Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout

"I get it if you want to do this alone-" Nick's glowing eyes moved slowly to Hancock "I can help if you want." Hancock looked miffed that this robot was trying to swoop in and steal his girl. Sure, he'd not exactly made a move yet, but this was his girl, he pretty much peed on her and taped his name to her forehead. But the pause that said she was thinking about it still made him a little nervous. Yeah, big bad Hancock, shakin in his boots from a little challenge like this. He steeled himself for her verdict.

"No, I'll stick with Hancock; I need a little chaos for this mission." She said. Nick's eyes found the floor and he nodded.

"Yeah, makes sense. You just keep her safe, alright?" Nick looked at Hancock submissively.

"Always do." Hancock said tipping his hat to the other before watching the synth depart.

"I saw that." Nora elbowed him in the ribs chuckling. "You gettin all jealous."

"I have no reason to be-"

"Would you like one?" Damn, that's what he loved about her. She knew what she wanted and she knew how to get it. And she knew just what made Hancock tick; fuck she had him wrapped around her finger like a toy on a string.

"Was I that obvious?" He asked holstering his knife.

"Ya know, I don't do the whole jealous boyfriend thing." She turned and began walking away. Not like he deserved her anyway. Not like she needed a ghoul to wake up to, he wasn't exactly the prettiest boy on the block. He watched her move on ahead of him, her hips swaying, one hand on her holstered gun, the other swinging with each step.

"I'm jealous because I'm not your boyfriend," he said finally moving to follow. God he hated the word boyfriend. It sounded so juvenile. Why couldn't they just fuck and be friends, that's what he wanted. He didn't like this whole chase and labeling and teasing thing. Well the teasing wasn't so bad, but he was really tired of being on the cusp of a relationship with her.

"Please never say boyfriend again." She laughed. Fuck she was perfect. She really was. He just wanted to be good enough to earn her love.

They tracked Kellogg, his trail of distraction, she followed Dogmeat with increasing levels of disgust, and he followed her with increasing levels of concern. He knew she wanted, needed, to find her son. But the thought of her husband, corpse freezing in the bowels of the earth, death demanding vengeance, left him feeling inadequate. There was no way he'd ever live up to her dead husband's memory, he who had sacrificed his life for their son, was, for all intents and purposes, untouchable. The slight bulge in her gloved finger showed sign that she still wore the ring. Would she ever be able to move on fully? He put a hand on her shoulder. "We should give Dogmeat a break." The finish-line was in sight, and he would stick with her to the end. He'd walk into the pits of hell if she asked.

"Yeah, you did good Dogmeat, take a break." She rubbed his head. "Good boy." She kissed his head before turning to Hancock. "You can take a break too. Make sure Dogmeat gets back to Sanctuary safe."

"I'm here to help. Dogmeat is fine on his own. If you really wanted me to leave, you would have taken Nick's offer. If you need some liquid courage I can hook you up but otherwise let's get this shit done."

"Thank you." She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I need you here." He wanted her to know he needed her just as much. He wanted to hug her and let her cry because he knew she was hurting. But she didn't need that right now. She needed some good old fashioned brutality, cold hard revenge, and to release some of this pent up rage.

"Let's go then." He smirked, drawing his sawed-off.