A collection of one-shots that are mostly chronological. Follows Sole Survivor, Nora, and her companion, John Hancock. Not quite a slow burn, but it's not a lightspeed relationship.

1. Smoking: Nora's senses are invigorated during a mission.

Nora kept upwind of Hancock most of the time. The smell of radiated, rotting flesh didn't bother her any. No, it was the smell of all the chems he took. One or two chems occasionally was fine, Nora had come across many a chem addict since thawing out, and the smell on them never bothered her. But Hancock took three or four different kinds of chems throughout the day and ended up smelling like a dead body in a decayed hospital by the time night rolled around.

"You always hated hospitals." Nate's voice filled her head. Her late husband's voice had been following her around the wasteland as she searched for her son.

Hancock held an arm out, the movement of his fabric released his scent and Nora instinctively held her breath. "We've got company." Hancock's gravelly voice was low. Nora nodded and signaled for him to crouch.

Staying low, the two rounded the corner of the old comic book shop. Nora held up a fist, signaling Hancock to stop behind her.

Four feral ghouls lay motionless on the ground. Nora couldn't tell which were a threat and which weren't. Sending off a shot and being wrong wasn't the best choice she could make either.

"Don't overthink it." Nate's voice whispered in her ear.

Nora shivered and clenched her teeth. She stepped back out of the room, "watch them." She mouthed and nodded towards the door. Hancock nodded back and kept his gun raised should any of the ferals decide to spring to their feet. Nora felt around in her bag, no grenades, just her luck. She felt around a bit more, a bottle! Damn, just an empty Nuka Cola bottle, and she didn't have the supplies to make a molotov cocktail. Just her luck-

Her hands ran over something thick and disk-like. She pulled it out and-score! It was a frag mine. She tapped Hancock on the shoulder with her free hand and motioned for him to step aside. He obliged with a curious quirk of his brow. Nora held up the mine for him to see. Hancock quickly retreated down the hall a safe distance. Nora threw the mine into the room. None of the ghouls moved, but that didn't mean anything,feral ghouls slept like-well they slept like the dead. Not to put too fine a point on it. Nora retreated down the hall to join Hancock and he stood up, ready to run if need be. Nora righted her rifle and peered down the scope.

"Just like my dad taught you." Nora could almost feel Nate's arms around hers, aiming straight and true.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Pull!

The mine exploded, and Nora heard the anguished grunts and groans of dying ferals. Hancock ran past Nora, disappearing into the smoke. She heard his gun pop as he finished the ghouls off one by one and she joined him in the room after making sure her bag was closed. The smoke cleared and Nora saw Hancock toss his gun over his shoulder, holding onto it with one hand and holding his belt with the other.

"No need to waste your bullets, pretty mama, I got it all taken care of." Hancock laughed.

"Hardy har," Nora rolled her eyes, "hilarious." They continued to make their way upwards in the comic store. The Pip-Boy's geiger counter started to make noise, altering the two to the presence of a glowing ghoul. Nora couldn't see it, but she was sure it was close. The pair shot their way up the store, Hancock rustled around the dead bodies, tossing ammo and anything of real interest her way.

"To the living go the spoils." He answered her when she asked if he found it weird to loot another ghouls body. Nora couldn't argue with his logic, most of her best weapons came from a dead body. Dead by her hand. She shook the thought out of her mind, as Hancock pocketed something and jogged over to her.

"Floor's clear." He informed her.

"Then let's head up." Nora turned on the flashlight on her Pip-Boy. Not being able to turn it on for fear of being found was long gone, Nora didn't want either of them falling through a hole in the floor and would take alerting a ghoul over a three story plummet.

The two found themselves at the top of the comic store in a makeshift film set. Nora's geiger counter started up again. Still no sign of anything glowing, not even a radroach. Nora motioned for Hancock to stay by the stairs and stepped further into the room. She made it halfway across the room when-

"Nora! Look out!" A body slammed into her and the scent of rotting flesh nearly made her gag. A ghoul, and not her ghoul, slammed her into the set curtain. She could hear Hancock's gun firing off and a bullet whizzed by her ear. The weight shoved itself off her and Nora raised her head. She was face-to-face with the glowing ghoul. Her geiger counter was screaming now. Or maybe that was her own screams she was hearing.

"Nora!"

Nora scrambled back as quickly as she could. Heart pounding in her throat. Hancock grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. He pressed her to his chest and spun her away from where she had been. Before she could process what was happening an explosion went off and all was silent.

Hancock slumped against her, "Hancock?" He groaned and Nora had to wrap her arms around him to keep him from crushing her. "Hancock?"

"You alright there?" Hancock mumbled into her shoulder.

"Hancock, what happened?" Nora hooked her arms under his and heaved him into a chair.

"Found a grenade, thought it'd be a good time to use it. Damn thing bounced off the wall." Hancock groaned, his back was stiff. Nora turned, sure enough there was a blast mark on the floor from where the grenade had landed.

"Hold on, I think I've got one or two stimpacks left." Nora rummaged around in her bag. Hancock groaned in pain and Nora started throwing things out that were just getting in her way.

"Don't waste them on me, kid." Hancock's eyes started to close.

"I'm over two-hundred years old Hancock." Nora tried to tease, but her hands were shaking and why could she never find what she needed when she needed it!

"Cougar. I can dig it." Hancock's voice was quieter and Nora looked up in time to see him slump over.

"Hancock? Hancock!" She caught him before he could completely fall to the ground. Nora turned her bag upside down, the last thing to tumble out was a stimpack. She grabbed it and jammed it into Hancock's thigh. A few silent, heart racing seconds passed before Hancock gasped for air and lunged forward out of the chair with newfound energy. Nora caught him and held onto him tightly. "Thank God," she whispered to herself over and over again.

Hancock was still breathing heavily, but he slowly eased his arms around Nora's waist. His hat hit the top of her head as he rested his cheek on her shoulder. Nora could feel his heart racing through his chest and rubbed gentle, soothing circles on his back. The movement of fabric released a new scent, and Nora decided she preferred the smell of chems over the smell of smoked ghoul flesh.