The Knight and the Paladin - A series of Oneshots

34 Rhys

A/N: Warning for glimpses of suicide.

***

The vertibird ride was quiet but both smiled at each other, finally away from that flying rusk bucket (Kathryn's idea to call the Prydwen) and the tightness it brought with it. The only thing Kathryn missed was the salty air from the ocean underneath the flying airship and the sound of the waves. She sighed deeply at the prospect of seeing Haylen again. She missed the Scribe, she was like a sister to her and was glad to finally see her again. With Rhys on the other hand... well at least she could order him around now. That's gonna be fun.
It was like a vacation being back at Cambridge Police Station. Danse opted for his power armor and an orange jumpsuit just as always, while Kathryn strode around in her new black officer's jumpsuit. Rhys' jaw dropped as Kathryn walked in, proudly presenting her tags to Haylen, which immediately saluted her and then laughed and hugged her friend. He wanted to bark out a snide remark but then Danse walked in and he snapped to attention, saluting his commanding officer.

After settling down for a few hours Rhys really dared to approach Kathryn and order her to do one of his cleansing missions. Well, let's say that backfired, like... A LOT! Although Kathryn was a little shorter than the Knight she towered over him non the less and it seemed like he shrank down under her stare. "Knight Rhys, I think it's time that you consider that I am also your commanding officer now, and that it is ME who's giving the orders now.", Kathryn said in a sharp tone. Rhys narrowed his eyes and already prepared a snide counterattack but got interrupted by Danse. "Rhys!", he just shouted from another room. The knight snapped to attention and Kathryn burst into laughter. "Well, go do your missions by yourself Knight, that's an order!", she said unable to suppress the laughter. She needed some water AND some lessons on how to behave as a paladin from Danse. Rhys walked away grumbling and Kathryn finally was able to compose herself again. She sighed a content sigh. It's good to be home...

While Rhys was getting himself ready for the first time in ages Haylen approached Kathryn. "So, tell me, how's it gong while we were away?" Haylen smirked at her, cheeks blushing and she clasped her hands behind her back. "Well, what do you think?", the scribe asked in return. She rocked on her feet, the glint in her eyes made her radiate with happiness. A big smile erupted on Kathryn's face and she laughed. "Wow, that took him long enough, didn't it?", she said and took Haylen in an embrace. "I'm so happy for you."

While the girls chatted away Danse took a look at Haylen's new terminal entries. They still had the occasional ghoul attacks, but nothing too serious that it needed his presence. Then he stumbled on the medical files she kept on the small computer. He thought back to the times when Gladius was new to the Commonwealth, his guts twisting at the memories; he lost good men back then. He furrowed his brows while he read through the entry of Knight Worwick.

Medical File WR-113K [Deceased]
Knight Worwick

Suffered multiple GSW to the leg and torso. Was able to extract most of embedded bullet shrapnel. Patient lost approximately 2 quarts of blood. Was able to supplement with emergency blood packs. Torso wounds caused massive internal bleeding. Attempted to implement internal sutures but facility is insufficient for surgery of that magnitude.

Due to patient's pain and quality of life, commanding officer ordered me to administer overdose of painkiller for euthanization purposes. Dose administered 49 hours after incident. Subject died peacefully.

A sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head. It was one of those moments he experienced in his dreams over and over again. He was already closing the files when he noticed Haylen's private notes. He sifted through the entries and discovered one about the incident.

Entry A3-A1007

Knight Worwick was shot a few days ago. He was in a lot of pain, but there was only so much I could do to ease his suffering. Danse ordered me to put him down. I know Danse can be so damn cold sometimes, but in this case, I think he's right. It was against everything I've been taught, but Worwick would never have made the trip back home alive. Maybe if I'd done a better job, Worwick wouldn't have been so bad off. I wish Cade was here, he would have fixed everything.

Danse didn't know about that, about how Haylen really felt. He thought of going to her and thank her again for the great service she did to him, his squad and the whole Brotherhood. Although he felt the bile rise in his guts, he was fucking proud of her. She came a long way and was an outstanding Field Scribe.

"You coming with me or not?!", someone shouted through the police station. It was Knight Rhys and he was shouting at Kathryn. Danse sighed. No matter how good a knight Rhys was, the guy needed to change his attitude against Kathryn. He cringed when he thought about how much of a lecture she would give him if he wouldn't accept her as his C.O. Poor bastard...
He could hear Kathryn sigh before she answered with annoyance "Okay, okay, I'm coming with you..." He heard her speak to Haylen and how she muttered "Someone needs to watch your damn ass and that you do your damn job right..." before Haylen burst into laughter. "Don't push him around too much, will you?", Haylen then asked with a warmth in her voice Danse never heard before. He guessed that Rhys finally must have put that stick out of his ass and finally admitted his feelings for her. It put a gentle smile on the Paladin's face. They had each other to depend on.

"Alright, kiddos, play nice while Momma and the troublemaker are out!", Kathryn called into the police station before she and Rhys left. Rhys was loud enough to here his incoherent grumbles including words like infuriating grass head or I'm gonna show you how it's done... all present soldiers chuckled to themselves before everything was quiet again. Danse sighed contently and settled down for some more relaxation.

Rhys led Kathryn to the roof where a vertibird was on standby. The lancer saluted when she saw Kathryn and Rhys approach. "Ma'am, Sir. Where can I get you to?" Rhys held out a piece of paper to the woman and she nodded. "Alright, then let's go!", she said smiling.

"You gonna tell me where we're going?", asked Kathryn as she boarded the vertibird.
"Mh, naah. You'll see.", answered Rhys.
"Fine. Then you might man the minigun, I'm gonna take a nap until we arrive."
"What?"
"Night." A yawn and Kathryn was asleep.

The hours ticked by and Kathryn had a peaceful slumber. Rhys on the other hand had a very boring flight to Far Harbor, nothing to shoot in sight and he huffed. The landing process woke her up and she yawned. She looked around with half lidded eyes, rubbing at them before it dawned on her to where Rhys had brought them. Anger rose inside her while the knight had a devilish smile on his face.

"What the fuck, Rhys?!", Kathryn hissed through gritted teeth.
"What?", he answered. "Afraid of a bit of radiation?"
"Ah fuck you..."