Life out in the wasteland was rarely easy at the best of times. Every day was a constant battle with the elements, both natural, radiological and human. Even in the civilized and populated regions – like the New Californian Republic, a group that prided itself on mirroring the ways of the old world – proved to still have its challenges.

However, somewhere on the borders of what used to be Maryland, there was still a challenge a young man was still trying to work out a solution for.

His bouncy and hyperactive wife.

"Come on, lazybones! Time to get to work!" she announced, leaping and bouncing around the room like a Nightstalker pup on chems.

"The sun isn't even up," groaned Ren, nuzzling into an invitingly warm pillow.

"Yes! That way we have more time to do things!" Nora yipped, a slight undertone of impatience under voice, but still her playful self. "The crops need to be seen to! There's pests to be getting rid of!"

"Alright, I'm up," Groaned Ren, hoisting himself to the edge of the bed before finally pushing himself so he was standing on the hard wood, surprisingly a comfortable temperature against his bare skin. Even though the building's central heating system was a wreck that was centuries beyond help, the odd ruin held an old fireplace, a small comfort at the best of times and a god send at the worst of them. Too many nuclear winter nights did Ren and Nora Bundle up in blankets and sleep in front of it. But now, during the height of autumn, it wasn't needed.

"Yay! Now, hurry up and get dressed, I'm starving!" Nora pleaded, planting a quick peck on Ren's cheek, before skipping down the stairs and making Ren sigh, but with a small smile.

Never a dull day, he thought to himself.

Oo0oo

Ren always liked the autumn. Winter was often harsh and bitter, there had been several close calls where their stocks of food had run out or been raided during the last weeks of zinter, often forcing them to rely on extensive hunting or caravans that grew irregular with the increasingly violent and cold weather. Summer offered blistering heats, and the occasional fatally severe heat wave which posed a threat to the crops and little livestock they had. Spring simply promised a new year of hard work. However, autumn was the perfect temperature to work in and Ren could reap the benefits of months of hard work.

On the other hand, it was also a time of year that pests would try to steal food and attack their Brahmin more often than usual, as well as seeking shelter.

That often invited trouble.

Like a charging deathclaw.

Ren had his weapons drawn and was ready to fight for his life, but he really needn't have bothered.

"Batter up!" A wild Nora appeared suddenly, wielding her precious super sledge, swinging it like a baseball bat. With the element of surprise on her side, the head of the hammer connected easily with the Deathclaw's knee cap, shattering bone and tearing up flesh. The large beast slid to the ground stomach first, letting out a single bellowing roar of pain before Nora brought her hammer down on the beast's neck. The force caused the animal's vertebrae to shatter with a sickening crunch.

"Home run!" Nora cheered, throwing her hammer through the air in triumph, to Ren's bewildered confusion, and then rolled his eyes to himself when he realized what she meant. The last time they had went to Emerald City, he remembered that Nora got particularly friendly with a ranting 'baseball' fanatic.

"Nora?"

"Yes, Ren?" asked Nora with the gleeful curiosity of a child, holding her weapon behind her back while swinging back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"You do know that isn't how you play baseball, right?"

Nora looked at Ren quizzically, tilting her head in the same manner as a confused puppy. Ren then explained that instead of being a sadistic sport where players ran at each other and bludgeoned each other to death with bats, it was a more co-ordinated game of smacking a ball with said bat and trying to run between placeholders to score points. At this, Nora looked briefly disappointed before smiling cheerfully.

"So I can make my own sport! I'll just call it Nora Ball! She announced to no one in particular. Ren rolled his eyes again and walked back towards the farm, leaving the Deathclaw corpse. It wasn't in the way of the crops, and the scent of a Deathclaw – even a dead one – was a deterrent to most animals. Nora skipped to the Brahmin and hushed the spooked animals. Just another day at the farm.

Oo0oo

Most of the couple's free time was during the evening. It was usually too dark to do much farming work, so they activated a separate generator that powered turrets and flood lights that protected the house during the night. However, there were some nights when the pests would keep coming, trying to outwit the guns with little failure, usually keeping the couple awake.

However, this night was one of the few quiet ones. The wind was blowing, and along with it, the scent of Deathclaw. The generator rumbled its usual time and the turrets whirred without incident. So Ren and Nora spent their evening relaxing. Ren was curled up in bed with a book that was in decent condition, and Nora was cuddled up against her husband's chest.

But Nora wasn't for one for simply having a quiet night with a book. Especially when this was one of the few free nights they had. Leaning towards the nightstand, she picked up the old world dollar note Ren used as a makeshift bookmark, slipped it between the pages where Ren was reading, and closed it over, placing it on back on the nightstand. Ren was about to protest when Nora kissed him, hushing him quickly.

"You'll have plenty of time for that later," she whispered lustfully before kissing her husband again and holding him closer.

Life out in the wastes was rarely easy at the best of times. However, when you had someone you love alongside you, the hardship of life becomes a lot easier.

(Notes: Decided to do a day in the life scenario for this series, since we haven't seen too much of Ren and Nora. I hope you guys enjoy and ADIOS)