Outstanding

Chapter 6

It was a cold, grey morning when we neared Park Street Station that day. We had walked most of the night, only stopping for a quick break every now and then. Danse had wanted to put as much distance between us and the Boston Public Library as we could. I couldn't blame him, the place was crawling with super mutants and neither of us wanted to engage another small horde of them.

I could feel the fatigue settling in as we picked our way through an alley. Park Street Station wasn't far now, which meant Goodneighbor was close. "We're almost there." I said to Danse who had taken point and this time I had no objections. After our run in with the mutants last night, I didn't want to overdo it. The stimpack could only heal so much. That and I wanted to avoid getting into another argument. Danse still felt guilty over what happened last night, I didn't want the stress of another argument to add to that.

I shook my head, the man soaked up guilt like a sponge. No matter how many times I told him it wasn't his fault, he wouldn't believe it. Time would be the only cure for his guilt. Though in the meantime, it couldn't hurt to drill it into his thick skull every once in a while.

I could tell by his posture alone that he was still replaying the events of last night in his head. It was on my mind too, but I doubt it weighted as heavily on mine as it was on Danse's. I needed to distract him, keep his mind off the negative and on something else. "So..." I trailed off stepping over a pile of rubble. "Have you've even been to Goodneighbor before?"

He only turned his head slightly in my direction, but I noticed how his eyes looked above me instead of at me. Was he still flustered over what happened last night? Well it made sense, he flinched and tensed at just hands touching, holding someone must be too much for his nerves. I'd hate to see what a kiss on the cheek could do. "I've never been there." He said as he turned his head forward. "Though I've read Knight Rhys's reports on the place. Filled to the brim with criminals and junkies, not to mention it's a nesting ground for ferals with half the population being ghouls."

And his racist side rears it's ugly head once more. Hopefully, I could keep him away from Hancock. Doubtful, yet one could hope. Hancock wouldn't be too happy with the idea of a Brotherhood Paladin staying under his roof. Nick probably gave him a heads up and I didn't doubt they'd both be waiting for us at the front gate. After Danse met Nick, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of Danse meeting Hancock. Nick knew when to shut up, Hancock has yet to grasp that concept. "It's not that bad." I defended. "The people there are charming from the ones I've met. And what place doesn't have a few unsavory characters?"

Even though I was staring at his back, I knew he rolled his eyes. "For every ten junkies there are twice as many criminals." He grumbled. "I highly doubt there's one decent person in that whole cesspool."

I held back the temptation to groan, his judgmental side could really get old, real fast. I knew that it was really just the Brotherhood's years of influence talking. "And how would you know that? You've never been there before."

"I don't need to have visited the place in order to know."

Must resist the urge to groan. "It's honestly not that bad of a place. It's a safe zone, especially since it's in the heart of one of the most chaotic place in Boston." I said evenly, despite my frustration towards him. "And the mayor is a great guy, and he happens to be a good friend."

He scoffed at that. "If he's the mayor of that place, you really need to find better friends."

"You're my friend aren't you?"