68. My Favorite Pain in the Ass

       The dreaded 6 AM alarm awoke Nicole from her slumber, though it was not with its normal groans and complaints. She rolled over and shut it off, rolling twice to face the brunette.

       Who was not there. 

       She rubbed the sleep out of her right eye as she pushed herself up on her elbows, looking around the room for her, but she was nowhere to be found. She rolled out of bed, wandering out of the bedroom toward the smells wafting from the kitchen. She saw the brunette padding around, seeming to be making the finishing touches on breakfast. 

       “What’re you doin’?” She mumbled, tugging the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands and hugging her arms around her body to warm herself in the cold room. 

       Waverly turned her head to look at her as she grabbed two plates out of the cabinet. “What’s it look like I’m doin’?” She laughed. 

       She walked closer to her, leaning back onto the counter. “It looks like you’re making breakfast.” 

       The brunette shook her head, wrapping her arms around her middle and leaning into her. “Good observation ,” she grinned, tipping her head up into a kiss. Nicole smiled, cupping her cheek.

       Waverly pulled back after a few seconds, looking down at her hand that was resting on the space above her heart. “Why’s it going so fast?” 

       Nicole cocked an eyebrow, pushing her fingers against her neck, feeling herself just how fast her heart was pumping. She gave her a smile with a small shrug. “. . . I guess I’m just excited.” 

       “Mm.” Waverly pressed another soft kiss to her lips. “Why’s that?” 

       “I’m not sure,” she smirked, slipping her hand into the one back pocket of her sweatpants with a little squeeze. 

       The brunette tapped her fingers on her collarbone as she pretended to think about it for a few seconds. “Is it cause I maybe decided I could get used to being your girlfriend a year ago?” 

       Nicole giggled as Waverly pressed slow kisses all over her face. “That might be it.” 

       She dropped her face to her shoulder, squeezing around her waist a little tighter. “ Horrible decision,” she sighed, only letting a hint of sarcasm seep through. Nicole gave her butt a warning pinch. “I’m kiddinggggg,” she smiled, rocking them side to side a little bit. 

       Nicole pushed a chaste kiss to her lips before pulling out of her arms and pouring herself a mug of coffee. She kissed the side of it. “My true love.” 

       Waverly gasped, grabbing one of the hash brown balls from the bowl on the island and chucking it at her. Nicole took a sip of her drink, easily reaching up and catching it before it could hit her face. The smaller girl let out a silent curse as the redhead threw her a wink, popping it into her mouth as she walked over and sat down. She sat down beside her, grabbing one of the pieces of french toast and dropping it onto her plate. “You could at least let me throw something at you and not catch it once .” 

       “I have!” 

       “Yea, when I throw it at your back!” 

       “That is not true!” 

       “ That is not true ,” she mimicked in an annoyingly high voice. 

       Nicole scoffed, bumping her with her elbow. Waverly knocked her back with her shoulder. The redhead jabbed her in the ribs with a stiff finger and she reached over, snatching up another hash brown and dropping it right in her cup, sticking her tongue out at her. 

       Her mouth dropped open and she snapped her head towards her. “How dare you!” 

       “You didn’t catch it that time, DIDJA?!” 

       Nicole huffed, fishing out the ball and dropping it onto her napkin. She turned her head and stared the brunette dead in the eyes, bringing the mug to her lips and taking a long sip. 

       “ EW , stopp! Oh my God!” She grabbed the mug and pulled it away from her mouth with a disgusted look on her face. 

       Nicole laughed as she watched her get up and pour her a new cup of coffee. “When d’you even get up this morning?” She questioned when Waverly sat back down. 

       “5,” she answered through a mouthful. 

       “5?! Why?!” 

       “ Because. I needed time to get all this made before you got up.”

       “Why didn’t you sleep in? You don’t have to work until 9,” Nicole asked with a furrowed brow. 

       “ I wanted to make my Baby breakfast before she had to go to work since you are taking us out to do whatever you are taking us to do tonight,” she informed, pointing at her with the end of her fork. 

       Nicole smiled, lightly bumping her thigh against her’s. “Thank you, Love,” she mumbled. “I’m so excited to work out and burn all of this cheat day food off tomorrow.” 

       Waverly took a sip of her coffee, eyeing her over the rim. “Oh, you’ll work it off later.”

.  .  .

       Nicole sat at her desk, spinning her pen about her fingers as she looked up at the clock for the 300th time in the last hour. She only had to make it through 4 more hours, but time seemed to be ticking at a snail's pace. 

       She glanced up at the knock on her door, sitting back in her chair and smoothing her shirt out. "Come in!" The door opened, and in walked the Watermelon Lady, plopping down in the chair in front of her desk. "Since when do you knock?" 

       "It y'alls anniversary and your door was closed. I figured you two'd be in here making a baby or something."

       Nicole threw her a look. "She's at work, Wynonna." The brunette shrugged, opening the McDonald's bag on her lap and pulling two burgers out, tossing one at her. Nicole caught it, looking up at her with an unsure brow. "What'd you do to it?" 

       Wynonna took a bite off her's, talking with a mouthful, "What d'you mean what'd I do to it ?" 

       "I mean, you usually don't go around giving food to people unless you’re pulling some shit." 

       She threw her hand out. "I didn’t do nothing to it! I just figured you probably didn't take off for lunch and Asshole was craving Mickey D's." 

       Nicole opened the paper, carefully thumbing through it before trusting she was telling the truth and taking a bite. "Why'd you figure that?" 

       "Cause I know you're too busy thinking about today to wanna eat." 

       Nicole swallowed a little harder than necessary, pursing her lips and slumping in her chair a little. “Aren’t you supposed to be on bed rest?” 

       “Meh.” 

       “Doctor’s orders, Earp. You’re gonna end up hurting yourself or the baby.” 

       “Well, I figure if I give her what she wants, maybe she will want to come out,” she defended. 

       The redhead blinked at her for a second. “I really don’t think that’s how it works.” 

       “Well, Sheriff.” She tossed her ball of burger paper at her and Nicole caught it with a huff. “I don’t think you are a doctor.” 

       “Well, Earp.” She basketball-shot the ball into the trashcan by her door. “I don’t think you are a doctor either.” 

       “ I have my GED.” 

       “ I have a degree in Criminal Justice,” she snarked, pointing to the diploma hanging on her wall.

       “ Wow , look at you.” 

       “I know right? I’m really just that amazing.”

       Wynonna rolled her eyes as Nicole popped the last bit of her burger into her mouth with a smirk, clicking around on her computer. “I don’t know how she deals with you 24/7,” the brunette grumbled. 

       “I don’t know how anyone deals with you ever .” She heard her phone ringing, so she picked it up off her desk, tilting the screen towards her. “Speak of the devil.” She pushed her phone to her ear, leaning back in her chair. “Ello?” She answered with her usual horrible British accent. 

       “Hey, Nic,” Waverly answered. “. . . Where’re you at right now?” 

       She sat up slightly, hearing a hint of discomfort in her voice. “I’m at the station with your sister, why?” 

       “Isn’t she on bed rest?” 

       She met Wynonna’s eyes, tipping her head with a mock-snotty look on her face. “She’s supposed to be, ya.” The older brunette rolled her eyes. “What’s going on, Babe?” 

       “Can you come up here? . . . I think this guy’s on crack.” 

       Her eyebrows went up. “What?! Who?” 

       “I don’t know who he is, I’ve never seen him before. But he’s acting really weird and keeps bothering people. Shorty told me to call you cause he won’t leave.” 

       Nicole stood up, walking around her desk. “Alright, Honey, I’m on my way.” She pulled her jacket on. “D’you think I’ll need backup or can I handle it on my own?” 

       “He’s like 5 inches taller than me, but probably weighs the same. I think you’ll be good.” 

       Nicole laughed a little bit at that. “Ok. Let me know if anything happens before I get there.” 

       “Will do. Thanks, Baby.” 

       “No problem. I’ll be there in five.” 

       “Mk, see you in a bit.” 

       “Buh-bye.” She hung up and pushed her phone in her pocket, looking towards Wynonna’s questioning face. “Crackhead at Shorty’s,” she informed. 

       “Oo, can I come?” She asked with a grin. 

       “ No . If you’re not at the Homestead by the time I get back, I’m hauling you there. Got it?” 

       Wynonna huffed with a glare. “Yes, Mother .” 

       She smirked as she headed for the door. “I’ll text you later, alright?” 

       “I’d goddamn hope so!” 

       Nicole smiled as she walked out the door, heading outside to her cruiser and pulling out of the parking lot. 

       She arrived at Shorty’s and walked into the bar, sweeping her eyes across the room until they first landed on her girlfriend, who was leaning against the wall behind the bar with an uncomfortable look on her face. She followed her eyes over to a scrawny old guy with long brown hair and dirty clothes standing on top of a chair, doing some dance moves. Everyone seemed to be keeping their distance from him if they weren’t just leaving the bar. 

       She let out a sigh as she pulled some rubber gloves on, looking back over to the brunette. Waverly met her eyes and she shook her head as she approached him, tucking her thumbs in her belt. “Sir, I’m gonna need you to get down for me,” she informed calmly but still stern. 

       He spun around to face her, eyes widening at her uniform. “Nuh-uh!” He jumped up onto the table and crossed over to the chair on the other side. 

       She pursed her lips. “This isn’t a playground. Get off the chair.” He muttered nonsense to himself as he jumped chairs again when she went to approach him. “Sir, I’m not gonna tell you again. Get down. Now.” 

       He moved back onto the table, standing in the middle and spinning around. “Ha ha, you can’t catch me!” 

       She let out an annoyed raspberry before reaching up and catching one of his arms. “Don’t think I won’t drag you off this table.” 

       His eyes widened and his right hand went to the back of his pants. Her breath caught as she predicted his next move, letting go of his arm and yanking her glock out of its holster, pointing it at him just as a pistol aimed back at her. Her head snapped towards the brunette. “Waverly, get everyone out!” She nodded and did so, despite the look of shock on her face. Nicole reached up with her free hand and tipped her head towards her shoulder, pressing the button on her radio. “Haught to any available units, requesting backup for a suspected 10-56 with a 10-32 at Shorty’s. Come in slowly.” 

       She got a handful of responses immediately, so she continued to try and calm the man from his agitated state. “I don’t wanna hurt you. Just put it down and this will go a lot smoother.” 

       “You first.”

       She shook her head. “That’s not how it works, Bud. Put it down so we can go outside and talk.” 

       The man was shifting back and forth on his feet, his arm shaking from the weight of the gun and his nutrient-deprived state. “Just shoot me! I know you wanna!” 

       “No. I don’t want to shoot you. That’s the last thing I want to do.” She heard the door open and saw Pearson and Schmitt walk in, guns raised. “You’re outnumbered, Man. Just put it down.” His eyes flicked nervously between the three a few times as his arm continued to shake, but before she could say anything else, he switched the gun from her to his own head and closed his eyes. “ DON’T !” She holstered her weapon, putting both hands up. “Hey, look at me!” He opened his eyes slightly. “Don’t you pull that trigger. That is not how this is gonna end.” She stepped forward, gripping her hands onto the table edge. 

       His eyes snapped closed again like she had secretly hoped. She looked quickly back at her deputies as a warning of what was to come and pushed up on the table, flipping it backward to knock him off. 

       The two behind her quickly ran up as she vaulted over the top, pouncing on the man before he gathered his bearings, grabbing onto the arm with the gun. 

       POW!

___

       Waverly rubbed her hands over her shirt covered arms as she looked past Shorty at the door. “I didn’t know he had a gun,” she mumbled. 

       “Hey.” He tipped her head towards him and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Nobody knew he had a gun. Sheriff Haught and those two boys’ll be just fine getting him out of there.” 

       “But she asked if she should bring back up and I told her n-” 

       POW !

       Waverly jumped at the gunshot, along with everyone else that was still standing around. Her eyes popped out of her head and she immediately pushed past her boss towards the door. “No, no, stop.” He wrapped his arms around her front and pulled her back to his chest, keeping her from moving forward. “You’re not going in there.” 

       She pushed at his arms, trying to wiggle out of his grip. “Shorty, that was a pistol shot! He just shot h-” She stopped when someone stepped in front of her and pushed on her shoulders. Her eyes focused in on their face, revealing Gus.

       “You better stop before I knock you out, Girl. You’re not goin’ in there.” 

       “LET ME GO!” She cried as tears began to carve paths down her cheeks. 

       Everyone around went quiet as their eyes locked on either the door or the struggling trio. Their relationship was never much of a secret considering that they were labeled the Town’s Sweethearts, so no one was surprised that she was screaming bloody murder. And they were all as worried as her. That was their Sheriff that they knew would be damn-hard to replace if something happened to. She was the best thing that had happened to the town in a while. 

       “GUS, SHE COULD BE HURT OR- OR-” 

       The bar door came open and the brunette held her breath, watching Schmitt walk out and hold it open. Soon after came Pearson, dragging the crackhead by one arm while Nicole held onto the other, all three unscathed. 

       The redhead looked up, seeing her girlfriend wrapped in Shorty’s death grip, tear stains all over her face. She turned her head towards Schmitt, “Take ‘em to the station.” She let him replace her spot keeping him from trying to get away, handing him his pistol before quickly heading towards Waverly. 

       Shorty let her go and she immediately took off towards Nicole, jumping into her arms and wrapping her limbs around her like a koala bear. Nicole hugged her arms around her, pushing one hand to the back of her head. “I’m ok, Baby,” she whispered. 

       Waverly simply hugged her tighter as she tried to calm her racing heart, telling her brain over and over that everything was ok. Nicole slowly ran her hand up and down her back as her fingers tightened into her shoulders. 

       After a minute, she slowly lifted her head and Nicole moved her hands under her thighs to hold her up as she wiped her eyes. She met her’s and the redhead gave her a small smile. She dropped her forehead to her’s, letting out one last heavy breath. “What even happened ?” 

       Nicole sighed as she began to retell the events from after Waverly had gotten people out. “. . . And when I pushed his hand to the ground, his finger was on the trigger, so it went off on accident. I think it hit the leg of the pool table, actually.” 

       Waverly smiled, rolling her eyes. She gave her a quick kiss and dropped her legs, letting her set her down, but still keeping close to her front. “I’m just glad you’re ok.” 

       Nicole dropped her hands to her waist, giving her hip a squeeze. “What a way to go, huh? Killed by crackhead .” 

       “ Stop !” She smacked her chest with a scoff. 

       Nicole gave her a not so sorry smile, leaning in and kissing her forehead before pulling her into a hug. “I’ll see you later, ok?” 

       “Mhm,” she mumbled, taking in a deep breath. 

       “Are you smelling me again?” 

       “Mhm.” 

       “ Weirdo .” 

       Waverly pulled back with a giggle, cupping her cheeks as she leaned in for one last kiss before letting her continue on her way for her last couple of hours of work while she headed inside to find just where that bullet had hit. 

.  .  .

       Nicole pushed the front door open, getting home 10 minutes late, like usual . Waverly glared at her from the couch. “I’m sorry! I had to finish an email!” She defended, putting her hands up as she hung her keys on the hook by the door. 

       “To who ?” 

       “To Corporate . We’re working on funding and pay and all that fun stuff that I don’t wanna deal with.” 

       Waverly turned the TV off and got up off the couch. “Well. Now that you are here, you can tell me what the hell I need to wear for tonight,” she smiled annoyedly. 

       Nicole shrugged as she set her gun in the safe and put her boots on the rack. “Doesn’t really matter.” 

       “What?” 

       She turned towards her with a cocked eyebrow. “What?” 

       “What d’you mean it doesn’t really matter?” 

       “It means exactly what I said,” she laughed. “It doesn’t really matter.” 

       They walked towards the bedroom and Waverly eyed her back. “So I could wear this if I wanted to?” She questioned, gesturing to her outfit, which was still her work clothes. 

       “I mean, you could . I’m not saying you should cause you might get cold, but you could .” 

       “That’s all I get? Dress a little warm?” 

       “Yep,” she nodded with a smile, pulling her tie off. 

       Waverly let out an exaggerated sigh as she moved next to her, sorting through their closet for a few minutes. After watching Nicole dress herself in a white hoodie and distressed grey jeans with the same textured jean jacket, she put together in her mind of how “fancy” she needed to be and based her outfit off that. She buttoned up a white with black stripes flannel and pulled some maroon ripped jeans up her legs, sticking her feet into her high-top Converse before heading off to the bathroom to fix her face.

       Some makeup and a maroon, black, and white beanie (with a pom-pom, of course) later, she was ready to go. 

       “Are you gonna be warm in that, Wave?” Nicole asked, bending over to tie her Vans. 

       “That’s what your jacket is for,” she winked. 

       She stood straight up with a sigh. “ Right .” Waverly gave her an innocent smile. “You wanna feed the cats and lock up the house while I start the car?” She nodded so Nicole walked outside and she headed to the kitchen, calling for the felines. 

       After turning the lock on the door, she pulled it closed behind her and climbed in the car. Nicole pulled away from the house and Waverly interlocked her fingers with her right hand’s, looking down at it as she tipped it towards her. “This happened a year ago, too,” she mumbled, running her fingers down the two scars. 

       The Sheriff looked down at it for a second. “I guess it did,” she agreed, not having put a thought to it until now. “ A lot of things happened that day.” 

       “I almost made you piss yourself.” 

       “I learned you loved unicorns.” 

       “You almost killed someone.”

       “I gave you a hickey and you blamed it on Calamity.” 

       “You learned about Black Badge.”

       “You had a panic attack in the station’s parking lot.” 

       “I gave my statement and you were being really hot.” 

       “ You were being really hot and then came on my leg.” 

       “You also came on my leg.” 

       “But you got embarrassed cause you came on my leg.” 

       “And you got embarrassed because I asked you about how you called me your girlfriend.” 

       “Oh, and, ya know. Wynonna found Willa.” 

       “God damn , that’s a lot of shit for one day,” Waverly breathed, shaking her head. The redhead laughed, giving her hand a squeeze. 

       They had been too busy talking about anything and everything for the last 20 minutes of the drive, so Waverly hadn’t noticed she had pulled into a parking lot until the car stopped moving and she saw her pull the keys out. She turned her head, looking out her window. “Where-” She gasped with a smile, drumming her hands on her arm.

       “I think Mama would be confused if we walked in there in red carpet attire,” she smiled as they climbed out of the car and walked towards the entrance of the Pizza House. Waverly giggled as Nicole held the door open, pressing a kiss to her cheek. 

       A waiter brought them to a booth and took their orders because they obviously already knew what they wanted. Waverly kicked her feet up on Nicole’s thighs, that huge smile still tearing her face in half. 

       “Is this a good anniversary dinner?” The redhead asked with a smirk, biting onto her straw.

       “This is the best anniversary dinner.” 

       Nicole grinned, rubbing her thumb on her ankle. “I thought so.” 

.  .  .

       The couple finished up an hour or so later. Nicole paid and draped her jean jacket over Waverly’s shoulders before they walked out to the car. “It is chilly,” she mumbled, pushing her arms into the sleeves. 

       Nicole playfully rolled her eyes at her, leaning back against the hood of the cruiser. “Who woulda thought it’d be cold in March?” 

       “Shut up,” Waverly laughed, stepping in between her knees. She smirked, lifting her hands up above her head and rubbing them together, pretending it was a fire. 

       Nicole opened her mouth with a scoff, shoving her back. “ Bitch .” She tried to hide her smile as she walked around to the car door. 

       Waverly giggled, pushing the door closed and turning her around before pulling her down into a kiss by the strings of her hoodie. The Sheriff relaxed into the door, coaxing her closer with her hands in her back pockets. 

       It only took a couple of seconds of that to make Waverly thread her fingers through her hair and cup her other hand around the side of her neck as she slid her tongue across her lip. Nicole tugged her even closer, beating her to it and darting her own tongue into her mouth. The brunette sighed into it, arching further into her as she wrapped her arm around her neck. 

       After a few minutes, Nicole remembered how they were standing in a parking lot and it was still relatively light out, so she slowed it down before finally pulling away, smiling down at her swollen pink lips. “You’re good at that,” Waverly breathed, sliding her hands down to her hips. 

       “I know, right?”

       She shook her head, unpinning her from the car and walking around to her side, climbing in. 

       Waverly already had an idea of where they were going next. Once they arrived at Mama’s, she had figured Nicole was going to try and recreate their first date. And she knew that included their trip to The Hill. 

       But when she slowed the car to a stop at the bottom of the road that led up to The Hill, her eyes went wide. “ Baby . . .”

       Nicole smiled as she climbed out of the car, walking around and opening her door for her, holding her hand out. “C’mon.” 

       Waverly took her hand, looking at the rocked road that had candles on either side of it, leading the way to the top. She wrapped her arms around the redhead’s as they began to walk up the incline. “You’re too much,” she mumbled. Nicole pressed a kiss to her temple with a chuckle as they got closer to the top. Waverly noticed how the candles slowly started to taper in the path, curving it slightly to the right. 

       And then they got to a height where she could see the edge. 

       The candles closed in all the way until they were just one line, and they curved into a large heart at the edge, big enough to let the blanket that was already stretched out on the inside fit comfortably in it. 

       The brunette leaned heavily into her side with a quiet squeal, squeezing her fingers into her arm. “Niccc!” 

       The redhead looked over at her heart eyes with a bashful smile as they stepped into the heart. She stopped them in the middle and spun her in front of her, wrapping her arms around her as they both looked out at the sunset in front of them. Waverly leaned back into her, pressing a kiss to the bottom of her jaw as she cupped her hands over her’s. “I love you,” she sighed. 

       Nicole smiled, meeting her lips. “I love you, too.” She dropped her chin to her shoulder.  “. . . You know you’re my best friend, right?”

       “Yea,” she nodded as the redhead pressed a kiss to her cheek. 

       “And my better half?” 

       “Yea,” she giggled as she continued to press slow kisses to each side of her face. 

       “And my cuddle bug?”

       “Uh-huh.”

       “And my second favorite singer, only after Patrick Stump by a hair .” 

       Waverly pinched her hand. “Mhm.” 

       “And literally all of my impulse control?”

       “ Mhm .” 

       “And my favorite pain in the ass?” 

       “I will hit you,” she warned. 

       Nicole chuckled, pushing a kiss to her lips when she threw her a warning look. “. . . Y’know you’re my rock?” 

       “Yea,” she smiled, releasing the tension back from her shoulders. 

       “And my whole entire fricking world?” 

       “Yea,” she answered, feeling the blush slowly creeping up her cheeks. 

       “And the love of my life?” 

       “Yea.” 

       “And my soulmate?” 

       Waverly couldn’t help the love-struck giggle that escaped her throat. “ Yea .” She felt her go to move her hands, so she let them go, and Nicole unwrapped her arms from her and took a step back. She turned to face her and the redhead pulled her into a kiss, letting her hands come to rest on her waist. 

       She pulled away after a few seconds and looked down at her hands before looking back up into her eyes with a smile. “Now you know you’re my everything . . . literally .” Waverly giggled again with a nod. “So, uhm . . . I was wondering . . .” She moved her hands from her hips and reached into her back pocket. 

       Before dropping to a knee. 

       “. . . If you wanted to be my wife, too?” 

       She opened the ring box and Waverly covered her hands over half of her face as her eyes widened down at her hopeful smile. Her emotions finally caught up to what just happened and tears stormed her eyes with a shriek as she bounced her knees a few times. She began to nod her head fiercely as she tried to get the word up her throat. 

       “Yea?” Nicole asked, her smile growing wider. 

       The brunette dropped her left hand from her face with another nod. “Yes!” 

       Nicole pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger as she stood up, and Waverly immediately wrapped her in a tight hug, happy crying into her shoulder. Nicole rocked them from side to side in a circle, feeling her own throat burning with emotion. 

       She pulled back after a minute, cupping the redhead’s cheeks as she kissed her with every bit of affection she had. She pulled back and Nicole wiped her cheeks. “I love you so much,” Waverly breathed, dropping her hands onto her shoulders. 

       The redhead smiled, pushing their foreheads together for a second. “I love you, too.” 

       She brought her hand closer to her face, taking her first actual look at the ring. “It’s beautiful,” she mumbled before letting out a little laugh. “And a Princess Cut.” 

       The band was rose gold with a double twist and the top on each side that was paved with smaller diamonds, leading to the main one in the middle. And she wasn’t a diamond expert, but if her jewelry knowledge told her anything , it was that that diamond was more than a carat. Normally she’d complain about her doing such a thing, but she was too overjoyed with every good emotion to care. 

       She looked back up at Nicole, letting out a breath with wide eyes. “Oh my God , we’re engaged .” 

       “Oh my God , we are ,” she responded with a smile, letting it seep into the younger girl’s mind. 

       Waverly happy clapped. “Oh my God! I’m your fiancée!” 

       Nicole laughed, walking over and grabbing the whiskey bottle that was sitting at the edge of the blanket. “And I’m your fiancée.” She sat down and pulled her into her lap, taking a drink out of the bottle. 

       “Oh my God! We’re gonna get married!” She spun around on her knees to face her. “When are we gonna get married?!"

       “ Waves ,” she said with a laugh, holding out the bottle. “Drink.” She took the bottle, sitting down on her heels as she took a sip. “All that’s for later, alright? Right now is for . . . whatever right now entails.” 

       The brunette let out a slow breath as she turned around and leaned back into her. “Sorry, my brain’s going a million miles an hour right now.” 

       Nicole rubbed her hand on her thigh. “I know. I figured it would be.” 

       She brought her hand back up to her face. “When’d you even get it? Cause I had no idea this was happening.” 

       “The day after Valentine’s Day,” she admitted with a smile. “Wy helped me pick it out.”

       “Wynonna knew?!” 

       “Wynonna and Gus knew,” she laughed. She felt her phone ringing against her leg, so she dug it out of her pocket. She cocked an eyebrow. “Speaking of Gus . . .” She answered it and put it to her ear. “Hello?” 

       “Haught Ham.” 

       “Wynonna? What do you want?” She answered, confused about why she was on her aunt’s phone. 

       “Yea, um, I think the McDonald’s worked,” she informed, the nervousness screaming through her voice now. 

       “What . . .?” She pushed her hand slightly against Waverly’s shoulder. 

       “I’m in labor.”