled on the boy.

"He looks like you," he stated.

"He's too old to be mine, you know that," she said and stepped a little closer to him. "I love him like he's mine, though. His name's Duncan MacCready."

"Duncan…" he breathed slowly and looked down at her. "The one you'll have will look just like him."

She smiled and nodded hopefully. "I'd like for it to grow up here… not in the Capital, not like I did, or like Robert did," she shook her head. "The Commonwealth… it's different," she felt a sting of tears and she reached out, taking on of her Elder's hands in both of hers. "It's safe… here, in Sanctuary."

He nodded, looking around before letting out a sigh. "You kill me, pup," he breathed.

"Daddy, I'm pup," Duncan whispered to Robert behind her, and she bit back a grin when Maxson's brows tugged together.

"You're sure that you want this? If you ever decided to join back up you'd have to start over, you couldn't be able to pick up where you left off," he warned her.

"Pick back up as a squire?" she smirked at him. "Arthur, if I came back I'd gain rank. And if I came back you might actually promote me."

"If I promote you would you stay?" he asked, his face twisted in hurt. She felt her heart pound against her chest.

She'd wanted so long to be promoted. She had been ready, and she knew that the moment it was offered she would take it. But now, Madelyn hesitated. "No," she finally breathed. "I've made up my mind, Artie, I need to stay here. And we need to find Nate."

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay," he said, his voice low and little more than a breath. "You, Squire Madelyn Alexandria Dangerfield, are relieved of your rank and duties. You are no longer a sister of the Brotherhood of Steel. By my authority, as Elder Arthur Maxson, of the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel, I reward you an honorable discharge." Then he turned to Merrin and Reagan. "Witnesses?"

"I, Knight Reagan Knight, witness the honorable discharge of Squire Madelyn Dangerfield."

"I, Scribe Merrin Debrie, witness the honorable discharge of Squire Madelyn Dangerfield."

"Thank you, Elder, Knight, Scribe," Madelyn nodded to each of them. "It has been an honor."

Maxson's gaze turned back to her and he relaxed, looking tired. "You, of course, are always welcome to the Prydwen and the Citadel," he stated and swallowed.

"I'm not going far," she stepped forward. She needed to hug him again, and he needed it too. Her arms slipped under his coat and she held onto him tightly, barely able to tough her fingers together on his back. The tips just brushed against each other, nothing like when she held Robert. "You can always visit me here, or… where ever I end up. I'll be sure to tell you, Artie," she smiled up at him and he gazed down at her lovingly, and stroked her green hair from her face.

"I'll check in as often as I can spare," then he nodded. "I'll get you a personal radio so we can communicate." She grinned. "And… you'll have the baby on the Prydwen?" he asked looking down at her.

"Um," Reagan cleared her throat. "We're going… to the Midwest, sir?"

Maxson's jaw set and he frowned down at Madelyn. She tried to comfort him. "I'll go to whatever Commonwealth doctor you decide, I promise, and… when you get back, we'll visit, or you can," she shrugged, smiling up at him.

He nodded, but didn't look like he fully accepted the idea. "I would feel better if you went to one of our outposts and had it there."

"Of course," she smiled. "I'll be okay," she promised and squeezed his muscled form.

"I know, I have to worry about you," Maxson looked passed her at Robert holding his son. "But… I suppose that's your job now, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," Robert stated, holding Duncan against his side.

"Will you two be getting married?" his eyes narrowed slightly, and Madelyn slapped his chest, but Robert chuckled. She looked at him to see him meet her grey eyes.

"If she'll have me."

There were a couple of squeals from Reagan and Merrin who grabbed onto each other and did a little dance. "Oh, that's too cute, he proposed with a kid," Reagan chuckled.

Madelyn's own face was twisted in shock. She was suddenly very aware that most of Sanctuary was standing in doorways and on the sidewalks, watching everything that had just happened. They had been there this whole time, whispering and pointing, but she'd only noticed just this moment.

Her mouth went dry and she was nodding before she realized she was. Then she looked up to see Arthur tilt his head. He was waiting for her to verbalize.

"Yes, of–of course, Robert," Madelyn looked back at her sniper and ran to him, closing the distance in only four, long, leaping steps. Then her arms circled him and their boy.

"Mommy said yes! I told you, daddy," Duncan smiled and patted Madelyn's head. She smiled at the boy and tugged him down so she could kiss his cheek, making him giggle before she looked up at Robert. He smiled at her, his blue eyes soft.

"I only feared you wouldn't because I shot you," he breathed and before Maxson could say something about that, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled his tall, lean form down to kiss her. He sat Duncan down on his feet and held her, holding her against his chest and straightening so that her legs dangled. "I love you, Madelyn."

"I love you, too, Robert."