Cade peeled off her gauze a week later and was satisfied with the results. He used a stimpak on her neck despite her protests and she headed to her quarters with a grumble.

Stimpaks made her tired and she longed for the quiet of her room when guilt once again raked at her mind. She scrubbed her eyes roughly, careful to avoid her tender face, turning to the door to Maxson's quarters. They hadn't spoken since she'd briefed him on her mission to the hospital a week ago. Cade refused to release her to another mission until the tooth marks had fully healed. She didn't protest too much, knowing full well how horribly infected feral bites could get at a moment's notice.

She knocked gently on Maxson's door, not completely sure with what she was doing. Despite that it wasn't too late in the evening, Maxson clearly hadn't been expecting anyone. Behind him, the table was littered with paperwork and a glass of what she could easily guess was bourbon. He seemed to prefer it over the constant punch of whiskey.

He let her in and she nervously looked at her intertwined fingers as he closed the door behind her. He had a pen tucked behind his ear, from when he was signing some documents. Shiloh quickly turned to face him, steeling herself for...she wasn't sure what.

He watched her with crossed arms, expecting her to speak first.

"I-" she swallowed thickly, sounding stupid to herself, "I wanted to-"

"Your face," Shiloh nearly jumped out of her skin when he reached over and ran his fingers down her jaw, "the scars aren't so bad." It was true, they weren't. All that remained were slight dents across her jaw and upper neck. They were nothing compared to some of her other scars. Still, she was hyper-focused on his hand. Her heart hammered in her chest until his fingers left her face. She wasn't sure if he was affected at all by his action, but he seemed a little breathless when he spoke again, "You're here to talk about our conversation a week ago."

"It wasn't a conversation. We were just thinking the same thing." Shiloh ran her fingertips along the folders on the table, still thinking of him touching her face.

"I'm very tired, Sentinel," Before she could ask if she needed to leave, he interrupted her, "And not from lack of sleep. I'm tired of us not being honest with each other. You're here to say something," he crossed his arms again.

She took a breath, "Do you still hate me for your scar?"

There was the question. Danse had given her an answer, but she wanted to hear it from Maxson. If he hated her, she could take it. She told herself she could. Maxson's mouth quirked slightly, "I used to. When I thought I knew what hate was. One thing I haven't done since I became Elder was misplace my blame. And I knew from my election that every action I've ever made was my own. Your headstrong methods during missions scared me, they still do I hate to admit, but I rushed that deathclaw on my own. I thought I was saving you," he seemed a little bitter now, stepping away from her.

She took a step towards him to make up for the distance, "Do you still hate the scar itself?"

"It works for me, in a way. They see it as proof that I have seen battle."

"I hear them murmuring stories about you all the time. They love you."

"The western elders would prefer they fear me."

"Which do you prefer?"

Maxson thought about it, gesturing her to sit at the table, "I don't know, for sure."

"It's easier to lose soldiers when you don't care for them," Shiloh saw Maxson's posture grow defensive, but she continued on, "it would have been easier losing Danse."

"Danse was an Institute synth. He was a danger. He was-"

"He is, Maxson. He is." Shiloh and Maxson made eye contact, hers daring him to correct her.

He didn't, though he clearly looked irritated, "This is not something to discuss."

"It's the biggest thing to discuss. We both knew him for years. You grew up under him. Don't lie to me and tell me you felt nothing casting him out like that."

Maxson stood and turned away from her, gripping the edge of his desk until his knuckles grew white, "It doesn't matter what I felt. He was a danger to not only the Brotherhood, but to the entire mission. I had no choice-" He stopped when he felt her touch his arm gently.

He straightened and turned back, surprised to see her so close, "I know, Maxson. You don't need to justify it. I know."

He clenched his jaw and found he couldn't look her in the eyes anymore. His chest hurt just as it did every time he had this discussion with Nora. But unlike Nora, he wasn't constantly on the defensive here. Because Shiloh knew the kind of sacrifices that needed to be made. Nora would die before she sacrificed someone for a cause. She ignored that Danse chose to sacrifice himself, even if he wanted to live in the end. Shiloh's hand was still on his arm. She could feel how tense he was. He was breathing a little heavier now, stewing in his anger.

She was standing in front of him now, both hands on his arms. He was glaring at the floor, still not moving much. But he was allowing her to do this. Her thumbs pressed into the muscles of his biceps. They were both silent in thought now, though he felt her eyes on his face as he struggled to speak again. He couldn't manage higher than a whisper, "I couldn't sacrifice everything I worked for just because I cared about someone."

"Of course. Sarah would have made the same decision. I know she would have. But it must have been hard. I talked to him, I'm sure you know. He still cares, so much. And there wasn't a hint of hatred in his voice. He knew you made the right call." Maxson sighed, lifting his head to look up at her. He was so close to him now that he could feel her breath. He would only have to lean down slightly to kiss her. But it wasn't the right moment. He wasn't in the right frame of mind. The proximity was beginning to overwhelm him again and she could sense it. He had to stop himself from gripping her when she took a step back. "I had a way out, you know."

"A way out?"

"Someone I knew offered to let me come with them. Without the Brotherhood," Shiloh saw the confusion in Maxson's expression, "I chose the Brotherhood. I don't want you to feel like you trapped me here."

Maxson frowned, "Who was it?"

Shiloh suddenly grinned, "No way I'm telling you."

He crossed his arms, "Probably best that you don't."

He was surprised when she laughed, "No need to waste manpower hunting my would-be kidnapper down." He wasn't very amused, but the knowledge that she turned down the offer warmed him. "Besides, he's a good friend."

Maxson was suspicious this good friend had something to do with Nora, but he dropped it for the time being. Shiloh was leaning over his table again, peering at the various stacks of paperwork, "Looks interesting."

"Easily my least favorite part of my job." He admitted to himself that he enjoyed having her here. Without the tense atmosphere, she found her place. He could tell she was steeling herself for another difficult subject.

"Do you need me to let you get back to work?"

"Shiloh," she looked at him as soon as he said her name, "just tell me."

She was on the other side of the room now, but she approached him again. He hadn't moved from his position leaning against his desk, "Maxson I'm worried about you. I've been worried since before I disappeared."

He had expected something about Sarah or maybe Danse again. He didn't think his personal turmoil had that much effect on her, "I'm fine."

"You're lying."

His defenses were fully up, "No reason for you to be concerned."

"I have every reason to be concerned. More than anyone else on this airship," She approached him now, just as close as she was before, but she was frowning in determination, "You are lying, Maxson."

"You're being insubordinate, Sentinel."

"Punish me then, Elder." He ran a hand roughly through his hair to hide his sudden disconfort. She really shouldn't have said that and his mindreally shouldn't be going there.

He felt his face redden, but he hoped she thought it was anger, "What do you want me to say? That it's hell being a living prodigy while trying to build a military organization from the ground up? Do you want me to tell you how it felt to see what was left of Sarah after The Shepherd finished with her? Or how it felt to bash his brains in with my hands?" He nearly jumped when her fingers danced on the lapels of his jacket.

"Yes, I want you to tell me everything." Maxson sighed in frustration. He was feeling conflicted again. While part of him wanted to push her back for pressing him like this, another wanted to see her bent over his desk in nothing but her tight Brotherhood fatigues. But neither of those things happened. Instead, she gently wrapped her arms around his waist, under his jacket. He tensed, not quite reciprocating the hug, but his hands touched her back lightly. Her head was pressed to his chest. He was sure she could feel how quick his heartbeat was at her touching him, "I'm tired too, Maxson."

Her voice was thick with emotion. He took a breath, "Neither of us have wanted the hands we were dealt with. But we have to focus on the mission. Things will be easier when we leave the Commonwealth."

"Will they?"

"Yes, they will. We won't be fighting an invisible enemy. We will be rebuilding our world."

Shiloh sighed. He felt it vibrate his chest and once again the proximity overwhelmed him. He wasn't sure when she grew the nerves to touch him, but he didn't hate it. He couldn't remember the last time he was ever hugged. She pulled away, gazing at him in a way that unnerved him. She was smiling slightly, eyes shining. She looked beautiful. He swallowed, unable to keep eye contact again. Everytime he looked at her, he was focused on her lips again.

If he chose that moment to kiss her, he had no idea what she would do. And that was enough to keep him at bay. Across from him, she was feeling the same turmoil. Unlike him, she was feeling a little bolder. When she made the decision to just go for it and pay the consequences later, there was a knock at the door.

Shiloh turned toward it, dropping her arms from Maxson. He frowned, not expecting visitors, and opened it to let Quinlan and two squires in. The girl squire was a pre-teen, nearly old enough to be a scribe, and she smiled dreamily at Maxson before shooting an uncomfortable glance at Shiloh. The boy squire ignored them entirely to carry a box of paperwork in behind Quinlan. Quinlan noticed the tension immediately, glancing between Shiloh and Maxson, but wisely didn't comment on it.

"Elder Maxson, Sentinel Carver, I have some findings from the hospital you might be interested in. Most of the terminals carried impressive medical data that Cade could use, but one from the labs stood out. It contained quite a bit of encrypted data we were able to compare to the data on the microchip from the pip-boy. I won't know for sure the full encryption until Ingram makes progress with her frequency hunt, but I thought it might encourage us exploring the other infested hospitals noted by the prisoner Ripson."

Maxson sat at his table, gesturing the squire to set the box down on a chair, "This is good news. And I agree. We should target those hotbeds immediately, if the hospital terminals are running on the same frequency."

"I'll go," Shiloh spoke up. Quinlan glanced between them again when he saw the irritation on Maxson's face. "Two of the hospitals are occupied by raider gangs. One is by super mutants. Nothing I haven't faced before."

"Those raider gangs are the Gunners, whom you haven't faced one-on-one before. They operate like guerrilla soldiers." Maxson and Shiloh frowned at each other when he spoke to her.

Quinlan sighed, clear that something was going on but also clear that it wasn't his business and he wanted nothing to do with it. "I do have some things to discuss with you privately, sir, if you don't mind."

"Of course. I'm leaving," Shiloh straightened and left the room, followed by the squires who helped Quinlan lug in his paperwork.

Maxson sat frustrated in his seat, looking much like a husband who'd just quarrelled with his wife. Quinlan didn't bring up the implication. "Sir, if I may, I wanted to give you more of this information without...over eager parties involved."

Maxson rubbed his face, "I understand, Quinlan. Tell me more."

As the two sorted out their paperwork, Shiloh prepared a new itinerary. This time for three locations. Maxson didn't receive it till the morning, when Shiloh silently showed it to him while he stood on the command deck with Kells.

Kells noticed the tension, too, but agreed that Shiloh was capable of getting the job done with her team so long as she was provided more ammo than before. Super mutants didn't go down easily with just melee attacks.

-0-

The two hospitals occupied by Gunners were easy. Maxson was right that they were much better trained than your average raider, but Shiloh had fought Enclave soldiers who were the pinnacle of military training. These guys went down with a bullet in the head just as easily as anyone. Rhys and his team came with her just as before, eager to clear the areas for good.

They camped overnight between hospitals, stretching out of the power armor and taking care of the minor bruises and scrapes. No Gunner had gotten a shot on any of them, though some came close. They opted for taking only medical supplies and loaded holotapes, leaving the various microscopes and scanners for later pick up.

Shiloh was cleaning her .10 mm as a knight stood watch. Rhys was sitting across the campfire from her, reading from a letter. She knew it was from Haylen, the scribe had asked her to proofread it after all, but he wouldn't embarrass Rhys by bringing it up. Their relationship was in its budding stages, after all. She looked up at the stars, stretching her neck as she thought of her last few conversations with Maxson.

She let her frustration get the best of her again, but he had to know how important this was to her. She couldn't sit back while three separate teams went at the hospitals when she could do all three in a matter of days with Rhys. The Paladin and his knights were certainly agreeing to the mission.

A knight offered her a cigarette, but she kindly turned it down. She continued cleaning her guns and reloading them in preparation. As she sat back, she allowed herself to nod off a little bit before daylight meant they would take the hospital.

-0-

The super mutants had a behemoth. It threw a boulder that nearly decapitated one of the knights with them. Dodging the super mutant leader's minigun fire, they hid behind a dilapidated railing on an upper floor above the lobby. With a yell, Rhys ran across the room and did a takedown of the leader while Shiloh aimed for its head. With the minigun out of the firefight, they focused on the behemoth. She switched to her laser rifle and blinded it as it fumbled for another thing to throw at them. It screamed as it clutched at its head while the knights shot its knees out. As it fell, Rhys struggled to his feet and shot it in the back of the head until his laser fire pierced its skull.

The group of them slumped over in exhaustion when the monster went down. The knights seemed alright and Rhys lived through his stunt with the leader with only a bullet in his arm through the power armor plates. He nearly fell over when he exited the armor so Shiloh could examine the wound.

He unzipped and pulled off the top of his flight suit so she could see the wound clearly. Luckily for them the bullet had gone through and she only needed to wrap and sanitize it. He accepted the offer of a stimpak, not trusting the bullets not to be poisoned.

When he climbed back into the armor and put on his helmet, they continued on through the hospital, gathering supplies and information as usual. The biggest surprise was when they reached a secured part of the basement. One of the knights hacked into the terminal and they unlocked the unoccupied area. Nothing came up as they went down the hall save for some skeletons.

The lights flickered on as they entered the secluded lab and Shiloh blinked at the change in her vision. When her eyes adjusted, they widened to see a pristine laboratory that couldn't have been abandoned for long. The area was cleaner than anything she'd seen outside her father's lab in Vault 101.

There were at least six terminals in the area, all still working. They downloaded the data off of them, gathered the large hauls of medical supplies, and continued exploring the area while resting for the trip back to the Prydwen.

The group sat in a circle on the floor, eating at the roasted hound meat they'd prepared for the journey the night before. When Shiloh finished, she curiously looked at the terminal nearest a strange mini satellite dish they would be disconnecting and taking with them.

When she powered it on, it displayed a large amount of green text she didn't understand. She scrolled down the list of choices until one prompted her to enter a location. Glancing at her pip-boy, she entered the coordinates for the facility she was found in.

The terminal took a moment to think before the screen lit up with text. Rhys approached and stood next to her, watching the screen as well. They watched the text stop loading, both focusing on the words: Watcher Cryotesting Facility 281FB, abandoned 2287 during Father's recall.

"Watchers. So that's what the Institute called them," Rhys broke the silence.

Shiloh glanced to him briefly before glaring back at the screen, "Let's head back to the Prydwen. Ingram needs this satellite as soon as possible."