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Waverly and Nicole’s relationship was far from perfect, but it was as close to perfection as either one of them had ever gotten. While it was true that the two women were still in the beginning stages of building a life together, there was no doubt in Nicole Haught’s mind that she was head over heels in love with Waverly Earp. She had known after their first interaction at Shorty’s that she could fall in love with this woman; that small-town charm with the mind of a well-traveled explorer was enough to hook her, but she was still amazed at how quickly she found herself willing to be everything that Waverly needed.
She’d never had that connection with anyone else, and while there were still parts of Waverly’s life that she had yet to divulge, Nicole hoped that she felt the same. The deputy dealt with Wynonna as best she could, knowing how important the older Earp was to her little sister; Dolls she respected because of their shared position in the law enforcement field, and Doc—well, he’d proven before that he was willing to do whatever was necessary to keep her safe.
Their arguments were few; truthfully, the only time it tended to happen was when Nicole and Wynonna were at each other’s throats, screaming at one another with topics varying from Waverly to whether it was raining or sprinkling out. All it usually took to break them apart was an outburst of ‘guys!’ from Waverly, and they hung their heads in shame, proverbial tails between their legs. Granted, as soon as Waverly turned around, Nicole and Wynonna would shoot each other looks that clearly said the fight wasn’t over, but for the meantime, there would be silence.
But the cat changed everything.
The calm that had existed between the two women was shattered by the feline, and revelations were ripped from their dark hiding place and thrust into reality, the likes of which Nicole would never have seen coming. Thinking on it now, Nicole knew that cat had caused a major turning point in the relationship between herself and Waverly, but she never would have thought it could have ended things between them, or that it could leave them both so raw and vulnerable.
But the cat.
That damn cat that belonged to Chrissy Nedley had gotten itself stuck in a tree again, and Chrissy had called Nicole’s personal cell to take care of it. She pulled up to the Nedley household, unsurprised when Chrissy was already waiting for her outside, tears falling steadily down her cheeks. This wasn’t the first time she had been called to retrieve the demon from a tree, but she was always hopeful that it would be the last. Chrissy rushed up to Nicole as she had done countless times before.
“Deputy Haught, thank goodness you’re here. Jennifer has gotten herself stuck in a tree again.”
Nicole resisted the urge to sigh, at both the cat’s idiotic name and the fact that she was here yet again. But professionalism won, and Nicole kept her composure.
“You know Chrissy, this is more of an animal control type situation. Or even the fire department, really.”
Chrissy wiped her nose and her tears with the back of her hand and wiped it on the front of her shirt, an action which did not go unnoticed by Nicole. “Yes, I know, but Daddy gave me your number in case I needed emergency help, and I’d really classify this as an emergency, Deputy.”
“I know, and he really—well, never mind. Let’s just save Jennifer, shall we?”
Damn you, Nedley.
One hour and a thousand scratches later, Nicole pulled the cat safely from the tree and handed her back to her owner. “There you go. Crisis averted.”
Nicole headed towards the cruiser and grabbed the first aid kit. As she patched her wounds, she silently prayed that she’d never be sent out here again. A knock to her window tore her from her thoughts.
“Deputy Haught? I just wanted to thank you again for your help. I was wondering if maybe you’d let me buy you a drink later, as a way to thank you properly.”
Nicole was going to politely decline as she normally did when anyone felt the need to give her something in return for doing her job—but that cat was Satan incarnate, and she deserved a drink on Chrissy’s dime.
“You know what? I’ll take you up on that offer.”
She’d get a free drink, and she’d get to see Waves; a good end to an exhausting day.
Nicole entered Shorty’s about a half hour later after going home to change. Her eyes sought out Waverly, an action Nicole considered completely involuntary. But it wasn’t Waverly that Nicole saw first, but Chrissy Nedley, seated at the bar. As soon as Chrissy noticed that Nicole had walked in, she put down her drink and rushed towards her, arms wrapped tightly around Nicole’s body.
“There she is!” Chrissy screeched, the smell of alcohol already permeating her breath. Nicole allowed herself to be pulled towards the bar, an errant thought reminding her that maybe this wasn’t a great idea after all. A moment after the two women sat down, Waverly appeared.
“What can I get for you—Nicole? You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“Hey baby, we were just—
“Just grabbing a drink for my knight in shining armor, is all.” Chrissy once again grabbed Nicole’s arm, both women missing Waverly’s eyes shoot down to their linked arms and back up at Nicole.
“Oh? And what is it that she did for you?”
Nicole’s smile, which was really more of a grimace at that point, became even more strained.
“It wasn’t a huge deal, I just—
“She put aside special time, just for little old me.”
Waverly’s hands, hidden behind the counter, clenched the towel she was holding. She looked towards Nicole for elaboration.
“I helped get her—
“She climbed valiantly up a tree for me, and rescued my poor kitty cat after she got herself stuck. But I knew she could do it; she’s done it so many times already.”
Waverly’s eyes hardened. “Has she really.”
Nicole heard the warning in Waverly’s voice and thought it best to keep silent, while Chrissy seemed unaware of the storm that was brewing. “Be a dear and grab us some drinks, would you Waverly? Nicole will have—
“Nicole can speak for herself, thank you very much.” If Chrissy heard the venom in Waverly’s voice, she did a great job of not showing it. Nicole, though. Nicole knew something terrible was coming; Waverly had read the situation wrong, was looking more into the scene before her than was necessary, and it was sure to be something they were going to talk about when the bar closed—in a about ten minutes, to be precise.
“You know what, if I drink this late I won’t get to sleep. How about just a water?” Waverly shot Nicole a look that had the deputy swallowing hard.
For the next ten minutes, Chrissy talked Nicole’s ear off about seemingly every subject under the sun. She accentuated her important talking points with gentle caresses to the deputy’s shoulder, even pausing at one point to squeeze her arm for emphasis. Nicole knew she should have stopped it, should have stopped Chrissy from making the situation to be more than it really was. In Waverly’s mind, however, a time bomb was already ticking with every touch, approaching denotation with every laugh. Nicole glanced at the clock, her anxiety rising with each minute that passed. And Waverly. She was watching, too—because she had questions. So many questions. When that final minute passed and the hour was up, Waverly didn’t hesitate.
“Bar’s closed!”
Chrissy glanced up, an eyebrow raised. “Really? We’re having such a good time—
“Bar. Is. Closed.”
Chrissy hummed, and Nicole knew there was a retort brewing on her tongue—but the look Waverly shot her was enough to quell it for the time being.
“Fine.” She swiveled her chair towards Nicole. “Deputy, thank you once again for your help. If you’re ever down my way…”
Nicole laughed awkwardly and chugged her water, hoping that not deigning to give an actual response was a wise choice. Chrissy sent one more look towards Waverly and sauntered out. Nicole watched warily as Waverly followed after her to lock the doors. The sound of the deadbolt sliding into place seemed to reverberate through the heavy silence of the room. Waverly remained at the door, her back to Nicole.
“So that’s it, huh? One call from Chrissy Nedley and we’re done?”
“Baby, no, that’s not it at all—
“Really, Nicole—really? Because that’s exactly what it looked like!” Her scream echoed throughout the bar, and when Waverly finally turned around, Nicole almost wished she hadn’t. She didn’t recognize her Waverly in those hateful eyes, only a stranger glaring back with resentment and betrayal. While jealousy was an inevitable part of any relationship, this was something more. Sure, Chrissy had been a bit more affectionate than she should have been, but that was from Chrissy only; Nicole hadn’t reciprocated, hadn’t given in, she merely sat there and…did nothing. Which, in retrospect, was probably just as bad.
Shit.
Nicole cautiously approached. “Waves, please, it isn’t what you think. Chrissy texted me, said she needed help with—
“She texted you? You mean she has your number?”
Nicole mentally cringed. “Yes, but it’s only for emergencies. Her stupid cat gets stuck, and she texts me for—
“Texts? As in plural? How many times has she texted your phone, Nicole, and why did you never think to tell me?”
Nicole closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Waverly was upset, that much was obvious and somewhat understandable, but this was getting out of hand. Chrissy wasn’t a friend, she was just a citizen of Purgatory who just happened to be the Sheriff’s daughter. Why couldn’t Waverly see that Nicole had no choice?
“Waverly. Please. Just listen. Nothing happened between us, nothing is happening, and nothing will happen. I just helped her with her cat, and then she offered to buy me a drink. I accepted because it gave me a reason to come see you, and it was a free drink; that’s all.”
Waverly seemed to ponder her words, and Nicole hoped she had gotten through. But then her eyes hardened, and the deputy knew they had just taken a huge step backwards.
“So, you needed a reason to come see me? And that reason just happened to be Chrissy Nedley and the offer of a free drink. Real classy, Nicole.”
Nicole couldn’t help the exasperation she felt in that moment. Waverly didn’t seem like herself, like anything Nicole was saying was actually getting through; it was almost as if there was a fog over her, and she had already decided the truth for herself.
Nicole stepped forward, leaving only a few inches of space between them.
“I don’t know what else to say here, Waves.”
“Then maybe you should leave. I’m sure Chrissy is waiting for you outside. Tell me, Nicole, are you going to screw in the cruiser, or did you do that back at the house?”
“Would you please just listen!”
It was in that moment that Nicole raised her hands in defeat, all of her frustration, anxiety, and hurt manifesting into balled fists squeezed tightly. It was also in that moment that Nicole saw Waverly flinch; the younger woman’s face had tightened, her body shrinking slightly back away from Nicole, her eyes focused on Nicole’s fists. Her hands were in front of her body, in a move to defend.
Defend herself from Nicole.
It took less than a second for Nicole to realize what was happening. This moment, this whole interaction, it was reminiscent of something from Waverly’s past, something that had happened before. Nicole lowered her hands and took a step backwards, fighting against the part of her that wanted to run to Waverly and hold her close.
“Waverly,” she began, doing her best to keep her voice soft. “I wasn’t going to—I would never—I would never touch you like that.” Getting the words out was difficult, nearly impossible, because Nicole Haught, in all of her years of life, couldn’t imagine there would ever be a moment that the woman she loved would be afraid of her.
“Baby, please. Please talk to me. I can’t fix this if you won’t talk to me.” Waverly’s hands moved back to her sides, all traces of anger gone from her eyes. She whimpered softly, and the tears began to fall.
“Please,” Nicole whispered, “I just want to help you.”
And then Waverly was rushing forward, slamming full force into Nicole’s open arms. The two women sunk to the ground, Nicole’s arms wrapped firmly around Waverly’s body, her hands shifting between running her fingers through her hair and rubbing soft circles on her back. Waverly cried steadily, her tears soaking through the Deputy’s shirt. Nicole kissed the top of her head and whispered words of love and support into her ear, hoping it was enough to convey sincerity.
The two women sat on the bar floor for nearly an hour, but Nicole would have stayed forever if it meant that Waverly Earp felt safe. But the youngest Earp’s tears soon abated, her breathing becoming more even, and Nicole felt Waverly shift as she began to pull away. Their eyes locked together, both of them searching one another carefully. Nicole wanted to ask, wanted to question, wanted to know—but she had to let Waverly make the decision whether to explain or not.
“He used to cheat on me with her; he thought I didn’t know, but they were both so obvious.” Her beautifully sweet voice was devoid of all emotion, and Nicole felt her heart shatter at the sound.
“He never hit me, but he came close. I knew about the two of them. She would call him to come fix something at the house nearly every week. He would come home drunk. I didn’t want to believe it, but one night I decided to follow him, just to prove to myself that I wasn’t crazy. Turns out I wasn’t.”
Nicole moved to wipe away an errant tear, and Waverly grabbed her hand within her own, moving them to rest on her lap.
“He came home, and I confronted him. Told him that I saw everything. He started shouting and throwing things, told me that if I ever left him, he would tell everyone that I was the one who cheated and slept around. He said that because I was Wynonna’s sister, they’d eventually believe it.”
Nicole took both of Waverly’s hands in her own, bringing them to her lips to kiss them lightly.
“I’m so sorry, Nicole. I’m so sorry that I—
“Waverly Earp, you have nothing to be sorry for. It’s his fault for making you feel this way, for making you unable to trust. And her. Jesus, Waves, if I had known, I would never have had anything to do with that woman.”
“I know, Nicole. I know. But I shouldn’t have overreacted, I should have realized that you aren’t him. But it was so easy to imagine him in your place, to see it happening all over again; to see her laughing in my face as she took you away from me.”
Nicole moved her hands to the sides of Waverly’s face, cupping her cheeks gently.
“This is my promise to you, here and now. I will never treat you the way he did. I will never raise my hands in anger against you, I will never see anyone the way that I see you. I devote myself to you, everything that I am is yours, Waverly. If you’ll have me, I’ll always be here for you.”
Waverly half sobbed and half laughed, collapsing entirely into Nicole. “I want you by my side, Nicole, more than I have ever wanted anything in my entire life. Everything that I am is yours.”
They held each other tightly, eventually making their way back to Nicole’s apartment, where they talked long into the night. They had a lot to work through; one emotional conversation wasn’t going to solve all of their problems, and they both knew it. But it was a start.
When Nicole knew for certain that Waverly was asleep, she grabbed her phone and headed outside, careful not to make any noise. She had a message to send, one that had been on her mind since she and Waverly had spoken, and she was certain that the recipient would be awake and, more importantly, absolutely willing.
Wynonna, need your help in a situation regarding Waves.
what happened to babygirl haughtstuff
Waverly is fine, but I think we should take a trip to Champ Hardy’s house. I’ll explain on the way there.
gimme 5 and let’s roll
FIN