Note: Had to copy the dialogue in some places. Sorry about that. I did alter what I could, when I could, by truncating the long-winded supervillian speech that Maxson gives. Also changed up what the SS says in reply. I don't think I managed to capture the impact of Maxson's words, but I did my best.

Thank you for the reviews, Queenybeeba and Corlissangel! As always, you are a favorite fan, Starrysky ;) but I think Ruby is a great deal stronger than Maggie.

"You sure this is the right place?" Hancock asked.

Ruby shot him a glance, her feet crunching through the branches and leaf litter that was strewn about the ground. It was a beautiful day for traveling, she'd thought. Aside from where they were headed―

Her teeth ground together once, before she stopped herself. "Haylen said Danse would have come here," she answered, pushing a branch out of the way and stepping over a downed tree.

Hancock hopped over the trunk and chuckled a little. "Should have expected it," he muttered to himself.

"Expected what," Ruby asked, lowering her voice. They were getting close to the bunker. She had no clue how the biometric scanners in laser turrets worked, but every last bunker she'd seen out here was equipped with both. Didn't need to get shot looking for him―

"Him being a soldier to the end," Hancock replied. "Programmed. Synths know their roles." He shook his head and paused for a moment, rattling something in his pocket.

"It's not absolute," she said, remembering the boy synth. "Not every synth is a perfect replica."

"Coulda fooled me," he mumbled, and she heard the hiss of an inhaler.

"Kind of the point, John," she murmured.

He laughed, honestly amused. After a quiet moment of walking, Hancock made a noise to get her attention. "Ruby," he said, calmly. "You gonna be okay with this? Saving him... breaking the rules?"

Ruby sighed. "I'm not going to kill him," she reaffirmed. "He's... not what I expected, from a synth. If he really is a synth."

"If the Brotherhood said he is, then he is," Hancock drawled. "They know their business."

Her heart wrenched. Remembered that conversation with Maxson, in the Prydwen... asking her how she couldn't have known. Part of her was upset that Maxson assumed she was in on the deception, though she understood why. Danse had found her in the wastes. Maxson assumed, as was his nature, that she had been planted by the Institute in some attempt to gather information on the Brotherhood.

Like Danse presumably had.

Ruby paused for a moment, a hand on a tree trunk, staring out into the area. She didn't... couldn't believe it, still. Felt like she ought to have proof, but the only way to get proof was to―

She wasn't going to kill Danse. Broke her heart, hearing Haylen talking about being his friend. Having to play along with the Brotherhood and agreeing to track him down, and Haylen verbally attacking her like she had, took a lot more self-control than she'd thought she had.

At least Haylen understood that she was giving him a chance. Ruby wasn't going to kill him, regardless of what the young Scribe might believe. She wouldn't let it come to that.

When... she and Danse had argued, about the Brotherhood's motives in the Commonwealth, she'd been angry that he couldn't understand her point. That they were harming people by demanding resources. He'd brought up Nate. She was furious at him―how dare he talk about Nate like he knew anything about him. Like he had a right to bring him up in an argument―

But... Danse had been correct when he referred to sacrifice. When he talked about necessary actions, the collecting of resources from the wastes, she knew what he was saying. The Brotherhood was voluntarily fighting against the Institute, because they wanted to bring stability. Danse himself knew the cost of such action, to himself and to his men.

The cost for people like Haylen, who had done as she was ordered even if it broke her heart. Danse had seen the outcome of his action, and even though he was confused by it he had not backed down.

He was more human that most, she thought. If he truly was a synth―Hancock was right. The Brotherhood knew what they were doing. That was why she had allied with them, in order to find Shaun.

Ruby glanced back at Hancock, watching him watching her. He hadn't said a word the whole time she was thinking. He'd made a sacrifice, too. When she asked him for advice, she'd really only expected him to tell her that synths were the enemy. To make it easier for her to follow through on Maxson's orders. She hadn't expected him to sympathize with someone who was a synth.

Hancock had made it a point that he didn't like the idea. That she didn't want him to change his mind. But he'd said Danse was important to the settlement, to helping others. And he was right about the real problem―

She breathed out, feeling her willpower draining with the air leaving her lungs. It wasn't easy to plan for the coming storm. To... deal with the situation. To know how everything would end. But she was going to try her best. Danse wasn't worth sacrificing.

No more martyrs.

"There's the bunker," she said, quietly. Pointed to the dip in the ground. "Let's get this horseshit over with."

"I hear ya, sister," Hancock replied, nodding firmly.

On the ride down in the elevator, she checked her weapon. Didn't know if Danse would want to talk to her. He might... attack, if provoked, if he felt threatened. She didn't think he would, though.

Hancock was making noise, but she ignored him. Didn't say anything, just watched the doors with a cold stare. She could do this. Everything he'd told her about mistakes, everything he'd said about making truths real, ran through her head.

She was not helpless. Nor was she in the wrong. Her words mattered to the people of the Commonwealth. The decision she was about to make, to save Danse, it wasn't a mistake. She didn't have to fix this choice afterward, because the Institute was their enemy. Synth replacements were not.

...At least, she hoped they weren't.

Ruby took a deep breath before swinging her rifle out and stepping into the room, sweeping the area. She caught a glimpse of orange jumpsuit through a hole in the wall, and slowly advanced through a passage to the room.

She didn't say a word to him. Kept her face neutral and her rifle up, staring at Danse.

"I'm not surprised Maxson sent you," he said, standing at ease in front of her. Looked right back at her without a single emotion in his face. He was... unafraid. She had to match that bravery, to make things right.

She opened her mouth to speak, but her chin wobbled. Couldn't―couldn't bring herself to say anything, right away. You aren't helpless, she told herself. And you're not afraid―

"I didn't know." Danse's voice was quiet. "I thought synths were the enemy. I never expected to hear that I was one of them."

Ruby breathed out slowly, trying to calm herself. She believed him. In all of her time spent combing the wastes, she'd run across many synths―synths that looked like real people, synths that didn't, synths like... synths like that boy, who had been so perfect, but unaware―

"Does Maxson even want me alive?" he asked, resigned.

He'd lost hope. Ruby's heart sank. She had to, now. Had to keep him alive. There was no other choice for her to make.

"No," she said, as calmly as she could manage. "...But I'm hoping there's a way out."

He looked perturbed. "Don't be ridiculous, Ruiz."

"You told me once, that you didn't want another friend's death on your conscience," she said, as determinedly as she could. "Did you stop to think I might not, either?"

"Look..." Danse made a pained face, and looked away. "I'm not blind to the fact that this must be difficult for you. I wish Maxson had sent someone else."

She couldn't agree with that. If it had been someone else, he would already be dead. He might be resigned to his fate, but she was not.

"But that doesn't change a thing," he added, his voice hard. "I'm a synth, which means I need to be destroyed." He turned his head back to her. "If you betray your orders, you're not only betraying Maxson, you're betraying the Brotherhood of Steel and everything it stands for."

Ruby snorted, and finally lowered her rifle. "Honestly, Danse," she said, chastising him. "You really are terrible at talking to people." She put the rifle on her back, shaking her head. "Do you remember the last conversation we had?"

"I do," he said, his eyebrows drawing together. "I fail to see how that affects this conversation. Synths can't be trusted, Ruiz. I am not the exception to the rule."

She stared at him for a moment. Tried to think of how to broach the topic of saving him, without making things worse. Danse was a straight line, a connection from point A to point B without deviation. ...If she spoke to him as he spoke to her, maybe―

"You're concerned about me," she stated. It was a blunt fact. She knew he'd been the first to find her, when she needed a steady hand to guide her; he'd made it clear he considered himself her friend; he'd helped her to understand why she had to be firm in her actions. He wouldn't have―have gotten out of his power armor the night on the bridge, and tried to console her, if he didn't care.

She glanced at Hancock, who had been standing silently behind her. He smiled, gently, and nodded at her. Ruby turned back to Danse. If Hancock approved, she was golden. His heart wouldn't let her down. Never had, before.

"You've always been concerned about me," she told Danse. "I don't think you would've tried to make me feel better, if you didn't."

He didn't reply, dark eyes considering her silently. Ruby crossed her arms over her chest, remembering how tough it could be to talk down the opposing side in the courtroom. When she did the sort of thing she was doing now, for a living. Talking him out of his resigned nature should be no more harder than making an emphatic closing argument.

You got this, Ruby. Do your thing. Danse is your friend, and you owe him this.

"You worried that I would betray the Brotherhood, once before. You worried that I was going to make an enemy of you and of Maxson, and you worried that you would have to kill me." She sighed, and smiled sadly at him. "The empathy that you're showing me? It's a human emotion, Danse."

Danse stared back at her for a moment. "I appreciate what you're trying to do," he said, in a low voice. "But I've made my decision. I'm ready to accept the consequences of my true identity."

Ruby pressed her lips together, looking him directly in the eyes. Of all the outcomes she'd imagined, she hadn't thought he would want to go so... willingly. Even a synth should have the will to live, the desire to stay alive―

"Maxson's ordered you to kill me," Danse said, as strongly as she'd ever heard him speak. "And I'll be damned if I'm going to stand in your way."

"No." Ruby lowered her arms. "I won't do it, Danse."

He sputtered, looking incredulous. "I can't believe you would risk your life just to keep me alive―"

Hancock started laughing, behind Ruby. "Seriously? Why would Ruby risk her life for someone?" He snorted. "Not even a synth is that dumb."

"John," Ruby said, to the side. A quiet warning not to screw it up; he knew he should behave. Ruby wouldn't fault him for his smart aleck comments, but she really didn't need it right now.

"Why would you do that for me?" Danse asked her, looking concerned.

"You talked about sacrifice, before," she told him, carefully. "How we expect sacrifice, to have safety." Ruby stared at him, tiredly. "I've already lost my family, Danse." She heaved a painful sigh. "I would risk any danger, it if meant I stayed the sacrifice of a friend."

Ruby kept her eyes on Danse, letting her face show the emotions that were building in her chest. If she did lose him―after losing Nate, after losing Shaun, and after finding everything gone to hell―if she lost Danse, right now, she had no one left who would keep her from going off the deep end.

It was her turn to take, and not give. She was taking Danse out of harm's way. Because she wanted him to live.

Ruby sniffled, feeling her chin wobbling again. She blinked rapidly, trying to stem the tears. "I―" she started, hearing her voice wavering. "Danse―"

"You're right," Danse said. "How could I have been so blind?" He looked appropriately chastised, a pained expression on his face. "I should consider how my death might affect the people who care about me."

Ruby sputtered out a laugh. Still Danse, no matter what. She wiped her face, roughly.

"Perhaps now that you've opened my eyes, I can consider my next move," he said, gently but proudly.

"...Whatever it takes," Ruby replied, "I'll be there with you, Danse."

Danse gave her a friendly smile. "Thank you, Ruiz. But I have my own path to follow. The only clear choice is for me to leave the Commonwealth."

What? Ruby sucked snot up into her head and stared at him, disbelievingly.

"Take my holotags. Use them to prove your mission was a success or Maxson will just send someone else to hunt me down." He held out the tags to her, hands steady. Ruby's hands started to shake.

She couldn't.

"C'mon, Ruby," Hancock urged, behind her. "Take them and let's go."

"I agree," Danse said, nodding to Hancock. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Ruby reached out, hands shaking so badly she didn't think she could keep the tags in her grip once she had them, and allowed him to drop them into her palm. She felt numb. All the tears she had been prepared to cry were gone, drained out of her. She couldn't will herself to talk him out of leaving―

Not after―after―everything. She would be losing him if he left, just as if he died―

She wasn't strong enough. Everything that had happened between them, all the scrapes he'd pulled her out of, every heartfelt and awkward conversation―she still wasn't strong enough to handle the pain.

She needed him to stay. But he was going to leave.

Danse smiled again, and started walking past her. Ruby stared at her palm, at the tags resting up against her wedding ring, at the two metals gleaming under florescent lighting.

"Hancock," she mumbled, closing her hand over the tags and letting the edges dig into her palm.

"Yeah," he asked, coming up beside her.

"...How many chems does it take to forget everything?"

He stared at her for a moment. "You can't run away, Ruby," he said, quietly, and put a hand between her shoulder blades, pushing her forward. "It only gets harder to forget."

"How dare you betray the Brotherhood!"

Danse blinked, throwing a hand up against the bright sun as he exited the bunker. Ruiz stumbled out behind him, followed by the ghoul, squinting at the dramatic difference of light.

Elder Maxson stood in front of them. He'd... not expected to see the Elder. But it didn't surprise him. Maxson had come to monitor Ruiz, after her failure at tracking down Dr. Li inside the Institute and after his―

He cringed at himself. After the revelation that he was a synth. He'd picked Ruiz out of the wastes, himself. Maxson had every right to imagine that Ruiz would be a spy, just as he... probably was.

Damned if he knew what he was, anymore. But he wasn't going to live much longer. The appearance of Elder Maxson solved everyone's problems neatly. Everyone, except for―

Ruiz. He shot a glance at her. She looked dazed, her hands still shaking, her eyes on the ground.

He knew he had to take the fall for her. She was shaken up by this whole situation, more so than he'd ever thought possible. Even as friends, she cared deeply for him and he would not let her be in the wrong for that.

"It's not her fault. It's mine," he said, staring down Maxson.

"I'll deal with you in a moment," Maxson said furiously, pointing at him. "Knight! Why has this―this thing not been destroyed?"

Ruiz turned her head to him, wearily, looking for all the world like she had when she returned from the Institute―her face was broken, all hope gone from her eyes. She opened her mouth, and closed it. "He's still―" she quavered.

Maxson interrupted. "Danse isn't a man, it's a machine. An automaton created by the Institute. Flesh is flesh. Machine is machine. The two were never meant to intertwine. The Institute has taken the sanctity of human life and corrupted―"

"He's still alive... because you're wrong about him," she said, suddenly. Her voice was frail, but the underlying strength was apparent.

Danse spoke out before Maxson recovered, to keep the focus off of Ruiz. "After all I've done for the Brotherhood, all the blood I've spilled in our name, how can you say that about me?"

Maxson took the bait. "You're the physical embodiment of what we hate most," he spat, glaring at Danse. "Millions... perhaps even billions, died because science outpaced man's restraint. Can't you see the same thing is happening again?!"

He raised his hand to his eyes, as he stared hatefully at Danse. Danse stared back at him, remembering the past. Knowing that what Maxson said was true. Not knowing... how to defend himself, properly, against this final threat.

He should not have listened to Ruiz. This would have been much simpler, if he had not allowed her to convince him that he might escape. He wouldn't blame her for the sentiment, but... now, he had no choice but to fight.

"You're a single bomb in an arsenal of thousands preparing to lay waste to what's left of mankind," Maxson hissed, not moving his eyes from Danse's face.

Ruiz snapped her head up, regaining that strength that Danse knew she possessed. "Danse wants to save mankind, not destroy it!" she protested, fiercely.

"You're as delusional as you are insubordinate!" Maxson turned back to Ruiz. He put a finger in her face. "Those ethics that it's striving to champion aren't even it's own. They were artificially inserted in an attempt to have it blend into society."

Danse narrowed his eyes at the Elder. Ruiz was still trying to defend him―even though she had no need to do so. He couldn't let her do that. This was his decision, not hers. His choice to face down the fate he knew he might receive, should he step out of the bunker.

Ruiz may have inspired him with her hope... but he could handle the rest, alone.

"It's true," he said, his voice subdued. "I was built within the confines of a laboratory, and some of my memories aren't my own." He grew more confident. "But when I saw my brothers dying at my feet, I felt sorrow. When I defeated an enemy of the Brotherhood, I felt pride." He looked up at Maxson, feeling that pride swelling in his chest.

Maxson glared at him without giving quarter. Danse held a hand to his head. "Don't you understand? I thought I was human, Arthur." He lowered his hand and made a fist. "From the moment I was taken in by the Brotherhood I've done absolutely nothing to betray your trust, and I never will."

"It's too late for that, now." Maxson looked at Ruiz. "I don't intend to debate this any longer. My orders stand."

Ruiz looked sick to her stomach, her face going pale under the hot sun. Danse wished, for a moment, that he could express himself better. To tell her that he understood, and that she should not lose her hope because she lost this fight―

He smiled to himself, sadly. Even at his death, he was still proud of her tenacity. Of that strength she held. And he... knew that his death would affect her. There was no other logical conclusion to the situation, given their camaraderie.

"Its all right, Ruiz. We did our best." She looked at him, her eyes shining. She still looked sick to her stomach. Danse breathed out, slowly. "Know that I am going to my grave with no anger and no regrets," he said.

"Touching," Maxson snapped. "Either you execute Danse, or I will, Knight."

Ruiz kept her eyes on Danse for a moment longer, then blinked rapidly and turned to Maxson.

"I have done a great many things for the Brotherhood," she began, her voice growing more firm as she spoke. "I have fought beside its Knights, beside its Paladins; you owe me this chance to speak my mind." She stood up straighter and stared Maxson in the eyes.

Maxson looked in her eyes, and conceded. "Very well. I'm listening."

"All the battles I've fought for―for you, for my brothers and sisters aboard the Prydwen," she began, slowly. "You know I will do anything that is necessary to save their lives. Danse has saved lives of countless soldiers, more than I can begin to conceive."

Danse knew this to be true. But his chapter of life was ending, and she would go on to save many more than he would. He couldn't look at her, watching her throw her reputation onto the fire along with his life. Couldn't watch her ruining what she had fought for, so hard―

But he couldn't look away from her, the sparkling green fire in her eyes as she stared Maxson down without blinking. Ruiz was determined and unafraid.

"Now," she told Elder Maxson, "it's time you saved his."

She did not need to worry. She did not need the Brotherhood to help her save the Commonwealth.

She could do it on her own.