Chapter Text
Welcome to Purgatory!
The sign was cheesy, with its fake family still trying to escape the 50s, but Nicole smiled up at it. With a car full of her belongings, Nicole was feeling good. This town was gonna change her life—she knew it in the same way she knew she was supposed to be a cop, or knew she liked women. Sure, it was small, and far enough away from the nearest city that you could actually see all the stars at night, but this was gonna be big for her.
A glaze fell over her vision, and ripples of the past rushed through her mind. Taking a deep breath, she sorted through them. She nodded to the carriage driver from the 1860’s, and flashed her gun at some glow-y eyed freak. (She’d never been quite sure what the people in her visions saw when they looked at her, but that was their problem.) Calamity Jane hissed at a wolf from before anyone had settled this land, and Nicole dug one hand into the fur of the cat’s neck.
Idly, she wondered if she knew anyone in Purgatory from a past life. That happened occasionally: her soul would recognize someone, and Nicole would have to figure out what to do with the informational flood. The most awkward moment had been when she walked into her high school calculus class and realized the teacher had killed her in the land feud 600 years before, and again because her brother eloped with his wife. She might have transferred out of his class (no one needs to know their teacher has it out for them) but he was funny and charming, and she’d learned too much from him to let ancient history get in the way. Maybe there would be someone here like that.
…
“Oh, SHIT!” Nicole griped the steering wheel of the police cruiser until her knuckles turned white, fighting the urge to duck down. That black man walking into the precinct—yup, she knew him. He was about twice as big as when she’d last seen him, and had a strange edge to his presence she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but some souls are unforgettable, especially when you’ve spent the last few thousand years locked in combat of all kinds. Her chest ached where he’d shot her during a gang war in the 20’s (she’d have to remember to wear her vest whenever she could get away with it) and she wondered if he remembered the katana through his groin during the 8th century. Hopefully not.
She was supposed to go in and write up her report about fetching Mrs. Thompson’s cat from her tree (again). There had to be somewhere else she could go. Her eyes fell on Shorty’s. It was the local watering hole, and she hadn’t managed a visit yet. Besides, the waitress/barmaid was popular, one of those people that you had to be friends with to make it in a small town. That was it! She wasn’t running away from an enemy, she was familiarizing herself with critical new ground. Trying to convince herself, she pulled up out front of the saloon and climbed out of the car. Not bothering to put her Stetson on her head, she pulled open the first door.
Nicole looked across the empty bar to the girl behind the counter, leaning against the door frame for strength as the realization washed over her: she knew this woman! Like, knew this woman! As in, spent every lifetime searching for, finding, saving, and loving this woman!
“YAGH!! Jeez! Jesus! Ugh. Perfect.”
“I didn’t know Shorty’s had wet t-shirt competitions.” She might have put her head in her hands and groaned at the words that escaped, but it wasn’t the worst introduction they’d had, so she just grinned, working to suppress a laugh. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I-uh, just a bit jumpy—” Nicole walked forward to close the gap, glad that her Heart was still smiling, but ready to go after whoever had made her so nervous, “—had a crazy night.” “Sorry I wasn’t here to see it.” She put her hat down on the counter between them, suddenly unsure of how best to deal with the love-of-my-life situation. “I’ve been meaning to introduce myself: I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.” She expected some life altering sensation when their hands touched, but there was only the sensation that this was right.
“Hi.”
“And you’re Waverly Earp.” Nicole tried to savor the way those syllables felt in her mouth, tucking the sensation away for later. “Quite a popular girl around here.”
“Well, you know, it’s all in the ‘smile and wave’.” Oh, that smile.
“Yeah…Can I get a cappuccino to go?” Nicole couldn’t resist the urge to slip in a reference to when they’d met in their last life, but she wasn’t surprised when Waverly missed it.
“Oooh, I’m really sorry. We’re not actually open yet, so…”
“Oh, right. Okay, my bad. It’s just, when I see something I like, I don’t wanna wait.” So, staring right at her during that last part was a little bold, but, in some lives, Waverly was incredibly oblivious, and Nicole had always found the direct approach worked best. “And your door was open.”
This was gonna be one of those lives. Waverly missed the subtext (if it could even be called that) and looked toward the physical door. “Right.” She looked down at herself. “God, I’m sopping wet. I keep telling Shorty he needs to fix the darn taps. Sorry, do you mind just…?”
Nicole nearly laughed, both at Waverly’s unintended extension of her come on, and at the idea that the brunette’s body should be hidden from her. Still, centuries of training had ingrained a deep sense of honor, so she turned around for Waverly’s sake.
“Oh, crap! Officer, I’m stuck.”
Nicole nearly chocked on the memories that brought. Looking around, she chuckled at the waitress’s dilemma, moving quickly around the bar to help.
“I’ve got you.”
“Good job you’re not some guy, right? Or this would be reeeally, really awkward.”
Nicole saw the exact moment her own undisguised desire registered in Waverly’s mind. She ducked her head a little, not wanting to come off as overpowering, but didn’t move away. Waverly’s arms moved to cover her chest, and Nicole sucked on her bottom lip to keep from smiling too broadly. It wouldn’t take long before she saw a lot more then the unassuming bra.
“I owe you.”
“Alright. How about you buy me that cup of coffee? How about tonight?”
“Oh, I can’t. I mean I’d love to—” her face scrunched adorably as if she didn’t understand where that enthusiasm came from “—like to, yeah, but I have plans. Yeeah, I’m a planner. I like to know what I’m doing two, or three, days in advance.” She shook her head as if to clear it, realizing that her explanation only delayed Nicole’s offer. “I’m in a relationship with a boy—man!”
“A boy-man? I’ve been there. It’s the worst.” This would not be the first life Nicole had taken Waverly from a man’s arms. She regarded those men as stewards, responsible for keeping her Heart safe until they could find each other. She could be patient. Moving back around the bar, she collected her hat and slapped down a business card. “Okay, well, some other time.” She took a step away, feeling Waverly’s gaze on her ass.
“I mean it.”