About

In 2052, Dana was born the only child of Willard and Addie Cartwright. She grew up in a perfectly normal, white-picket fenced neighborhood where, like her own, most of the father's were affiliated with some branch of the United States' military. Her father would be gone for months at a time, but it provided the family enough money to live comfortably. She grows up, meets the man she would later marry while in high school, and is encouraged to attend Cambridge to study law by her parents. Nate proposes to her a few days after graduation from university.

The two get married not long after and soon learn that Dana is not able to have biological children. This puts a strain on the relationship, as Nate strongly wants to become a father now that he has returned from active duty. After some convincing by Dana, they apply to become foster parents to a number of children over the months following.

On October 23rd, 2077, the unimaginable happens. Dana, Nate, and their current foster-child, an infant named Shaun, are rushed to the local vault, #111. Without warning the world around them is destroyed and even sooner are they taken away from it. The family is put on ice almost as soon as they enter the vault. By some fluke, Dana awakens inside the cryogenic pod but is trapped inside. Out of the small, frosted window she can see her husband being shot and Shaun being stolen away. She is then returned to her stasis.

Time passes, though it is unknown to Dana, and she is awoken once again. After a fit of panic, the reality of Nate's death and Shaun's disappearance sinking it, she makes her way through the Vault to the outside world. It is much different than how she left it. She searches her home in Sanctuary Hills for any sign that her old life still existed, finding only one thing that tied her two it: Codsworth. The robot tells her she has been gone for two hundred years. Dana knows there is no way anyone she once knew is still exists, so she keeps by Codsworth side (after a number of emotional breakdowns) until he suggests she may be able to find some people in Concord who are willing to help her back on her feet.

Arriving at Concord she is faced with a number of raiders against a number of raiders until a voice calls out to her, telling her to grab a musket and meet him inside of the Museum of Freedom. After the raiders are taken care of, Dana is introduced to Preston Garvey and other members of the ragtag group that survived a massacre at Quincy. When asked for help, Dana says she will try her best, not knowing if anything she does will actually assist them but feeling obligated, being a "survivor" herself. She leads the group back to Sanctuary, it being the only place she knows.

It takes some time before Dana is able to open up about the past, out of fear that no one will believe that she's been frozen for 200 years and because she still needs to accept it herself. Eventually, she is able to explain her situation to Preston and Sturges (who have been nothing but kind to her in their time together). It is unbelievable at first, but they accept it and teach her the ropes of the Commonwealth. Not knowing much of what to do with her time here in 2287, she asks Preston she can join the Minutemen with him, moved by his passion for making the Commonwealth a better place. Together, they help settlements and families around Boston, grow their numbers, and even fight a giant crab monster to bright the old headquarters of the Minutemen back to life.

Relationships

Preston Garvey [ partner ]

WIP.

Sturges [ friend ]

WIP.

Nate [ ex-husband ]

WIP.