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Nicole sank into one of the creaky wooden chairs at her kitchen table, resting her head in her hands. Calamity Jane lay curled at her feet.
Waverly was upstairs, finally sleeping off the last 48 hours. She didn't want to go back to the homestead. Nobody did. Not yet. Not with Wynonna gone.
None of them had seen Wynonna since they sent the baby away. Doc said she took off, but didn't know where to.
Nicole rubbed her temples, trying to process everything that had happened over the last few days.
Bitten. Poisoned. Saved. Transported to some crazy alternate universe. Frozen. Accomplice in the smuggling away of a newborn.
But there was something else she still had to do. To make at least one thing right in everything that had gone wrong…
Flush it out. No more secrets.
Nicole let out a long exhale and pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket. She unlocked it, bringing up her phonebook. She scrolled through her contacts until she landed on a name that should've been deleted long ago.
Shae
She picked up after two rings.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"…"
"I'm not catching you at a bad time, am I? Because I can call you back--"
"Nicole, it's fine. I'm not in the office today."
"…"
"…"
"You probably know why I'm calling."
"Yeah…I can't say I didn't see it coming. I'm surprised it took you this long after…everything."
"I guess it's finally time, huh?"
"Yeah…"
"…"
"…"
"Kind of a big step, ending a marriage."
"You know it's only ever been a marriage on paper."
"…"
"I'll have my lawyer fax the documents to the station after we hang up. They're all drawn up just as we agreed. No strings. No money. The fresh start we both deserve."
"Thank you."
"You deserve a bit of freedom, after all these years."
"You do, too. I want you to be happy, Shae."
"I am happy."
"And I hope you find someone who deserves you. 'Cause I sure as hell didn't."
"…"
"I never thanked you for saving my life. Again."
"I didn't save your life. I just kept you alive until your people came through. They're the ones who saved you. They're the only ones who could."
"…"
"…"
"So you met Waverly."
"Yeah. And you were right. About every single thing you said about her. She's…she's a special one, Nicole."
"Yeah, she is."
"Nicole?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't you ever let that girl go."
"I won't."
"And who knows? Maybe you'll have a real wedding one day. But when you do marry her, just promise me it won't be in a skeezy chapel in Vegas."
Nicole's mouth hung open in shock as she fought to find a response.
"Oh, don't give me that look, Nicole Haught. I know love when I see it."
"I think that's how we got into this mess in the first place."
"…"
"I don't regret it. For what it was. I wouldn't change a thing. You were a home for me at a time when I didn't have one."
"…"
"…"
"Did you ever love me?"
"…"
"Nicole?"
"…"
"…"
"I think I did. Maybe. I don't know…I tried to."
"It's okay."
"I know."
"…"
"I'm so sorry, Shae. That it ended up like this. Maybe…in another life, in some other universe--"
"No," Shae interrupted. "Don't go saying that. It was never supposed to be us, and you know it. You didn't see what I saw in that hospital room. You belong there, with those people. That's your family. You belong with Waverly. You always did."
"…"
"She needs you, Nicole. You need each other."
Especially now.
"…"
"I'll always love you."
"I know."
"And, as far as first marriages go, you weren't a bad one."
"Oh, you just liked me for the tax breaks."
Nicole could hear Shae's smile through the phone. "Take it easy, Haught. Try to keep out of trouble."
"You know I can't." A smile tugged at Nicole's lips. "Good-bye, Shae."
"Good-bye, Nicole."
*click*