As his arms dropped, Danse stood back. As his mind tried to understand what he had been told, he began to stammer and stumble over his words. Finally he sank into the chair that Alexei had just risen from, dropping his head down low. While she had never seen him shed a tear before, he seemed close to breaking point. Looking at her through red, puffy eyes, he could only ask.

"What happened?"

Alexei sat beside him on the couch and draped her arm over his shoulders. Taking a minute to let his emotions settle, she explained everything. Arthur, The death and destruction and the fate of his former brothers and sisters in steel. While she didn't overly care for the more racist and bigoted members of the Order, she wouldn't begrudge him his own time to mourn his losses. She knew he had a hard time over losing Cutler, but to lose one's entire family in one fell swoop would be painful for anyone. Once the silence got too much though, Alexei stood up and headed for the door.

"Wait... Where are you going?" Danse asked, his tone clearly showing his weakened state of mind.

"I thought that you might want some time alone. You know, to process the information. Don't worry, I'm just headed to the canteen. I'll be back soon." Alexei said as she laid her left hand on the door. Opening the door, Alexei could see that Danse seemed to be grabbing the air, attempting to try and call her back. As she closed the door again, she headed over to the restored wooden cabinet that she had standing in the corner. As she undid a single latch, the cabinet opened to reveal a cornucopia of liquors. Malted, aged, matured, it was an alcoholics worst enemy and best friend. As she recovered two small glasses from another cabinet, she began mixing up a wild concoction of spirits, soon revealing her masterpiece. She sat beside Danse, handing him one of the two glasses.

"It's an odd concoction I came up with. It helps with the pain." Alexei explained as Danse observed the toxic cocktail. As Danse slowly lifted the glass to his lips, he watched as Alexei downed her own drink and seemed to dissolve into the seat alongside him.

"I just hope that it doesn't kill me." Danse joked as he swallowed the mixture. As he winced at the bitter taste, almost immediately, his worries and pain seemed to dull as his vision clouded and his arms felt heavy. As he could barely turn his head, it was difficult but he could see Alexei asleep beside him, trying her best to cuddle up to him for warmth before she went limp from the strange drink also. Lying there with Alexei beside him, Danse felt as though nothing in the physical world could be better than this. The feeling he had in his heart, either real or synthetic, felt as though it was pounding hard, threatening to break out of his rib-cage. He was thankful for Alexei. How she didn't try and sugar-coat the truth about the Brotherhood, how she sat beside him, supporting him and how she practically drugged him to get him relaxed. He loved her, far more than he loved anything else in his life. He loved the Brotherhood. Implemented her tenets into his everyday life, even though he didn't have to, and tried to support them as much as he could, but he would leave that whole part of his life behind him if it threatened to complicate things with Alexei. Willing his arm as hard as he could, he sluggishly wrapped it around his love lying beside him and then felt the tender embrace of sleep as he too drifted off.

It was not an easy morning however. Because of the sheer strength of the drink the night before, Danse awoke to a cocked shotgun and a pounding headache. As he opened his eyes slowly, trying his best to avoid the blinding assault from the Commonwealth sunshine, he saw that he was face-to-muzzle with a combat shotgun. He clutched his hand to his right temple, trying to satiate the mental assault and try to get the world around him to resume at a normal speed. As he slowly attempted to rise up onto his feet, he got a kiss from the butt of the shotgun into his nose, adding to the growing migraine. Now, he tried his best to listen and focus on the person still holding their shotgun in his direction.

"Who.. you..how...here?!" Was all he heard as the person seemed to get progressively angrier.

As he got comfortable, lying on the couch, he heard Alexei and soon fell asleep again, the pain in his head numbing the rational decision to get up.

Alexei woke up rather refreshed and felt cosy. Upon looking at Danse's hungover state, she wondered did she in-fact make his drink a little bit too strong for him. She knew that he liked the occasional bottle of Gwinnett stout, so maybe she did. As she began to notice more around her, she noticed that her bedroom door was open and that Danse was bleeding from his nose. As the familiar colours of a bruise began to show on the bridge of his nose, Alexei jumped up and grabbed some tissue from her private bathroom. As she came back and began to dab away the crimson liquid, Jess came back into the room, her shotgun pointed at the ex-soldier, lying on the couch.

"Ma'am! Step away slowly..." Jess warned her, but Alexei ignored her and continued to dab away the blood. Jess grabbed her wrist and Alexei turned around, her eyes showing a wild, yet tame fury and she slowly let go.

"If I might ask ma'am? What are you doing? That thing is a monster, a beast, a major sin against nature. It should be put down, dismantled and each part melted down, not cared for..." Jess said, her voice sharp, vicious and unforgiving.

"This man has saved my life so many times that if you call HIM a THING again, I'll have you brought up on charges, knight." Alexei warned her.

As Jess scoffed in disgust, Danse began to move and his hand went back to clutch his temple, now however his other hand went to soothe his aching nose. As Alexei handed him a small purple tablet and a glass of water, Jess turned away, refusing to even look at the former soldier.

"If you'd rather not help here knight, then I recommend you go outside and gather everyone in the courtyard. I've an announcement to make." Alexei warned her again.

"Right away, Elder!" She said, venomously as she left the room.

Danse looked at Alexei with a confused look on his face.

"Why did she just call you Elder?"

"I'm sorry Patrick, but I never told you last night that after I confirmed that Arthur was in-fact dead, the surviving Elders elected me to take his place. I had hoped that I could tell you without a shotgun being thrown in your face, but nobody's perfect." Alexei told him with a smirk.

Danse made sure not to show it, but he was afraid. Afraid of what he had discussed with Nick. He would fight for his future with Alexei but he would not, could not let her get hurt just because he wouldn't let go. Rising to his feet, he hugged Alexei.

"Congratulations! I don't know anyone else who would be better suited for the position." He told her.

"Thanks. I want to hold a memorial service for the dead some time today though. I want you to be there to say something. Please?" She asked.

Danse nodded and proceeded to the door.

"Where are you going? This whole announcement business is about you.." Alexei asked him as she fastened her jumpsuit closed. Dusting her jacket off, she walked out of the room.

"Meet me on the battlements in five minutes, please." She called behind her.