A/N:

Thank you once again for your patience, dear readers. I've finally come across the plague of...writer's block! It's finally breaking up but whew! This chapter is my longest yet, and each once form here out runs the risk of being lengthy.

I'm starting to introduce more characters of my own creation. Brenna's story runs concurrently to the main quest lines of the Sole Survivor. Brenna has time spent with the main characters, but builds a life with the secondaries. There's quite a bit of dialogue in this chapter to help show the personality of these new folks in the world. This is Bethesda's sandbox. I just get the fun of playing in it.

Dan ejected the holotape, and set it on my lap. He gave me a look that said he wanted to give more comfort than would be prudent in present company.

"That was you. Really you. Brenna, what is the Vitruvian Society?" Sandra asked, the shock plain in her voice and face.

"I swear I have no idea. None whatsoever. I've never recorded any such thing. Her birthday is the same as mine. Her name too. But it's not me. All of my information was attached to my driver's license. Not a recorded message." I replied.

I knew my answer likely made no sense. What wastelander held a license of any sort these days? And the birthday? Even Dan's didn't come close to mine.

"Kid, the road towards your answers just started. I can see it…" Mama Murphy wheezed from her accustomed place opposite us.

Before I could start in on her, Dan halted my bitter reply. He, of all people, knew about my dislike of the woman. His arms tightened around me, his breath warm in my ear.

"Just ignore her, love. We'll figure this out together." came his whisper.

"I can't think right now, Dan. I need some sleep." I said softly.

We stood and told our companions – Sandra, Leo, Melissa and Oliver, even Mama Murphy – that we were heading home for the evening to collect ourselves. We could come together as a community in the morning to work on some answers. Everyone bid us goodnight, or gave me reassuring hugs.

I stopped Dan at the threshold of my home. A large part of me desperately wanted his company. The thought of being alone in the night after hearing that phantom version of myself sent icy shivers through me. But the small part of myself that carried the guilt of infidelity screamed out to not let my mind start wanting him in my home… in my bed… right now.

I needed to make a choice. Would I give my heart over to someone else, or hold onto the hope of returning to Jay?

All these thoughts swirling in my mind were halted by the rough texture of Dan's hands tenderly cupping both of my cheeks. I looked up into his black eyes, and asked him to stay with me. He reached around me, and turned the knob of my front door. We went directly to my living room, and sat on my couch.

"Should we talk… about this audio version of you? I'm here if you need me." he said, the caring so obvious in his voice.

"Please just hold me tonight. I don't think I can be alone right now." I pleaded.

The look that crossed Dan's face surprised me. I certainly did not expect shock at being invited to stay for the night.

"I think that might be a bad idea, love. I don't have much in the way of self-control today. Not after…earlier." he gulped.

He was really taking this whole "think about it" thing seriously. I'd never met a man who stood by his word quite like he did.

"If you think that's best, I won't push you. You should know that our differences truly do not bother me. Preston told me you're a good man right from the start, and I believe that now." I said.

"It's just that, for me, it's important to take things slow. I want to… savor each moment with you." he stammered, clearly uncomfortable.

I sighed, and gave him a kiss goodnight. It sucked to see him go, but I suppose I could see his point. I went to the kitchen to grab some of my gear to work on and take my mind off of Dan leaving, the holotape recording of this mystery woman, all of it. Pushing my caps pouch out of the way, I remembered the Jet. Tonight felt like the right one to give in to that particular indulgence.

I dug the inhaler out of the little interior hidden pocket of my rucksack where I kept a few important things such as spare stimpacks. A few hits of the inhaler, and I was in a better place emotionally. Maybe Mama Murphy was onto something. I knew it was time to take a pass on these sorts of chems though. Goddess knows I never wanted to end up like her or Leo. Hopefully a night of decent sleep would help.

The next morning I hunted down Sturges to see if he knew how to bolster my original leather armor. A little scavenging and hammering later, I had some padded lining, and metal plates added to my armor. It might not have been the suit of medieval knight's wear that I'd dreamed of, but it would work out in the Commonwealth.
I tinkered with Helga a bit, adding an expanded ammo capacity to her. It would probably be time to try out some of the other available weapons, but that would have to wait. My hunting rifle hadn't let me down yet.

I'd decided it was time to hit the wastes on my own, and hunt down the next piece to identifying this mystery woman on the tape. Despite all the reasons to believe otherwise, I knew it wasn't me. Her words kept echoing in my mind, and one thing stood out above all others. She had said she was a subject of this Vitruvian Society. Not an employee. Not a member, or customer, or whatever. A subject. That just could not be a good thing.

Before I left, I went home to grab my rucksack, as much ammo as I could get my dirty little paws on, and the few stimpacks I had kicking around. Armored and armed, pack as full as I could reasonably manage, and with more cranky attitude than any one woman deserved to have, I resolutely marched out of my house.

I heard a door slam nearby. I had a bad feeling that I knew who it was.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Sandra shouted from her front door.

"Uh, ok?" I replied.

She jogged over to me, armored as well, and carrying her own pack and guns. Shit. I just knew she wanted to tag along. I felt as though I needed to face this issue on my own. I hadn't heard a damn thing from Nick in about 3 weeks, and I was fairly certain that Dan had left Sanctuary as soon as he fled from my home the night before; I know I felt like hiding away after his rejection the previous night. The only two men in this world that I trusted completely were gone. I refused to drag more people into this.

"Don't even try to tell me I'm not allowed to come with you. I know you're probably ready to tackle the Commonwealth alone, but this? You've got a doppelgänger out there, and I bet she's nothing but trouble. You need a friend, now more than ever." she paused, "Can I be honest with you about something, woman to woman?" she asked.

Oh man.

"I guess so. Not like anything I say will stop you." I said, chuckling at her determination. Then I realized just how much I sounded like Holotape Woman.

Sandra took a deep breath, and said "What's up with you and Dan? I mean, we all noticed the way you touched each other around the fire last night. I think I may have been the only one close enough to hear it, unless Mama Murphy suddenly has The Sound as well as The Sight, but he called you 'love'. Time to 'fess up."

I sighed. Did I really want to have this conversation right now? Still, Sandra was right. I needed a friend.

"I don't know what's going on between me and him. I'm pretty sure we both care about the other deeply. But he pretty much ran away from me yesterday when I… ummm... encouraged more than just some passionate kisses." I told her, blushing horrifically.

Her eyes were as wide as saucers.

"You did what now?!" she gasped.

"C'mon! You heard me perfectly well. And I know you saw us outside in the yard after he ran out." I said, wishing I'd never answered her honestly in the first place.

She sighed and shook her head.

"Didn't realize that pre-war, sex was pretty much never initiated by the woman, and certainly not encouraged between unmarried folks, did ya?" she asked.

"What on earth does that have to do with this?" I grumped.

"Dan is a pre-war man. Remember now?" she said as though I were completely stupid.

To be fair, in this case I was. It never occurred to me that Dan would have values so different than mine. That explained more about his behavior.

"Alright, message received. Can we just go now?" I sighed.

"Sure. Where to?" she asked brightly.

"Anywhere but here." I said, wanting to be far away from the place that held all my romantic mistakes.

As we neared the bridge to Red Rocket, we both heard the newlyweds, Melissa and Oliver Stryker, talking to someone. That someone was apparently Dan.

Mel and Ollie had married in Diamond City about a month before I arrived in this world. Both in their mid-twenties, and still starry eyed in love, they were a force for good in the Commonwealth. Though not officially Minutemen, they took on small rescue missions for the group whenever discretion was needed. It looked like poor Dan was the subject of their latest operation.

"Will you just think about it? About her?" Mel asked, sounding exasperated.

Dan heaved a sigh, and replied "She's on my mind more than enough already, thank you very much."

Sandra couldn't help but insert herself into the interrogation.

"Ooh ooh, is it me? Please say it's me Daniel's thinking of!" she squealed, adding in a fake swoon for good measure.

I facepalmed, and decided against jumping in as well. I knew Dan had mentioned that he greatly disliked anyone using anything other than the shortened form of his given name, unless it was someone he felt exceptionally close to. Even I hadn't had the confidence to call him Daniel yet.

"Now this should be good." said Ollie with immense satisfaction in his voice. He was always one for explosions, both from weapons and emotions.

Dan glared at Sandra, letting his angry gaze be enough warning without having to open his mouth. I'd never seen him in such a state. I grabbed Sandra by the arm, and began dragging her away.

"C'mon Sandy! Let's get moving." I growled at her, hoping she'd get the point. She hated her nickname as much as Dan hated his given name.

Sandra pouted all the way up to Red Rocket, miffed that I ruined her jester routine with Dan. It wasn't long until we were in Concord proper. Just beyond the Museum of Freedom, I heard rapidly approaching footsteps behind us. Yanking Helga out, I spun around and swiftly took aim. Zeroing in on the source of the danger felt smoother since my time with MacCready.

It's a damn good thing I didn't pull the trigger. Sanctuary's arguing threesome came hauling ass up the road. Dan and the Stryker couple were trying to catch up with us. Sandra tugged on the back of the road leathers beneath my armor straps and buckles. I halted, and frankly, didn't know how to feel about Dan's approach. I guess a group of five would fare better in the Commonwealth than two. Yet with Dan among that number, any possibility of hiding my feelings for him were shot to shit. Then again, maybe he'd had a change of heart about the ambiguity of our relationship.

"For the love of Atom, woman! Are you crazy?! Don't aim unless you plan on killing!" Oliver shouted at me.

Despite the younger man's lead on him, Dan quickly closed the distance, and snagged Ollie's shirt, yanking him violently back.

"Do not ever speak to her that way again. Understand?" his normal gravelly voice turned to a low growl from his anger.

"Alright, man. Alright. Gonna let me go now?" Oliver asked, holding his hands up in surrender.

Dan let him go with a little shove. I caught his eye, and I knew he could tell I wanted him alone for a moment just by the shock at his behavior etched in my eyes. I stomped over, grabbed Dan's arm, and practically dragged him away from the little group that had formed behind us.

"What the hell was that all about?! I've never seen you like this, Dan." I demanded, fists on my hips.

His eyes softened as he took me in. He swept me into his arms, burying his face in the top of my head and breathing in the scent of my hair. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged back for all I was worth.

"I let them get to me when I shouldn't have. Mel had some uncomfortable questions and…demands for me earlier, as you no doubt figured out by now. I'm sorry you saw me like that." Dan told me.

I didn't need to be looking up into his eyes to know that he was shamefaced at this particular moment. I sighed, and pulled out of his arms just enough to see him anyway.

"You don't have to tell me what words were exchanged. But you do owe Ollie an apology. He didn't say anything but the truth. Frankly, you all startled me so much that I was a hair's breadth away from shooting. I'm…feeling edgy today, I guess." I said while reaching up to touch his cheek.

Dan nodded as he leaned into my touch, and we made our way back to the others. Dan took Oliver aside, and when they returned, both men looked to be on better terms. Facing the three glaring women before them, they likely realized that getting along was their only option.

I told the group that had assembled before me that I was headed out in an attempt to find more answers to the holotape we'd heard the night before. They were welcome to turn back home right now, but if they came along, I was in charge without question. Luckily for me, they had no idea that I hadn't the first clue as to what I was doing.

To my surprise, everyone stayed. The Strykers tossed out some ideas for places to investigate. Amongst them were police stations. If this copy of me was a "subject" then maybe her parents reported her missing at some point prior to the recording we heard. That certainly sounded plausible to me. Until Dan mentioned that realistically, any records prior to the Great War might be quite scarce.

Everyone in our little group had gear and guns, so off we went. We began our Commonwealth stroll towards the station closest to Sanctuary. The computers there seemed entirely trashed. Mel and I were working on cracking the encryption on the only remaining intact terminal. We largely ignored all the crashing sounds coming from the next room because we assumed it was the other three in our band of merrily awkward travelers. It wasn't until Oliver cried out in pain that we understood we were under attack.

"Ollie! I'm coming, babe!" Mel shrieked.

"Dan? Where are you?!" I cried.

We readied our weapons and ran towards our men, and our friend. Mel checked the straps of her grenade belt, and gave me a meaningful look. That was frankly impressive, given the situation. I nodded, and accepted the small bundle of frags. Mel hurdled the overturned desks, and tossed her first grenade into the attackers with surprising grace. Not to be outdone, I slid on the old papers that littered the floor and crashed into the same desk. I certainly have my own battle style.

I heard Ollie shouting creative obscenities in between firing his pistols at whatever opponent they had encountered, then flopping down behind a covering table. His fluency in cussing folks out never failed to amaze me. Ever more inventive streams of animal-, mothers-, and teammate- involved curses came from the downed man.

Right then Mel's first frag blew, and new shouts were added to the mix. I picked my sorry ass up off the ground, and peered over the desk. The dickhead in a metal case from the Castle was at the lead of a force of Brotherhood soldiers. My own were giving as good as they got, and I must admit I was proud of them. Mel and Ollie always loved a fight, Sandra had a wild streak that matched the Strykers' sense of humor, and Dan let his fright for my safety explode into anger at these people shooting at us. Ollie was being helped up by his wife, and was obviously injured.

From behind my desk, I yelled "Danse! Knock it off, asshole!"

"I should've known it was you." Danse growled while motioning for his people to stand down.

I ran to the safety of Dan's arms. He kissed me as though it were the last time he'd ever see me. Sandra flitted between all of us, squeezing each to make sure we were all alive. Ollie groaned in pain, and Mel held him tightly.

Danse glared at each of us in turn as he said "It's no surprise that you run with a pair of 'covert' lunatics, a woman of questionable morals, and an abomination like you."

At his words, Melissa and Oliver struck proud poses, Sandra kissed both of her middle fingers before flipping Danse off, and Dan held me protectively.

'My Dan is not an 'abomination', Danse. You could do with a few lessons from him on how to be a better person." I retorted.

A woman with the Brotherhood, who was dressed differently than the rest in a red long sleeved shirt, brown combat vest, and goggles atop her head, stepped forward and spoke privately with Danse. Although we couldn't hear what was said due to our distance from them, I guessed it did not sit well with the uptight soldier boy.

"Scribe Haylen has reminded me why Elder Maxson sent us out to Sanctuary to find you and bring you to the Prydwyn regardless of any protestations from you, Ms. Morley." Danse said, practically sneering out my last name.

Sandra whispered for all of us to sit behind the flipped table. A little uncertain, we complied.

"I don't like how he emphasized your name, Brenna. This can't end well." Sandra said.

"Me either." added Dan.

Mel and Ollie shared a look. Ollie's shoulder that had been shot was now tied up with what had once been my green shirt. Fighting our way out wouldn't work and we all knew it.

"We know this Elder of theirs. They'd suck him off without hesitation if he commanded it." Mel informed us.

Ollie dropped a wink at our group, and stage whispered from where we all hid "So why do think this molerat fucker sent these shit-filled tin cans to drag us back to their floating sex castle?".

I had to muffle my laughter against Dan's neck. Despite the situation we'd found ourselves in, I couldn't help but notice two things. The first was that being this emotionally as well as physically close to him in front of everyone and not hiding it felt wonderful. The second was that as soon as the touch of my lips hit his neck, Dan froze up.

Now it seemed to be Sandra's turn to let loose some of the energy she'd been holding back.

"It's been so long since I've last had Maxson on his knees, trying to teach him once again that ratties have got nothing on a live woman. Shame that's harder than prying him away from that feral he's got locked in his quarters. Says he likes it's squirms and bites better than a molerat's." she said with a longing sigh.

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH OF YOUR CHILDISH INSULTS FOR TODAY!" Danse roared.

"Nerve. Struck." Mel said to us with great satisfaction.