Inspired by a moment between me and my ex. I don't think he ever knew this happened. Don't think I ever told him. There were nights I would wake from nightmares and his body just seemed to know what to do. He didn't appear to be awake...it just seemed like he knew I needed him.

Oh well.

I decided since I couldn't have Nick, I would have Hancock. So enjoy the fic you ghoul-loving goblins.

Nora's eyes snapped open. For a moment, she forgot where she was and what was happening. Then, it all came rushing back. She was in her old home. Sleeping-recovering after a horrible deathclaw attack.

A bad dream. The same nightmare she'd had since thawing. Nate being killed, their baby being kidnapped.

She rolled over in bed, ready to start what was sure to be the start of a long, sleepless night, when the other presence in bed startled her. She'd nearly forgotten that she invited John Hancock to stay the night with her.

Nearly.

She still felt how his fingers had dug into her hips, how every time she moved away to breathe he pulled her back down, how he did everything in his power to please her and was surprised when she returned the favor.

"John?" She whispered. She'd never called him by his first name. Certainly not because she was uncomfortable, rather because Hancock was what he went by to everyone. John felt like an unused, long forgotten nickname. But Nora whispered it once more to be sure he was asleep, "John?"

He hummed in response but didn't stir or wake.

Nora reached out to reassure herself that he was actually there, and to her surprise, he rolled towards her and lifted an arm. Nora didn't hesitate, she cuddled into his arms, kissing his collarbone. He hummed contently in response, but still didn't wake.

"I love you." Nora thought. She still loved Nate with all her heart, but John had been beside her through so much. He didn't replace Nate, rather he sat right next to him in her heart. Where Nate was a patient and methodical partner and husband, Hancock was a passionate and free-spirited companion and lover.

Never in two hundred years did Nora think it possible to fall for a chem junkie. Hancock had his own baggage, his own issues. Where Nora ran to her problems headfirst with a gun ready to fire, Hancock ran from his problems and killed anything that dared to stop him. She remembered, fondly, the first time he had flirted with her. How his words had been so confident but his hands had been shaking. At the time Nora thought it was because of chem withdraws. She later learned it was due to his nervousness over fucking everything up.

"Are you sure about this, love?" He had asked her between kisses. "I really don't want us doing something we might regret." His hands were shaking, bur Nora steadied him.

"Hancock." She looked into his dark eyes, cupping his face tenderly, sending shivers down his spine, "I want this."

It had become a regular thing between them. As time went on Hancock became more at ease with her. That didn't stop her from surprising him every now and then. Her favorite moments were when his hands would be all over her and he couldn't stop professing his love for her, her body, her heart, everything about her.

Back in the present, Nora kept one hand pressed between them, almost like a connector between their hearts, so she could feel her heartbeat and his at the same time. Her other hand reached up and stroked his head, his neck, his back. He shivered, but still didn't wake. Nora pulled the tossed aside blankets further up around them.

John made sleepy noises of content and his breathing settled as he snuggled into her. Nora smiled and closed her eyes, readily falling asleep.