Chapter Text
Nicole stumbled into the house, dropped her jacket on the floor, kicked her shoes off in random directions and crashed face first on the couch. This was not good. She felt sick and lightheaded, somehow drunken-like, and she had not had a drop of alcohol in days. She turned around to lie on her back and make herself a little more comfortable. She placed her hands over her face and wondered what the hell was going on. She then felt her skin was hot and clammy.
“Ugh!” She grunted involuntarily. She was sick. How in the hell was she sick? She never got sick. She took very good care of herself. She ate a healthy diet, she exercised, she wore warm clothes when it was cold and she never ever got sick! This was not happening. Not on her watch.
With much effort, she got herself off the couch and into the kitchen so she could do something about this unfortunate situation. She filled up the kettle and put it on so she could make some tea and went through her pantry and fridge to look for what else she needed. Honey, check. Cinnamon, check. Lemon, check. Ginger… where the hell was the ginger?
“Uuuuugh!” She grunted again, louder this time, as she rested her head against the kitchen wall. She had used all the ginger the previous weekend while making curry and had yet to replace it. Things were really not going her way today and she was only becoming more and more frustrated by the minute.
She took a deep breath to try and control her emotions and went back to the task at hand. Having no ginger was not ideal but she would make due. She was in no condition to hit the shops right now and she was sure that after some warm tea, some Advil and a good night of sleep she would be as good as new. She prepared the ingredients she did have in her favorite tea mug and while she waited for the water to boil, she dragged herself upstairs to her bathroom to get some pills. She opened her medicine cabinet and immediately had to hold herself not to scream. She was also out of Advil.
She and Wynonna had gone drinking a few days prior and Wynonna had gotten too drunk to be able to make her own way home so she crashed on Nicole's couch instead. The next morning, when Wynonna woke up with a hangover from hell, Nicole had given her the Advil bottle, and instead of getting a couple pills and returning the bottle, as a normal polite human being would have done, Wynonna, of course, had taken the whole bottle with her, so now Nicole had none.
Nicole couldn’t take this day anymore. She walked into her bedroom and dropped face first, again, into her bed. She felt sick and tired and frustrated and she just wanted something, anything to go her way. She could hear the kettle whistling in the kitchen but she had no energy or will power left to actually get up. What was the point anyway? She had no ginger for her tea, no medicine, she might as well just go to sleep and hope she would feel better tomorrow after some rest.
She got up and started taking off her clothes so she could change into her pajamas. As she was half way through taking off her pants, her phone, that was still in her pocket, suddenly started ringing and startled her, causing her to stumble over and fall flat on the floor with her pants halfway down her legs. She stayed like that for a minute, eyes closed, willing herself to wake up because this must be a very twisted dark dream and not an actual evening in her life. When her phone started ringing again, she resigned to this being her actual reality and decided she better answer it, albeit not too pleased when she saw who the caller was.
“What do you want?” Nicole grumbled into the device.
“Oh! Hello to you too, Haught n bothered.” Came Wynonna's sarcastic response from the other side.
“Wynonna, I’m not in the mood. If you are calling, you must want something, so let’s just get this over with so I can go to bed. It’s not like you care about pleasantries anyway.” Nicole replied flatly. Wynonna was her best friend and she was a good friend when she wanted to be, but she was also at least partially responsible for Nicole’s bad mood right now and Nicole had not forgotten that.
“Geez, ok, ok. I was just calling to say I have to work tonight, but it’s looking like a slow night, so I was wondering if you wanted to come over, have some drinks, and, you know, keep me company. But, considering how it sounds like something crawled up your ass and died, I’m assuming that will be a no…” Wynonna teased.
Wynonna worked at Shorty’s, Purgatory’s most popular and surprisingly least shady bar, and Nicole would every so often come by when her friend was working to have some drinks and keep her company while the pair would laugh at the drunken antics of the locals.
Nicole had not been in Purgatory very long and she was also not the type of person that made friends very easily so her friendship with the town’s reckless crazy chick was very much appreciated, despite the warnings from her boss, Sheriff Nedley. Nicole knew about Wynonna’s past, the truth and the rumors, being a Sheriff’s deputy indeed had its perks, but none of that mattered to her. The fact that Wynonna was such an outcast actually made her feel closer to her friend. She could definitely relate to that, being the only openly gay person in the small town where she grew up. She actually admired how Wynonna still held herself with pride and lived her life to the fullest, despite the opinions of others. Nicole, however, did not agree with some of the coping mechanisms Wynonna would resort to when the pressure got too much, but that was another matter.
“I’m just sick, Wynonna.” Nicole admitted with a sigh. There was no denying it so she might as well say it, even if it pained her to do so. “And a little annoyed at you, since you stole all my Advil and I have no energy to leave the house and get some more.” She was definitely not letting her get away with that.
“Oh shit! Sorry, Carrot Cake. I did do that, didn't I?” Wynonna cursed. “Crap! I would totally come by and drop some but I’m all alone here tonight so I really can’t step out.”
“It’s ok. I’ll just go to sleep and get some in the morning. I’m sure I’ll be feeling better by then.” Nicole was happy that Wynonna had admitted to her guilt but she didn’t need her to beat herself over it.
“No, wait a sec.” Wynonna told her and she could hear her talking in the background. “Waves, perfect timing! Could you do me a favor, pretty please?”
“Maybe… What’s up?” Nicole could also hear Waverly replying now and just the sound of her voice made Nicole’s heart do summersaults.
“You know my friend, Haught sauce?” Waverly must have shown some type of confirmation to the absurd nickname as Wynonna continued. “She is not feeling too ‘Haught’” Nicole rolled her eyes as Wynona stopped and laughed at her own joke but thankfully Nicole did not hear any acknowledgement from her sister. “Anyway, she might not have any medicine at home right now, because I maybe took it with me last time I was there, so if you could be a doll and get her some and drop it off for me, it would be greaaaat!” Wynonna finished with a pleading voice and Nicole unconsciously held her breath waiting for Waverly’s answer, not really sure herself of what she was hoping to hear.
On one hand, Nicole would normally never say no to seeing Waverly and she really did need medicine if she had any hope of a decent night of sleep. On the other hand, she felt horrible and she had a sinking feeling she might also look horrible and she would prefer Waverly did not see her under these circumstances.
“Ok.” Waverly finally replied emotionless and Nicole really wished she could have seen her face to know if she was happy or annoyed at the prospect of seeing Nicole.
“Great! Did you hear that, Haught stuff? Waves will come by and drop off your medicine and, if you so happen to die in your sleep, that will most definitely not be my fault!” Wynonna was surely not great at pep talks. “And since she is coming over anyway, can she get you anything else?” Nicole could hear that Wynonna had only added that last part after some rushed whispering, mostly likely from Waverly. Wynonna was a good friend, but not that good. Waverly on the other hand, was the nicest, most caring person Nicole had ever met. She often wondered how two sisters could ever turn out so differently.
“Actually, if she is really coming over, could she please also get me some ginger for tea? If she can’t find it at the store it’s ok, only if it’s easy, I would hate to make this any more of a trouble than it already is.” Nicole rambled. Wynonna quickly acknowledged it and hung up, leaving Nicole to her thoughts.
She wouldn’t have asked if Waverly hadn’t offered it herself. At least now it seemed that it was more than just Wynonna pushing her to go. Not that it meant anything. Waverly just had a heart of gold and would have done the same for anyone. This didn’t make Nicole special, despite how badly Nicole would want that to be the case. Because another unfortunate thing that Nicole could no longer deny was that she had a massive crush on her best friend’s little sister.
She knew it was hopeless. Waverly Earp was as straight as an arrow. The former captain of the cheerleading squad / prom-queen / valectiditorian / voted nicest person in Purgatory had just recently broken up with her long term boyfriend, rodeo star douchebag Champ Hardy, and had since then taken to going on dates with every single eligible bachelor in town, only to turn them down and move on to the next. This recent dating behaviour was, in fact, the only thing the small brunette seemed to have in common with her sister. Although Wynonna’s choices were a lot less eligible and what she did could hardly be defined as dates.
Coming down from her thoughts, Nicole finally realised her current position. She was still on the floor with her pants down her legs and Waverly would be arriving soon. This would not do. She quickly got up, as well as she could with her current pants situation, and got to work on changing her clothes and making herself look somewhat presentable for the youngest Earp girl. There wasn’t much she could do about her sickly look but she could at least make sure she was wearing clean clothes, that her hair was brushed and her face was washed.
She still wasn’t feeling any better, in truth she was actually feeling worse, so she very carefully made her way downstairs and unlocked the door, before she set herself lying down on the couch once again. Nicole closed her eyes for what it felt like a second, before she heard the doorbell signalling Waverly had arrived.
“It’s open. Come in!” She yelled from her spot on the couch, while trying to sit back up.
Waverly walked in and just the sight of her took Nicole’s breath away. She had obviously dressed for a night out at Shorty’s, with her tight skinny jeans and crop top looking quite contrasting to Nicole’s current sweatpants and t-shirt look.
“Hi.”Waverly said shyly. “I brought your medicine and ginger. Can I help you with anything?”
Nicole just stared at her dumbly for a second. She had imagined a few completely different scenarios if Waverly had ever come into her house and in all of those, Waverly would be helping her with many many things.
“No, it’s ok. I wouldn’t want to take any more of your time than I already have. Thank you very much for bringing these to me.” Nicole finally replied, coming out of her daze. She then went to stand up and take the items from Waverly but as she did, she suddenly felt dizzy and fell back onto the couch.
“Oh my God, are you ok?” Waverly rushed to her side and touched the back of her hand to Nicole’s forehead. “You are burning up! Let me get you some water so you can take the pills.” Waverly walked quickly to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water for Nicole. “Here, take this. I saw you were making some tea. I’ll cut up the ginger and finish that for you, ok? Just take your medicine and rest.”
Nicole took her pills and watched as Waverly walked back to the kitchen, not waiting for any confirmation, and busied herself with making her tea. She didn’t want to impose on her. It wasn’t like they were close or that Waverly really cared about her but she was feeling so sick, she actually didn’t have the energy to argue. She would just have to make it up to the girl when she felt better.
As soon as Waverly was back with her tea and Nicole was about to thank her and insist that she go enjoy the rest of her evening, her phone rang again. Assuming it was Wynonna, Nicole answered without looking at the caller id.
“I was just about to tell Waverly she can go, so you will have her keeping you company in no time, Wynonna.”
“This is Sheriff Nedley, Haught. And could you actually ask Waverly to wait a little longer?” Shit, Nicole though, it was her boss.
“Oh, hi, Sheriff, sir. I’m sorry. Yes, is there something wrong?” Nicole replied ashamed of her mistake, while mouthing for Waverly to sit and wait.
“Well, Deputy, how are you feeling?” Nedley asked carefully. Nicole frowned and looked over at Waverly who was also looking at her curiously. She was confused on why Nedley called her, and how did he seem to know she was unwell. Had Waverly said something? Was this why he had asked her to not let her leave? Waverly seemed as puzzled as her though so that was probably not the case.
“Actually, sir, I am not feeling very well. I’m afraid I might be sick.” Nicole replied honestly.
“I was afraid that might be the case.” Nedley sighed and continued before Nicole could interject. “That scumbag you arrested yesterday, Carl, you said he wasn’t looking too good and he looked like he was on something. Well, he wasn’t. He was sick. After your shift yesterday he got worse, so we called an ambulance and they took him to the hospital. I still thought it was a reaction to the drugs he must have taken so I didn’t think anything of it but the hospital just called and said he has a very contagious virus and anyone that has had direct contact with him needs to be quarantined. And in turn, also everyone that has had direct contact with such a person.”
Once again that evening, Nicole could not breathe, but now for a very different reason. What did this mean? How sick was she? Was she going to die? Who else did she infect? Was the whole Sheriff’s department infected? Who would keep the town safe? She had so many questions and none of the answers and she couldn’t find the voice to actually say them out loud.
“Haught? Nicole? Are you still there?” Nedley questioned softly.
Nicole’s head was spinning. She was feeling light headed again. She turned when she felt Waverly’s hand lightly squeeze her shoulder and the small brunette gave her a small smile while her eyes silently asked if she was ok. She tried to smile back and it came out more like a grimace, but the touch was grounding enough for her to be able to find her voice and ask some of the questions burning in her mind.
“Who else is sick? Are you… Are you sick? Is Lornie?”
“No, don’t you worry about us. We never actually touched the prisoner. You bought him in and the ambulance took him out, we were never in direct contact with him so we are ok”. At least that was good news. “It looks like the virus is transmitted by skin contact so I need to know, Nicole, did you touch anyone or did anyone touch you, since you’ve been in contact with the prisoner?” Nedley’s question was serious and Nicole started retracing her steps since she had arrested the perp.
After bringing him in, she had gone back to her desk and filled in all the paperwork until the end of her shift. She then went home, made dinner, watched TV with CJ and went to bed. No contact with anyone. That morning she woke up and went about her daily routine as usual; breakfast, twelve hour shift at work and home. She had seen people and talked to them but not really touched anybody. Even when she got her lunch and her dinner takeout at the station, she had only touched the containers of food, not the person giving them to her. She was starting to open her mouth to confirm it to Nedley when it suddenly hit her, like a ton of bricks; Waverly. Waverly had touched her forehead to check for a fever. Skin to skin contact. She had infected Waverly.
“Waverly.” Nicole replied simply, immediately eliciting an enquiring look from the girl next to her.
“Well, Haught. I was afraid that would be the case when you mentioned Waverly was with you and that is why I asked you to not let her leave. We need to try and contain this virus as much as we can and as such, neither of you will be allowed to leave your home until you are not contagious anymore. So I’m afraid the two of you will need to be quarantined in your house together.”
Well, shit!