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Being close to Waverly had been a priority for Nicole ever since she first laid eyes on her. Though this priority and the meaning of it, changed thoroughly over time as she actually got to be close to her. Got to love and care for her. In the beginning it had just been her presence, a small shy smile as Nicole entered the Black Badge Division for the 10th time per day coming up with some lame excuse as to knock on the door, at the time, newly establish department in Purgatory. Dolls of course figured it all out quickly, how Nicole always came knocking whenever Waverly was there, something he’d make fun sly comments about till the very end. Now it was different. Small looks and shy smiles were never enough because Waverly was hers and she was Waverly’s. They had always made sure to say good morning to each other at the station, even if they’d spent the night together it had become a routine to meet up in the small kitchen between the two departments to see each one last time (which in most cases turned into a briefing of what Wynonna had been up to during the night). This was always Nicole’s favorite part of her shift, that small alone time together. Despite Waverly usually trying (and Nicole finding it hard to resist) this time was always reserved to talking, a kiss or two could be stolen, but Nicole professionalism got the better of her – even if it was to her own and Waverly’s discomfort. Even so it was still special, Nicole always felt stronger standing there over a cup of warm coffee or tea talking about anything that popped into their head. It reminded her of how lucky she was, and that despite her feeling left out of all the grand demon plans from time to time, they were still a team.
Drinking coffee in the kitchen in the morning never felt the same for Nicole after Waverly disappeared into the garden. In fact, every time she went out there before 10, she felt the knot in her stomach tighten. It all reminded her of the part of Waverly and them that caused this. The part that wasn’t soft and warm, like the comfort of her room at the homestead, but the cold, harsh and brutal reality of what they were facing and what she had lost. Their morning ritual was never a secret, so Wynonna and Jeremy always slid out to the kitchen whenever they could see Nicole standing there in the morning. Holding her hand or offering a gentle touch on the shoulder when it was extra hard. Sometimes Wynonna would give her a hug, other times adding it with “We’ll find her, Haught” or “She’s so strong, you know she’ll make it”, other times they’d just stand out there, both with tears in their eyes unable to say anything. Her bond with Wynonna had become stronger and different. They’d always cared for each other, no doubt about that, but these past weeks had created something new in them. Wynonna didn’t ask any question when Nicole stood in the doorway, Calamity Jane’s box in hand and some extra uniforms, the evening after Nicole, Jeremy and Robin had fought their way back from Valdez, nor when Nicole screamed from nightmares during the rare nights she slept. Wynonna was just there, hugging her tight, telling her that it was okay. They both knew how much they needed each other despite the lack of communication on the topic. Nicole always curled up in Waverly’s bed at night, covering herself in Waverly’s favorite blanket that still had a small scent of her in it. Sometimes when Nicole was really tired, she’d close her eyes and imagine that Waverly was just out on a demon mission with Wynonna or having a late night at the station and would be in bed by the time she woke up. It helped in the short run, but her heart ached even more the morning after when the bed was still empty and cold. Everything felt different, the crisp morning breeze that usually made its way through the walls at the homestead, had always been something Nicole adored as Waverly would always move even closer to her and settle as far into her body as possible, trying to collect all Nicole’s body heat. She’d always wake up at that time, just for a few minutes to stroke the thread of Waverly’s long hair that was always spread across her face and to place gentle kisses along side her face while whispering how much Nicole loved her, always making sure to tell her even more, when she could sense Waverly spreading a smile across her face signaling she was awake and very much heard her sweet words.
This particularly morning was hard on both Wynonna and Nicole, it had been exactly 6 weeks since Waverly and Doc has gone into the garden, and they were running out of leads to help them go forward. They were sitting at the dinning table, both with mugs in their hands – Nicole was positive Wynonna wasn’t drinking anything that was close to coffee, but she was too tired to stop her. Her mouth made a small sad smile when she thought of how Waverly would rip the mug out of her hand and fill it with some of her herb tea, not leaving the table before Wynonna had drunken the last drop. Instead of doing something, she brought her own mug to her mouth, hoping the warm black liquid would wake her up a little. The homestead was as silent as ever, when they both looked up from the table has the heard a car getting nearer and nearer. Wynonna ran to the window just as Nicole grabbed her gun and barged through the door to the sight of Jeremy and Robin racing in to the ground with double the speed than allowed.
Nicole felt it in her stomach the moment she saw Jeremy’s surprised and overly smiling expression as she ran towards her while screaming
“I FOUND IT, I FOUND IT”
At this time Wynonna had made her way out to the front terrace a grin appearing more and more across her face. She jumped down the few steps hitting Jeremy a little too hard on the shoulder, making him rub the small patch while Wynonna spoke
“I fucking knew we could count on you and that science brain of yours to come up with something”
As much as Nicole wanted to celebrate with them, there was a part of her that held back the big smiles. She’s been looking for all these weeks herself, infact they all had and nothing led to anything special at all, so why was this time different? She had all her faith in their small crazy team, but she couldn’t help but feel a little doubtful.
“Before we go all party in here, can someone please tell us about this plan, so we don’t storm a secret garden with no idea what to do?”
Jeremy let out a few breaths as Robin finally approach the group holding a stack of what seemed to be ancient pieces of paper, barely holding it together. He gently placed his hand on the exact spot Wynonna had hit Jeremy as he handed the material to Jeremy, who tried his best to explain what they had discovered. Nicole took a step back and allowed Wynonna to question Jeremy about this as she stood by them.
“Remember that big broom closet of supernatural junk Nedley forced you to look over early this year?”
“You mean the crazy gnome wife and her extreme smelling man who tried to wed Nicole up before Waverly even got a say? Think we have a slight memory, Jeremy”
“Right, sorry Wynonna. Anyway, I went in there again, searching for good measure as Waverly had mentioned some old books being in there, that looked interesting. After reading them for days, I discovered this one small page describing an ever-changing garden that would only appear in times of good trouble or when someone called for it.”
“Cut the crap, Jeremy we don’t have much time.”
“Yes, so it says that no creature in touch with the power of resurrecting can go inside the gate, however the door will open to the ones whose soul is pure yet with some darkness still runs in their veins.”
Both Wynonna and Nicole looked at Jeremy more confused than ever. This was worse than a riddle and something that could be interpreted in many different ways, which certainly wasn’t something they had time for. Finally Nicole couldn’t resist joining in on the conversation.
“Who can that be? Wynonna already tried and that didn’t work, though Doc did? What if it refers to Doc? Did he have darkness running in his veins, since he was bitten by Kate? Did we really loose the last shot we had?”
Nicole felt bad for feeling so useless, she was just so tired and exhausted about the fact that their search was going nowhere. She couldn’t give up though, there must be a way, just like Waverly never gave up on her. There was no way she was losing Waverly or letting her stay in that garden for long either. The amount of times Nicole had been close to dying and Waverly having saved her was coming up to scary number and she still got chills down her spine thinking about the awful deal Waverly had created just to save Nicole from her bite.
The bite.
The poison that nearly killed her, faster and faster as it had been flowing through her veins. A darkness from the past overtaking her normal human body. Her pure soul filling up with darkness. Nicole looked around, Wynonna, Jeremy and Robin all fully occupied with reading the script, none of them looking up at Nicole as she felt paler and paler. This was it, they actually found a way and she was the person who could get them out. Get her sweet loving Waverly out of the misery and bring her back for good. Back to Nicole. Without any hesitation Nicole started to run. She sprinted faster than towards her police cruiser as she heard the distant yelling from the three others. When Nicole looked back in the review mirror she saw Wynonna running towards the car and Nicole pushed the door open as she turned on the engine, already driving before Wynonna barely made it into the car.
“WHAT THE HELL HAUGHT?”
“I know what to do, I have darkness in my veins, I can save Waves and Doc”
Nicole said breathlessly feeling tears stinging in her eyes, Wynonna looked at her amazed and stared out the window for two seconds putting the puzzle together, only erupting a “Go. Now” Before they left for the stairs.
---
It all looked exactly the same as Nicole remembered it from the first time, she saw it. It hadn’t taken them long to fight their way back and when they did, this was the first place Nicole wanted to investigate. Though at that time, it was impossible to get inside the door, it was closed and sealed off as hard stone and as many hours she’d spent there trying to open it, screaming for Waverly nothing ever worked. She tried again; Nicole ran determine up the stairs but again nothing happened. It was like it had been all the weeks, hard and cold, unable to move at any kind. She was getting more and more frustrated, punching the door harder and harder screaming for Waverly when Jeremy once again came running in sight. He dropped his hands on his knees exhausted from all the running
“You need to activate the doors, otherwise it won’t work. We need to say what’s in the book”
Jeremy began reading from the pages in what sounded for Nicole as almost perfect Latin. The longer he got into the sentences the more the doors began to move and within seconds they were completely open. Nicole looked down and locked eyes with Wynonna who immediately tried to cross the invisible boundary again with the same failure as the first time.
“I got this Wynonna, just stay put in case anything happens.”
It was all Nicole said before fully approaching the door and walking inside. In her head for weeks she has tried to imagine what this place might look like. All the wonders and beauty it might hold yet with the devilish thoughts and creations being just around the corner. However this was different, there was nothing to be seen. She found herself standing in a completely empty space with nothing but bright light all around her. She looked around searching for any sort of difference in the scenery, the only thing standing out being the door to the outside world. She could hear Wynonna calling for her, but however loud she tried to respond, she was certain they couldn’t hear her. Nicole began to run, but it was like she never came anywhere. She called for Waverly, screamed for Waverly, begged the garden to bring her to Waverly. It felt like she had been in here forever when she saw something in the distant. I small figure laying curled up together, Nicole spotted the pink under the brown nuances coming from all the dirt and she remembered Waverly’s pants and her small figure. She ran over to Waverly, who looked like she was drained from energy and barely had her eyes open. Nicole eyes was filled with tears as she gently whispered “Waves” and she brought her hand to Waverly’s cheek and stroke her pale fragile skin. Waverly turned her head slightly and covered Nicole’s hand with her while whispering “Nicole” before closing her eyes again, clearly too weak to continue. Nicole wrapped herself around Waverly while looking around hoping to see Doc, she called for him and within seconds he approached from out of nowhere as well, running towards them.
“We need to run, now!”
Nicole quickly scooped Waverly carefully into her arms and ran towards the direction she was hoped was the same as she arrived from and in the distant, she could sense Wynonna, Jeremy and Robin’s voices all calling for her telling her to run. The doors were closing, someone must’ve found out she got them. Nicole ran faster, sensing Doc was just behind her and they made it out just as they doors smashed closed and sealed into hard stone again. Nicole walked down the stair, still with Waverly wrapped in her arms and fell to the ground. The got them out, and they were both alive. She looked down on Waverly, who was beginning to open her eyes again, reaching her hand out finding Nicole’s cheek as Nicole put her hand on top bringing them to her mouth and kissing Waverly’s hand, tears filling both their eyes
“You’re safe baby, I got you”
Wynonna ran over to them and wrapped her arms around Waverly, cradling her face checking for any bruises. Despite every sense of Nicole not wanted to leave Waverly’s side, she decided to give the sisters a moment and go check on Doc who was standing by Jeremy and Robin trying to explain what happened in there. She overheard the conversation being led into what was in there
“Sometimes it was like nothing at all, and you could wander around for what felt like days with nothing and out of the blue you could be standing in the most beautiful countryside overlooking miles of fields”
Nicole wanted to join the conversation, she had so many questions, mainly why Doc seemed to be fine while Waverly looked this beaten up and tired, but she barely got over there before Wynonna called her, signaling that Waverly was asking for her. She ran over there and bend down to Waverly, who immediately found her way into Nicole’s arms.
“Come Waves, I think it’s time we get you home”
Nicole stood up and picked up Waverly in bridal style again, carrying her to the cruiser and got in the backseat with Waverly on her lap as Wynonna began the drive back to the homestead.
--
For the first time in weeks the homestead felt warm and welcoming to Nicole again. Waverly had woken even more up as they were making their way back, but she was still silent in Nicole’s lap holding onto Nicole as her life depended on it. The only time she’d made a noise was to signal she was cold, where Nicole had immediately wrapped her in her police jacket.
“Can you walk yourself?”
Nicole asked concerned as Wynonna had parked the car as close to the door as possible. Waverly nodded but still held tightly around the hand Nicole offered and she felt as if Waverly relaxed a little more when Nicole had placed a hand on her back for support as well. No one said much as they placed themselves around the dining room table once Doc, Jeremy and Robin had found their way back inside. They were all too tired and frankly no one really knew how to start of the conversation. Not that it bothered Nicole. Yes she had a lot of questions, but all she cared about in that moment was Waverly leaning more and more into her as she sat there with her mug of tea in hand. Waverly was finally home and close again, and Nicole wanted nothing more than to keeps her in her arms and never let go. Wynonna was the first to speak, asking if they should call it a day and maybe try and get some sleep, the last part pointed towards Waverly as she has a concerned look on her face. Despite it barely feeling like more than an hour for Nicole searching inside the garden, hours had gone by and it was already dark out. Waverly nodded and as Nicole was about to get up, Waverly grabbed her arm and looked up into Nicole’s eyes
“Please stay with me”
It was the most Waverly had said in one sentence all night, and all Nicole could do was nod and lean down kissing Waverly’s head before taking her hand and leading her up the stairs, catching a glimpse of Wynonna’s approving look, signaling that it was okay. As they got into Waverly’s room, Nicole gently helped Waverly sit down on her bed as she ran over to fetch some sleeping clothes for both of them. Nicole walked over to the bed and Waverly laid her head on Nicole’s shoulder and threaded their hands the moment Nicole sat down. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, Nicole stroking Waverly’s hand and placing small kisses on her head here and there.
“You want to take a shower, I can make the bed whilst?”
Nicole asked already getting up again, she bent down in front of Waverly’s sitting figure and placing both hands on Waverly’s knee as she could see her love curling more and more together.
“Sshh hey baby, it’s okay. There’s no need to rush, we can sit here for as long as you want.”
Nicole reached out for Waverly’s face cradling it with both hands, wiping away the newly formed tears running down her cheeks. Waverly began to sob and threw herself down in Nicole’s lap wrapping her arms around the taller woman’s waist. Nicole could nothing but embrace Waverly and whisper small ensuring words to Waverly, reminding her that she was home and safe with them. Waverly had been through so much these past weeks, so many unknown things that Nicole had yet to discover, all she wanted to do was to make sure Waverly felt safe and happy. Nicole could sense, that the last thing Waverly wanted right now was to be alone.
Waverly looked up from Nicole’s chest and into her eyes, placing a soft kiss on her lips. Followed by several pecks that left a small smile on both their faces. Nicole realized how long it had been since their lips last touched and now it seemed impossible for both of them to stop again. Waverly gave Nicole one last peck and touched their foreheads together and running her thumb over Nicole’s lips.
“I love you Nicole”
Nicole felt tears spring in her eyes
“I love you too Waverly, so much. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”