The Knight and the Paladin - A series of Oneshots

02 "Winterwonderland"

Paladin Danse and Knight Kay were on a scouting mission in the north east of the Commonwealth. It was a winter day full of gray clouds and cold winds. It looked like it would be snowing soon. The two soldiers still took the risk and moved out. They had a Pip Boy, a present from one of Kathryn's friends, and marked important military bases on it's map.

It started snowing as they walked back to the airport. Winter hit hard in the Commonwealth and soon it would be too dark to travel any further. They had at least a whole day in front of them until they would arrive in safety. All they could see was dead trees, grass and the quickly dying Hubflowers.

Danse had a natural body heat every other human was jealous of. It took him long to feel cold and often didn't understand the complaints of the soldiers around him. Kathryn on the other hand... Well, she's a woman. And women felt cold darn fast. He could hear the chattering of her teeth through the helmet of her power armor. He knew they had to find shelter better sooner than later.

The further they walked the more snow fell down, slowly turning into a blizzard. It was dark now and they had to switch on the lights on their helmets. "D... Danse... I c... can't see sh... shit.", Kathryn stuttered. She felt like her teeth would break from all the chattering. "You don't say...", he muttered. "Keep moving, we'll find shelter soon. I Hope..." he whispered the last two words.
The wind grew colder and colder. Snow flew all around them in thick flakes, covering their visors in white.

They both walked in silence at each others side. Kathryn suddenly started to walk more slowly and Danse saw how the whole suit of power armor shuddered. "Kathryn, are you okay?", Danse asked, his voice concerned. She couldn't speak anymore and just tried to lift her hand in a shaky thumbs up. Where the hell should they find shelter? The air around them was completely white.

Then he suddenly heard it. The faint sound of a radio right in front of them. "Come on, Knight! We're almost there." He pushed her to walk faster and it worked. The music grew louder the nearer they came to it's source. Danse's heart raced as he stopped in front of a small shack. He couldn't see light inside and didn't smell smoke in the air. An abandoned shack. Perfect!

He walked around to find the door and opened it. Kathryn was right behind him stepping into the small room. She immediately stepped out of her armor searching for a blanket she could roll up in. "Kathryn, your fingers are all blue." She could hear the hiss of his power armor after he said that and stepped next to her examining her face. She was pale and her lips blue. He knew exactly that she suffered from hypothermia and also knew that he had to act fast.

It was cold in the shack, but not as cold as in the ongoing storm. He helped her search for a blanket and found one. It was thin but it had to do until he started a fire. He carefully placed it around her and told her to sit down. The fire pit gladly was already piled up with wood. He just needed to light it up.

The fire burned constantly as he moved his attention back to Kathryn. "How are you feeling?", he asked her. Danse looked in a terrified face as she spoke. "I... my head is spinning. A... and I can't feel my toes and fingers..."

Fuck!

"Kathryn, you need to get closer to the fire, or you will lose one or two toes..." They both shuddered at this thought. He gently put her closer to the fire pit. "Here, let me turn off your boots. Try to rub your hands as gentle as possible. you'll feel your fingers soon again." If she wasn't afraid enough now she really was. The lump in her throat was big and she tried to swallow it. Danse put a few bottles of purified water next to the fire to warm up the water. He gave a pre-opened bottle to Kathryn and she carefully drank from it.
The warm water flushed down her throat and instantly took the lump with it. She felt the warmth spread inside her as she emptied the bottle in steady swigs. Then she took another one and carefully placed it under the soles of her feet. First she didn't feel a thing and started to panic.

"Danse! My... My toes! I can't feel a thing!" he sat down next to the fire pit inspecting her feet. At first she tried to resist him, tears welling up in her eyes. She thought he might just pull off her toes. He glanced at her but his look promptly softened and she sat quiet. He trailed her blue soles and asked if she could feel it. She wasn't sure. He didn't need to ask her about her fingers. She tightly gripped the thin blanket around herself. She wouldn't be able to do it if her fingers were still frozen.

He took more bottles and put them around her feet. Then he stood up and sat down near the door again and took guard.

She didn't know why, but Kathryn suddenly felt extremely dizzy. Her head hitting the floor as she slumped to the side. "Kathryn!", Danse called out, but she already lost her consciousness. He gently lifted her up and leaned her at the wall. He then pulled the blanket back into place and put the water bottles back around her feet. He almost over saw the blood trickling from her head. It dripped down in a thin line over her cheekbone down to her jaw where it then dropped down into the blanket. He searched for her pulse. It was weak but it was there...

After the storm had come to an end Kathryn still was unconscious. Danse felt nervous because of that. He checked her breathing, it was constant. Her pulse was a bit more prominent than the hours before. He looked down at her feet. They finally had their normal color back and he could see her moving her toes while she was dreaming.

Danse stood up again and walked over to the door. He opened it and was greeted by the biggest amount of snow he ever saw. He hummed while he rummaged for a Vertibird Signal Grenade and threw it in the snow. Hopefully a 'bird would appear in a few hours...

he watched as the red electromagnetic smoke rose into the gray sky and slowly closed the door.

The humming of the Vertibird's engines woke him from a light slumber. He tried to wake Kathryn up, but she still was somewhere else. Danse shook his head and sighed as he went to put on his power armor. It knocked at the door and he opened it. A knight stood in front of him and he ordered her to take Kathryn's power armor.

The air was clear and no snow in sight. It took the lancer 3 hours to fly back to the Prydwen. None of them spoke. After their arrival at the vessel Danse went straight to the infirmary. Soon Kathryn was covered in thick woolen blankets and an IV strapped to her arm.

They were safe.