36. They've Got, like, Murderers in There

       Waverly woke up, face smushed into her pillow, a low throbbing behind her eyes. She groaned, smacking the other side of the bed, feeling no Nicole next to her. She lifted her head slightly, squinting her eyes open, searching around the room, confirming that her girlfriend wasn’t there. She saw a note on the bed that was obviously written with her left hand. 

Bring your fine ass downstairs

to try some of my 5-star cooking.

Meds are on the nightstand.

-Chef Nic

       She sighed with a smile, rolling over and taking a handful of pills. She dragged herself out of bed and trudged down the stairs, finding her girlfriend standing at the stove. She walked up behind her, wrapping her arms around her middle, feeling her tense up before recognizing who it was. “Morning,” she mumbled into the back of her shirt.

       Nicole turned around, locking her hands around her waist. “Kiss le cook,” she smirked in a French accent. The brunette wrinkled her nose with a smile, standing up on her toes, pulling the back of her head in. She dropped back to the flats of her feet, wrapping her arms tighter around her middle. “How are you feeling?”

       She looked up at her with a groan. “Why’d you let me do that?”

       Nicole shook her head at her. “I did no such thing,” she corrected. Waverly sighed, moving over to the coffee pot. “You wanna go wake up Wynonna? I’m gonna go get Gus and Doc from outside.” She nodded, setting her mug down and heading upstairs.

       She walked into her room and plopped herself down onto her sleeping sister. Wynonna groaned. “Wake up.” 

       “No,” she grumbled.

       “You’re the one that wanted to come today.”

       The older Earp groaned again. “I didn’t know that meant I had to wake up at the ass crack of dawn.”

       Waverly rolled off of her, standing up and tugging on her arm. “It’s not even that early. C’mon, Nicole made breakfast.”

       She sighed, sitting up and letting the younger girl drag her out of the room. “How kind of her,” Wynonna deadpanned.

       Nicole and Gus were getting the table set when they got downstairs. “Good morning, Wynonna!” The Officer said in an annoyingly cheerful voice to get on her nerves. 

       “It’s really not,” she sighed, sitting down. “Who knew? Haught Potato can cook.” 

       “I do live by myself, you realize that, right?”

       Wynonna threw her a look. “You and Waves basically live together at this point.” Waverly kicked her leg under the table. 

       “Doesn’t Doc live in your barn ?” Nicole asked, tilting her head with a smirk. Doc tipped his mug at her. The older Earp pursed her lips, shoving a forkful of food in her mouth.

.  .  .

       Nicole, Waverly, Wynonna, and Gus all climbed out of the car when they arrived at the courthouse, and it was pushing 9 o’clock. Waverly groaned, shielding her eyes from the sun. “At least you’re not horny anymore,” the darker brunette snorted as they walked inside. 

       “What?!” Waverly questioned, furrowing her brow at her. Nicole backhanded Wynonna, giving her a stern look but was still holding back a smile. 

       “What?” Her sister asked faux-obliviously. Waverly rolled her eyes, walking closer to Nicole as they entered the building. A guard took them to the same room they had waited in before their trial last time.

       They saw Jessie and Topher sitting in there already.  “God damn, I thought ya’ll were gonna be late,” Jessie said, sounding relieved.

       All three women sent a glare to Wynonna. “It’s not my fault! I fell back asleep and none of you decided to come and check up on me!” 

       “You had a sleeping mask on, Wynonna!” Waverly exclaimed, crossing her arms. She put her hands up in surrender. The bickering between the two continued. Topher was looking between them with a very confused look on his face. He made eye contact with Nicole, who looked to be dead inside, shaking her head. She sighed, stepping in between them, placing both of her hands on Waverly’s arms, cutting her off by placing her lips on hers. Her body relaxed after a second and she moved one of her hands to her cheek. 

       “That girl’s a saint, I swear,” they heard Gus sigh. 

       “Blech,” Wynonna gagged. Waverly walked Nicole back, making her purposely bump into her. “aaaaAAHH!” She backed away quickly and the two pulled away from each other, laughing as they pushed their foreheads together. 

       “Each time you insult us, just remember that you have also have kissed this.” She twirled her finger in front of Nicole’s face. The redhead blinked at her girlfriend slowly, Wynonna making an uncomfortable face. 

       “That sounds like a story I need to hear,” Jessie smirked.

       Waverly matched her face. “Oh, how about I show you?” Jessie’s smile grew wider.

       “Waverly . . .” They both started, but they were too late. They could already hear the video playing, Topher and Jessie both looking over her arms. 

       “She’s like one of those Facebook moms,” Nicole mock-whispered.

       “Embarrassing her kids left and right,” Wynonna finished. Nicole nodded, looking towards Gus with a helpless look on her face. She pat her shoulder apologetically. Waverly walked back over to them with a proud smile, the Officer shaking her head at her. 

       “You have to do one off of her now, Nicole,” Topher laughed. 

       “No . . .” Waverly slowly slid her fingers down her tie. “I think I get to do one off of you.” She watched her eyes darken with a sly smile. 

       “Y-Yea. Sounds good,” she stuttered, face reddening. 

       “Babygirl stoppp, you’re scaring Gus!” The older Earp had her hands covering the woman’s ears, which she quickly wiggled out of, smacking her arm with a tut.

       The door of the room they were in opened, a Deputy stepping in. “They’re ready for you,” she announced. Waverly looked up at her girlfriend with a totally different face than a few seconds before. Her eyes were wide, mouth slightly open. She gave her a reassuring smile, taking her hand and looking around to all the other faces in the room, confirming that they were ready to go. They all walked out the door, Wynonna, Topher, and Gus heading in a different direction to enter the visitor’s section. The Deputy walked them into the room and they took their seats next to their attorney and lawyer. The Judge called both attorneys up to his stand to speak to them privately.

       They both turned and stood in the middle of the room after a few minutes. “Today we will hear the Jury’s verdict in the case of Ms. Earp and Reyes versus Mr. Hardy. Let’s start with a recap of both side’s claims,” Mr. Clay said. He told a summary of Waverly and Jessie’s stories, and Mr. Reinhardt gave a small defense for Champ.

       Once they were both finished, they sat down and the Judge began to speak. “I think that the jury took a lot of things into thought as they placed their verdict. The stories from both girls, the evidence from Ms. Earp’s case, Sheriff’s Deputy Haught’s testimony, and how Mr. Hardy basically admitted to Ms. Earp in court that he knew he did it.” He removed his glasses, looking up at Champ. “With all things considered, I don’t think it is too shocking that they ruled you guilty on both counts.” Waverly laid her head on Jessie’s shoulder, squeezing Nicole’s thigh. The Judge picked up a paper, bringing it closer to his face. “The Court ruled that the sentencing will be the same for both counts, so you will serve two counts of two years in federal prison with the possibility for parole after one. Together that makes it four years with the possibility for parole after two.” Waverly lifted her head, feeling Nicole digging into her hand. Her jaw was locked and she was glaring at the Judge. She heard a cry from the other side of the courtroom, sounding like Champ.

       “BULLSHIT!” Someone yelled from the back of the room. She quickly recognized it as Wynonna. When she turned, she saw Gus dragging her out of the room.

       She heard another sob come from Champ. “I can’t go to prison! I’m not built for that! They’ve got like . . . murderers in there!” A group of Deputies grabbed onto him as he tried to stand up. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one with that idea.

       Waverly felt the redhead pull against her hand that was clamped onto her upper arm, so she jumped up as she stood, holding her still. “You better sit your ass down, I swear to God,” she gritted through her teeth, throat burning with emotions. The lawyer and attorney stood also, backing up slightly, Mr. Clay looking at them with a sorry face.

       Nicole snapped her head towards him. “What the hell kind of sentence is that?!” She growled, jerking against the brunette’s grip.

       “Nicole,” Waverly warned, grabbing her face and turning her head towards her. “Stop.” Her voice broke and the Officer’s face softened. She swallowed, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl. They heard Topher approach Jessie from behind them and Champ crying as he got dragged out of the courtroom. Those were actually the last things Waverly remembered hearing before she felt her legs go numb and watched her vision go black. 

.  .  .

       The brunette woke up, feeling a warm mass pressed against her neck and a hand on her cheek. She saw she was on her bed. She moved her hand, gently grabbing the arm that was sprawled across her chest.

       The redhead lifted her head, propping it up on her shoulder. “Hey, Baby,” she sniffled, wiping her face on the inside of the t-shirt she now had on.

       Waverly rolled to face her, rubbing her eyes. “Did I pass out again?” She mumbled. 

       “You did,” she confirmed with a nod.

       The brunette groaned, wiping her thumbs under Nicole’s eyes. “And why are you crying on your unconscious girlfriend?”

       She laughed a little. “I don’t know really,” she sighed. “It’s just been a long day.”

       Waverly cocked an eyebrow. “How long was I out?”

       Nicole checked her phone. “Well, it’s 1:30, so like . . . four hours maybe,” she shrugged.

       Waverly let out a raspberry, scooting closer to her. “Did I miss anything?”

       The Deputy sighed heavily. “Well, as I was carrying you out to the car, I saw Wynonna going after the attorneys down the hallway, so I had to set you down in a chair real fast so I could sprint and tackle her before she did something stupid.”

       She looked up at her, blinking slowly. “Should I be surprised?” She asked flatly.

       “Not at all.”

       Waverly sighed, scooting herself up on the bed. “4 years?” She asked, hoping she had only imagined it.

       Nicole pursed her lips, sighing through her nose. Waverly shut her eyes. “I know it’s not enough. But there is nothing we can do. And you know if there was, I would be doing it right now.”

       The brunette opened her eyes with a nod. “What’s parole or whatever?”

       She bit at the hole in her cheek that was desperately trying to heal itself. “It basically means that if he behaves himself in there, he can be released in two years.”

       She widened her eyes. “2 years?!”

       The redhead nodded, rolling her eyes. “He’ll have certain restrictions, but yea. It’s possible.” She swallowed, shaking her head. “He won’t even come near you, I promise.” Nicole brushed some hair out of her face, resting her hand back on the pillow.

       “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, clasping her hand over the back of it. 

       “For what?” She asked, looking confused. 

       “For passing out on you . . . again.”

        The redhead smiled. “You can pass out on me any time you want, Love.” The brunette giggled, cupping her cheek, giving her a kiss. She pulled back after a few seconds and they stared at each other, a new fire storming in each of their eyes. Waverly grinned evilly, surging forward and locking their lips as she nudged her hip with her leg. Nicole flipped to her back and grabbed her knee, pulling her onto her lap. She moved her hand to her waist, sliding her thumb under the hem of her shirt. The smaller girl tangled her hand in her hair, sliding her tongue along her bottom lip. Nicole parted her lips slightly, letting her slip her tongue in her mouth, a small moan escaping when their tongues touched. She slid her hand down to her butt, gripping it with a smack, getting a breathy moan from the brunette. 

       “Haught Shit, is she aw-” Wynonna swung the door open. Waverly pulled away from her lips, slowly sitting up, sending her a glare. “I’m gonna take that as a yes,” she said with a toothy grin.

       Nicole rolled her eyes. “Could you kindly fuck off? We’re kinda in the middle of something here,” she grumbled.

       The older Earp leaned up against the door frame. “I’d rather not have my ears start bleeding, so I think I am going to stay right here.”

       Waverly looked down to Nicole with a shrug, who tipped her head with a smirk. “Suit yourself,” the brunette sighed, leaning back down, kissing her passionately. The redhead smiled, balling up the shirt at her waist in her fist. 

       “Ok! Just- Gus made food!” She quickly closed their door, walking back downstairs. Waverly sat back up, both laughing. 

       “I love doing that,” Nicole snorted, sitting up and locking her hands behind her back. 

       “Me too,” she smiled, cupping her cheeks and giving her a quick kiss. “We should do something tonight.”

       Nicole nodded, sucking one side of her cheek in. She raised her eyebrows. “We could invite people to my garage to screw around and drink?” She suggested.

       The smaller girl wiggled her eyebrows. “That sounds like a great idea.” She paused, stilling her eyebrows. “What people are we talking?” 

       “Like . . . You, me, Jessie, Topher, Wynonna, Doc, maybe Jeremy and Chrissy?” 

       “My sister?” She questioned.

       Nicole nodded. “She makes everything fun,” she shrugged. 

       “You trust her in your garage?” 

       “I’ll bring a gun,” she smiled. Waverly snorted, dropping her head to her shoulder.

       They made their way downstairs after a few minutes, finding Gus and Wynonna sat at the table. “I’m glad you finally decided to join us,” the Older Earp mumbled. 

       “We were discussing our plans for the evening,” Waverly informed as they sat down.

       Wynonna clapped her hands over her ears.“LA LA LA LA I DON’T WANNA KNOW!!”

       Waverly kicked her shin, Nicole dropping her head into her hand. “No, not that,” the brunette grumbled, face a shade of pink. 

       “We’re gonna have a party at my garage tonight and you are invited,” Nicole said, pointing at her with a baby carrot. 

       “You have a garage?” Wynonna questioned. 

       “Where else would I keep my Harley?” She smirked.

       Wynonna grinned evilly. “I’m in!”