38. Chapter Thirty-Eight

Nicole stood outside Nancy’s hospital room, playing with her Toronto Raptors hat as she waited for Trent and the doctor to finish up before she went in to see Nancy before she left for the week.

She didn’t want to leave without checking in on Nancy, without letting her know that she would be out of town for a bit, without giving her Trent’s and Eric’s phone numbers, just in case she needed something.

She hadn’t seen or talked to Nancy since the other night and while she felt bad for not checking in on her sooner, she knew that if she went to Nancy before she had come to terms with shooting David and how easy it was then she might have said something out of anger, fear, guilt.

Talking with her Grandpa helped her work through everything she was feeling after the shooting. She was in a slightly better place than she was that night. The nearly crushing weight that had been bearing down on her since she pulled that trigger was more manageable now.

The door in front of her opened and out stepped the intern who stitched up the cut on her forehead the other night.

“Ahhh, Officer Haught, nice to see you again under better circumstances.” He gave her a obviously fake smile with too much teeth as he closed the door behind him.

“It’s nice to see you too Doctor.” Nicole held her hand out to the man, trying to remember the name on his ID badge that she spent most of the other night staring at, which he wasn’t wearing now.

“You know, your brother isn’t nearly as nice as you,” he said, shaking her hand briefly before looking over the chart in his other hand.

“What did he do now?” Nicole asked, not that she was really interested. If Trent had done or said something he probably had a good reason

“Wouldn't allow me to do a simple IV removal on the patient.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the room behind him then went back to scribbling something in Nancy’s chart. “He should remember which of us is the Doctor and which is the nurse.”

Nicole bit down on the inside of her cheek, hard to keep from saying something she might regret. She hated doctors who thought they were better than nurses simply because they were doctors. She hated doctors that were too arrogant to see that they would be lost without the hard work nurses put in day in and day out.

Without another word or glance in Nicole's direction the intern walked off and down to the nurses station a few doors down, leaving her to glare after him as Trent stepped out of the room, scowling in his direction as well.

“That man is an incompetent, arrogant asshole who can barely do stitches correctly let alone handle anything involving an IV,” Trent ranted as he paced in front of her.

Nicole reached up and lightly touched the stitches at her hairline, eyebrows drawn together in concern as her eyes followed the movement of her brother. “Trent, he did my stitches.”

“Oh right.” Trent stopped in front of her, brushing her hair out of the way to get a good look at her stitches.

He probed gently at the skin around the stitches, mumbling something under his breath about interns not knowing the basics. “That’s definitely gonna scar.”

Nicole groaned and ran her fingers through her hair as Trent stepped back, dropping his hand from her face.

Anxiety settled in the pit of her stomach at his words. The last thing she wanted was to be reminded of that night every time she looked at herself in the mirror.

The gun now strapped to her ankle was enough of a reminder that she had shot someone, that everything was different now, she was different now. It was enough of a reminder that she may be put in another situation like the one with David, that she may have to shoot someone else.

Part of her wondered if she was in over her head. If demons and curses were just too much for her to handle, too much for anyone sane to handle.

Then she remembered the Earps and how they didn’t ask for any of this, how they damn sure didn’t deserve any of this and she knew that no matter how in over her head she felt, she had to be there for both Waverly and Wynonna.

Sure, they had Deputy Marshal Dolls and Doc freakin’ Holliday to help them hunt down the Revenants but, they needed someone who was just there for them. Someone who is there to help pick them up when all this wears on them. Someone who is there just for them because they cared for the Earps and wanted to protect them.

She could be that person. She wanted to be that person for them. It wouldn’t be easy and at times she might find it hard to keep her head above water but as long as she could keep the Earps from drowning then that was all she cared about.

Sensing the change in her mood, Trent pulled her into a tight hug, trying his best not too much pressure on the bruises along her ribs.

“We’ll worry about the scarring later, just go talk to Nancy and get on with your mini vacation,” he said softly, pulling back and kissing the side of her head.

She pulled him into another quick hug, mumbling into his shoulder. “You’re a good brother.”

“Good?” He scoffed and winked at her, starting to walk backwards away from her. “I’m the best.”

She couldn’t argue with him there. He was really the best brother she had. He was the only one she could count on, the only one that cared. Without him, her life probably would have fallen apart a long time ago.

Which is why she needed to start being honest with him, needed to stop keeping things a secret from him. He had always been one of the few people she could always tell everything to and keeping things from him felt wrong, it hurt.

“Hey,” she called out, catching his forearm before he could get too far away from her. “There’s something I wanted to tell you before I leave.”

“What’s up?” He asked, leaning against the wall and folding his arms across his chest.

“Waverly and I are,” Nicole stopped and frowned when Trent held his hand up, a smile tugging it’s way onto his lips.

“Dating, I know,” he said, his smile turning into a wide grin, dimples peaking through and eyes crinkling at the corners. “I figured it out the night you were brought in, I knew things had changed between you two when I saw her kiss your head, when I saw how worried she was, how scared she was like her whole world was falling apart right in front of her, like you were falling apart right in front of her and there was nothing she could do to save you.”

“I was falling apart,” Nicole whispered, looking down at her worn boots, unable to meet her brother’s eyes. “Still feels like I am sometimes.”

She knew she had nothing to be ashamed of. She knew she could tell Trent the truth about how she felt after the shooting, about what she was feeling now and he wouldn't judge her but part of her felt weak for doing so.

She was always the strong one between the two of them. Trent has always looked up to her for guidance, for strength, to be there for him no matter what. She always felt she needed to be strong for him so he didn’t have to be.

“I know.” He squeezed her shoulder. “ And I want to talk about this, I want to help you with this but, right now I have to get back to work and I’m sure Waverly and Grandpa are waiting on you as is Nancy, so call me when you get to the hotel tonight and we’ll talk, okay?”

They weren’t waiting on her. They went to fill the gas tank in the truck up and get what her Grandpa described as ‘road trip food’. Which was just beef jerky, a wide variety of chips, and Twizzlers .

Nicole nodded and smiled softly at him when he kissed her forehead and whispered ‘I love you and be safe’ before making his way down the hall.

Halfway down the hall, he turned back towards her, walking backwards and called out to her. “Oh and I’m happy for you Nicky, it’s about time you two stopped dancing around your feelings and told each other how you felt.”

Nicole waved him off and tucked her hat under one arm, then she smoothed her hands down the dark red button up she was wearing, cursing under her breath when her splint got caught on one of the buttons.

She may not be on duty but even when not working she was still representing the Purgatory Sheriff’s Department and she refused to look anything less than well put together and professional.

When she was sure she looked presentable, she raised her good hand and knocked lightly on Nancy’s door, waiting patiently for an answer.

A woman in her early fifties, who looked like an older version of Nancy, with the same red hair,  opened the hospital room door, looking Nicole up and down.

“Officer Haught?” The woman asked, opening the door wider and motioning for her to come in.

“Yes ma’am, Officer Nicole Haught.” Nicole held her hand out to the woman as her eyes scanned the room for Nancy and finding her sitting up in the hospital bed that Nicole knew was anything but comfortable.

The woman in front of her ignored her offered hand and hugged her tightly instead, causing Nicole groan quietly as pressure was put on her bruises.

“Mom let her go,” Nancy called from her spot on the bed. “Officer Haught, this is my mother Claire.”

“It's very nice to meet you Ma’am,” Nicole said, shaking Claire’s hand when she was released from the hug. “And please call me Nicole, I’m off duty.”

Nancy motioned to one of the chairs beside the bed then turned her attention to her mother while Nicole took a seat, placing her hat in her lap. Her eyes trailed over the parts of Nancy not hidden by a blanket.

Nancy’s left arm was in a cast, the right side of her face was swollen and bruised a mix of dark purples and blues. Her pale neck was covered with bruises in the shape of the fingers that had wrapped around it.

Nicole gritted her teeth and looked away from Nancy. She hoped David was burning in hell for what he did to this woman. She hoped that it was every bit as painful as the things he done to Nancy.

“Could you give us a few minutes Mom?”

Claire nodded and walked around to the other side of Nancy. She bent down and kissed her daughter’s head before looking up at Nicole. “Thank you Officer Haught for saving my daughter, for getting her away from that man, thank you for giving me my daughter back.”

“I was just doing my job Ma’am,”  Nicole said, doing her best not to rub at the back of her neck nervously.

She didn’t know what to do with the woman’s thanks. It almost felt wrong to be thanked for shooting a man, no matter how evil. Though she understood why Claire was thanking her, even if it didn’t sit right with her.

“Can I get you a coffee while I’m out?” Claire asked, walking towards the door but not before stopping next to Nicole.

“No Ma'am, I can’t stay long but thank you.” Nicole stood and shook Claire’s hand once more. “It was very nice meeting you.”

Without another word, Claire left the room and Nicole sat down once more, turning her full attention to Nancy.

“He's dead?” Nancy asked quietly and Nicole was unable to tell if it was relief in her tone or grief. “He’s really gone?”

She hoped it was relief. Though Nicole was sure it was a mixture of both. Relief that he would never be able to hurt her again and grief for the man she thought he was, the man she loved.

“I saw Wynonna Earp shoot him with my own eyes.”

Tears welled in Nancy’s eyes and rolled down slowly. Nicole leaned forward in her seat and took Nancy’s right hand in both of hers.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Nicole reassured her, squeezing her hand gently. “Whatever you need to get through this, I’ll help.”

Nancy shook her head and wiped at her face with her free hand. “I’m finally free of him, I tried so many times to get away from him, to get out of this town but every time he or one of Del Rey’s goons would drag me back.”

“You saved me,” Nancy continued before Nicole had a chance to speak. “I tried so hard to keep you out of this keep you away from danger, away from David and what he was but you wouldn’t give up.”

“I couldn’t walk away knowing what he was doing to you.”

Nicole wasn’t the type of person that was able to walk away from someone in need. She could  never live with herself if she didn’t do everything in her power to help someone.

Her grandpa made her that way. Every since she was a little kid, he drilled into her that if she saw someone who was in need then she had a duty to help them, to be there for them.

That sense of duty to help others was one of the many things driving her dream of becoming a cop.

“I’m leaving the Ghost River Triangle as soon as I get out of here and you should think about doing the same,” Nancy said, panic filling her tone as she gripped Nicole’s hand tightly. “Bobo Del Rey and his men will blame you for David’s death.”

“I can’t walk away from this, someone I care deeply for is involved and I can't leave her, leave them to deal with this alone.”

“You fell in love with an Earp,” Nancy stated, each word filled with pity as were her eyes.

Pity that Nicole didn't want, didn't need. Waverly was the best thing that ever happened to her, curse or no curse.

Given the chance to go back to the beginning, to right before she met Waverly with everything she knows now about the Earp curse and Revenants, she wouldn’t change a thing. Maybe she would tell Waverly how she felt sooner but, she wouldn’t choose to walk away from Waverly, she wouldn’t change the fact that she fell in love with Waverly.

“God help you, Haught.”

Nicole rubbed at the back of her neck with discomfort. She never liked hearing her name and God in the same sentence. He had never helped her growing up and she was damn sure he was not going to help her now.

Not that she needed his help. She had Waverly and that was all she needed in life.

The phone in the pocket of Nicole’s jeans went off, signaling that she had a text. Probably just Waverly or her Grandpa telling her that they were done with their little shopping trip and were waiting in the parking lot for her.

“I hate to just run off but I have to go, I’m getting out town for a few days.”

“That’s probably for the best.”

“So everyone keeps saying,” Nicole sighed, squeezing Nancy’s hand once more before letting them go. “But I think I’d prefer to face down another Revenant than my family.”

It spoke volumes about her family that she would rather face down literal fucking demons than them.  

Nancy raised an eyebrow at her and Nicole just shook her head, standing up.

“It’s a long story,” she said, pulling a business card from the breast pocket of her shirt. “If you ever need anything, anything at all you can call me.”

“I think you’ve done more than enough for me Officer Haught,” Nancy told her, though she still took the card from Nicole and placed it next to the cell phone on the bedside table. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

 Nicole gave her a small smile, walking to the door and stopping with her hand on the doorknob. “Take care of yourself Nancy.”

Wind whipped through Nicole’s hair as she drove her grandpa’s truck down a two lane highway far from Purgatory and the Ghost River Triangle. She had one hand wrapped around the steering wheel, the other resting in Waverly’s lap.

She hummed along to whatever 80s rock song was playing on the radio while her grandpa sung along quietly from the other side of Waverly, who was playing with the tips of her fingers that stuck out of her splint.

Nicole felt more at ease, more relaxed than she has in a long time. It was a fleeting feeling, one that wouldn’t last. One that as they grew closer to the town she grew up in would turn into an unshakable anxiety.

She still had her reservations about going home, about the possibility of seeing the rest of her siblings and her mother. About running into her father but with Waverly by her side she was sure she could handle it.

At least she hoped.

Nicole drummed her fingers against the steering wheel in time to the beat of the song, fighting off a yawn as she used her knee to keep the wheel straight and flicked her blinker on with her now free hand.

“I need to stretch my legs for a few minutes,” she said as she pulled into a rest stop.

“Thank goodness,” Joseph sighed as he undid his seatbelt. “I’ve had to pee for the last two hours.”

He was out of the cab of the truck before Nicole had a chance to put it in park, heading off towards a small, red brick building that held the restrooms and various amount of vending machines.

Nicole shook her head at him while Waverly chuckled quietly, kissing Nicole’s cheek before sliding out of the truck when Nicole shut the engine off.

Nicole got out as well, groaning as she stretched her back out. She enjoyed driving but despised the ache that always settled in her bones after spending more than five hours in a vehicle.

Slim but strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind and a forehead pressed in between her shoulder blades.

Nicole sighed contently and leaned into Waverly’s embrace as she looked around the empty parking lot of the rest stop.

It was nothing special, a faded brick building surrounded by dense woods on the side of nearly empty highway that most people didn’t use anymore.

They had taken the scenic route that adds more than five hours to their trip at Waverly’s request. Not that Nicole minded, especially when she saw Waverly’s eyes lit up with wonder at the beautiful mountains they passed.

“You know,” Waverly said, voice slightly muffled in Nicole’s back. “I’ve never been this far from Purgatory before.”

“I’m sorry it’s not much of an adventure.” Nicole intertwined her fingers with Waverly’s. “I’ll make it up to you I promise.”

“You don’t have to,” Waverly whispered, leaning up on her tippy toes to press a kiss to the back of Nicole’s neck. “A mini vacation with you is plenty of adventure for me, plus today has been fun.”

Nicole chuckled with a shake of her head and turned in Waverly’s arms, leaning down to kiss the tip of her nose. “We’ve been stuck in a truck all day, I’m not sure how that counts as fun.”

Waverly gasped as if offended and slapped playfully at Nicole’s shoulder. “We did way more than sit in a truck all day, we sang at the top of our lung, very badly I might add, to classic rock songs, we played I spy and other classic road trip games. There was no Revenants, no curses, no crazy sister or pretending to be someone I’m not. It was normal and perfect.”

Normal .

The word bounced around in Nicole’s mind as she stared down at Waverly. Sometimes she forgot that Waverly didn’t have a normal childhood. That Waverly didn’t grow up taking road trips with family playing stupid games to pass the time.

Sometimes she forgot that Waverly's childhood was worse than hers.

She swore to herself then that she'd do everything in her power to make this trip fun for Waverly, make it a trip Waverly could look back on years down the road with fondness.

She'd deal with her family problems early on and spend the rest of her time giving Waverly the normal, stress free vacation she deserved.

Nicole leaned down brushing her nose along the bridge of Waverly's nose slowly, up to her forehead, where she placed a feather light kiss.

“Come on,” Nicole said softly, moving out of Waverly's embrace and turning around.

She bent down and patted her shoulders. “I'll give you a piggy back to the vending machines.”

“They are literally right there,” Waverly said as Nicole looked over her shoulder at the Earp, one eyebrow raised as Waverly points to the small brick building no more than a handful of yards away. “I can walk.”

“Well yeah.” Nicole rolled her eyes with an exaggerated sigh. “But where’s the fun in that? Come on Earp, it’s either a piggy back ride or I’m throwing you over my shoulder.”

Nicole didn’t miss the slight twitch of Waverly mouth or the way her eyes lit up in that same way they always did when she called her ‘Earp’ before they narrowed.

“You wouldn’t.”

A grin spread across Nicole’s face as she stared her girlfriend down over her shoulder, still bent down waiting for Waverly to hop on her back. “Wanna bet?”

Waverly stood there for a few silent moments, arms crossed over her chest, that Earp stubbornness shining in her eyes before she sighed and dropped her arms, moving towards Nicole.

“Wipe that smirk off your face Haught.”

Nicole held back a laugh as Waverly hopped on her back, wrapping her arms around Nicole’s neck while Nicole wrapped her arms around the back of Waverly’s thighs.

“Yes Dear.” Nicole grinned as she stood, giving Waverly a few seconds to adjust before making her way towards the building housing the vending machines.

“You’re so tall,” Waverly whispered and Nicole could feel her looking around at their surroundings.

“You’re just short,” Nicole said as she stepped carefully onto the sidewalk, ignoring the dull throbbing in her wrist for the sake of hearing the laughter coming from Waverly as she broke into a light jog.

“And you’re an ass Nicole Haught.”

The words were whispered by her ear, sending a chill down her spine as Waverly kissed just behind her ear.

“Well yeah but that’s why you love me.”

“I do, so much,” Waverly breathed, resting her chin on the top of Nicole’s head.

It’s midnight by the time they reach a small town, whose name Nicole didn’t bother to remember, that they were going to stop for the night in.

Waverly curled up on the bench seat a little over an hour ago, her head in Nicole’s lap as she snored away softly.

Nicole smiled down at her girlfriend, running her fingers through silky brunette hair as Joseph pulled into the parking lot of a rundown motel that had definitely seen better days.

She could feel her grandpa’s eyes on her as he put the truck in park and shut the engine off but she didn’t look away from Waverly.

“Commit moments like this with her to memory Nicky,” Joseph said softly, his voice no more than a whisper inside the quiet cab of the truck. “When you have another bad day on the job, when you feel like the weight of being a cop is crushing you and you feel like you can’t go on, when you find yourself facing down another criminal and your life is on the line remember moments like this, moments spent with her and push forward, survive for her.”

Nicole blinked at him a few times, forgetting momentarily why they were on this road trip in the first place. After the day she had with Waverly and her Grandpa, goofing off and just having a good time, she forgotten everything that happened with David.

“Is that how you did it for so long? You survived for Grandma?” Nicole asked, looking back down at Waverly.

“I survived for her, for you, and for Trent,” he said, pulling the keys from the ignition and slipping them into his shirt pocket. “The job is easier when you have something to fight for, something to come home to. I’ll get us some rooms, you wake her up.”

Nicole nodded as he got out of the truck but made no move to wake Waverly. She looked too peaceful and Nicole didn’t have the heart to ruin that, at least not until she absolutely had to.

She trailed her index finger along Waverly’s jawline, intending to do as her grandpa suggested and commit this moment to memory, commit the way Waverly looked in this moment to memory.

“How did I get so lucky?” Nicole mused out loud, watching Waverly’s mouth twitch just the tiniest bit. “You’re awake, aren’t you?”

Waverly grinned, eyes still closed mumbling a ‘no’ that turned into a giggle as Nicole’s fingers dance along her side.

Waverly squirmed on the seat and batted Nicole’s hands away before realizing that it wasn’t keeping Nicole from tickling her and deciding to change tactics.

Nicole continued to tickle Waverly as she attempted to sit up in her seat, Nicole’s dimpled grin growing bigger with every burst of laughter Waverly let out.

Before Nicole knew what was happening, Waverly grabbed a fist full of her red button up shirt and yanked her forward into a searing kiss, one that left Nicole’s heart racing and left her breathless.

Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly’s waist and deepened their kiss, running her tongue along Waverly’s bottom lip as she pulled her closer.

Nicole grinned against Waverly’s lips as Waverly moved to straddle her lap, Waverly’s hands coming up to cup Nicole’s jaw in that gentle way of hers that made Nicole melt each and every time she did it.

She felt like a teenager again. Making out in the cab of a truck. Only difference from when she was a teenager to now was, Nicole was kissing the only woman she wanted to kiss for the rest of her life.

Just as Nicole’s hands slipped under Waverly’s shirt and moved up towards the underside of her breasts, a knock sounded on the window by their heads, causing them to jump and hit their foreheads together.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Nicole groaned, glaring out the window at her grandpa while Waverly hid her face against Nicole’s chest.

“I told you to wake her up not make out in my truck,” he said, clearly annoyed with her as he yanked the door open and handed her a room key.

“To be fair, she started it,” Nicole grinned, grasping Waverly’s wrist before she could smack her shoulder. “And come on, this isn’t the worse position you’ve caught me in.”

Joseph reached inside the cab and slapped the back of Nicole’s head lightly. “Get out the damn truck.”

Nicole held back a smirk, now she really felt like a teenager again. This wasn’t the first time she been caught and scolded by her grandpa for making out in his truck.

“Do I even want to know?” Waverly asked, looking between the two Haughts.

“Probably not,” they answered at the same time.

When Waverly slid off of her, Nicole got out the truck and held her hand out to Waverly, helping her out before grabbing the Captain America backpack that held their clothes for the night and next morning from the floorboard.

Joseph kissed Nicole’s head and gave Waverly a brief hug before walking towards his room for the night. “Goodnight girls.”

“Goodnight Joseph.”

“Night Papa,” Nicole called after his retreating form as she locked up the truck then held her hand out to Waverly. “Ready?”

“Mhm,” Waverly hummed, leaning up on her tippy toes to kiss Nicole.

Waverly squealed when Nicole picked her up bridal carry. “Come on, I need a bath and if you're lucky I'll let you join me.”

“Is that so?” Waverly asked, her arms coming around Nicole's neck and relaxing into Nicole’s arms.

“Yup,” Nicole popped the p as she went in search of their room, wanting nothing more than to relax with Waverly for the night.