You are My Happy Place

Waverly pulled her phone out of her back pocket and checked the time. “5:15,” she whispered aloud to herself. She put it back and continued to wipe off the bar. She looked up when she heard the door across the room open. “Hey, Shorty,” she said with a smile as he walked over towards her, swinging a towel over his shoulder.

“Hey there, Earp,” he responded with a gentle smile.

Waverly set the rag down and leaned back against the counter, nervously picking at her thumb. “So, uhm, it's a Tuesday night and the new season of my favorite show starts at 6, so I was wondering if-”

Shorty placed a calloused hand on her shoulder. “Yes, Waverly, you can take off a little early. But. I expect ya here tomorrow bright and early to help me restock the liquor cabinets.”

A huge smile spread across her face. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She shrieked, giving him a tight hug, which was slightly uncomfortable for him since she was bouncing up and down.

“You’re very welcome,” he chuckled, giving her a squeeze before she finally detached herself from him. “Enjoy your show.”

“You know I will!” She called back as she collected her things and skipped out of the bar to her Jeep in the parking lot. She began her drive back to the homestead, bobbing her head to the music she’d hooked up to the AUX. “I’m so fancyyyy, you already knowwww! I’m in the fast lane, from LA to Tokyo!” She was singing her heart out. 

Well, she was up until the dreaded red and blue lights started flashing behind her.

“Oh shit,” she muttered, pulling over to the side of the road. She fumbled with her phone for a second to pause the music, nervously glancing back up at her mirror and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. Her eyes widened a little when a tall, thin but built redhead in a tan Stetson stepped out of the police car behind her. Waverly watched the deputy walk towards her Jeep. She felt like she had seen her once or twice at the station, but never enough to pay too much attention to her. As she approached, the brunette began rolling down her window, taking in a breath of the chilly March night air blowing into her car.

“Hi- Hello, Officer,” she stammered as she finally saw the face of the woman. Her heartbeat picked up as she saw the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen staring back down at her.

“Hello, Ma’am. It's a nice evening, ain’t it?” The deputy responded, with a slight but noticeable southern drawl, turning her head to look at the sunset to the right of her.

“Yea, it is.” Waverly swallowed when the redhead looked back towards her, beginning to talk very quickly with tears forming in her nervous eyes, “I- I really don’t know what I did wrong. I wasn’t speeding unless my frickin’ . . .” She pointed her finger at her dash, waving her hand around as she tried to find the name for it, “-speedometer thing is off, and I was driving attentively. My seat belt is on. I really don’t know what I was doing-” Waverly paused her ramble when the deputy placed her hand on top of her own that was resting on the side of the door. The brunette quickly looked up into those beautiful brown eyes, feeling the warmth of her hand seep into hers. Waverly used her free hand to wipe the single tear that slid down her face, searching her eyes over the deputy’s face to try and predict her next move.

The redhead shook her head. “Hey, shh, none of that. I just pulled you over to give you a heads up that your left taillight’s out. Nothing really to worry about, just make sure you get that changed as quickly as possible.” She pulled her hand away, tucking her thumbs into her belt and flashing a smile that revealed a dimple on each cheek. “I will still need to see your license and registration, though . . .” She shrugged. “It’s protocol.”

Waverly opened her mouth in an attempt to speak, but nothing came out for a second or two. She grabbed her wallet out of her purse with a clear of her throat. “I, uh, I didn’t realize it was out. Sorry I went on a tangent there. I- It's usually my sister having to deal with the police. I just got scared there for a second.” She let out a breathy laugh of relief as she pulled her license and insurance card out and placed them in the officer’s outstretched hand.

She tipped her hat with a smile and walked back to the cruiser. Waverly took a few breaths and watched her in the mirror as she walked away, taking in the view of the backside of the deputy. She let out a gasp and looked down at her feet, looking anywhere and everywhere that wasn’t a mirror of some kind. She began rubbing her hands up and down her thighs, shaking her head at herself as she leaned back against her seat. 

She had no idea what was happening with her, but it was not normal.

After a few minutes of silence, Waverly heard the door of the cruiser shut and saw the gorgeous officer walking back towards her. She gave her another dimpled smile when she stopped at her door, and Waverly looked back into those eyes of hers.

“Well, everything checks out,” the deputy reported with a smile, handing her back her ID cards, “I didn’t realize I was speaking to an Earp. It's my pleasure.” She tipped her hat.

“Oh, jeez, Officer. I’m not royalty. I’m just Waverly.” She paused for a few seconds before tipping her head. “I don't think I caught your name, either. You seem to be new around here.”

“I am, yea. I just started here about a month ago. Monday was my first day on actual patrol, though, cause I was just stuck doing paperwork in the station for a while-” She stopped, covering a laugh with a cough as she stuck her hand out. “I’m Officer Haught, uh, Nicole Haught.” 

Waverly’s jaw almost dropped at the sound of her last name, but she resisted it. “Well, I am glad you’ve chosen the lovely town of Purgatory to work in. It's nice here . . . most of the time,” she smiled, accepting the handshake.

“So I've been told . . .” Nicole glanced towards the clock on Waverly’s radio. “Alright, well, I better get goin’. Shorty’s is gonna start filling up here soon. I'm sure there’ll be trouble there. Always is.” Waverly watched her eyes fall to her top, lingering long enough to push a light blush on her cheeks. “I guess you of all people would know that, though.” Nicole gestured down to her red and blue Shorty’s crop top.

“Yea,” Waverly answered with a smile. “Shorty let me off early tonight, though, thankfully." She glanced towards her radio. “Shit, it's already 5:50.” She looked quickly back up at Nicole, licking her lips and smirking a little with a surge of confidence she didn’t know she could muster. “I guess I’ll see you around, Officer Haught.”

The redhead’s eyes widened for a millisecond, but she just smirked back. “See ya later, Waverly. Maybe I'll see you at Shorty’s soon, and, uh . . .” She fished a contact card out of her wallet and handed it over to her. “You can buy me a drink.” She gave Waverly a wink and a smile, tipping her hat as she walked away.

 The brunette sat there for a second, taking in what the deputy had just said to her. She honestly didn’t know what to think. She had never thought about a girl in that way, and she was still dating Champ Hardy anyway. They had been dating since high school, and she just never felt the need to get rid of him.

Well . . . not until now.

She glanced down at the card, the smirk pushing back onto her lips. “Haught, huh? . . . Very fitting.” She put her music back on and pulled back onto the road.

 When Waverly pulled into the Homestead driveway, she looked down at the clock, widening her eyes when she saw that it was 5:58. She shut the car off, grabbed her things, and ran into the house. She threw her stuff onto the couch and snatched the remote out of Wynonna’s hand.

“Hey!” She whined. “I was here first, Babygirl!” Wynonna jumped up from her seat and started chasing after Waverly.

“My show is coming on in a minute! The new season is out! I told you this morning that if Shorty let me off, I was gonna watch it tonight!” She dodged Wynonna’s flailing arms reaching for the remote.

“Ya know, Waves, I was probably still drunk this morning,” she retorted, still reaching for it.

“I don't care! I have been waiting for this since last year! You can have the TV back right after it's over! Deal?”

Wynonna let out a loud groan. “Fine!” She grabbed a bag of chips and the half-empty bottle of whiskey from the counter and stomped upstairs.

Waverly flopped onto the couch and flipped to the right channel, kicking her shoes off. She was so giddy. She didn’t know if it was because of the show or Officer Haught, but she didn’t care. She let out a sigh and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch, laying back to enjoy her night off.

About an hour later, the episode was over. She called up the stairs and told Wynonna she could have the TV back. The older one rushed down the stairs and snatched the remote out of her hands with a huff,  “Thank you.” 

Waverly rolled her eyes. “So . . . did you hear about the new deputy?” She asked, grabbing a few chips from the bag on Wynonna’s lap.

“Haught Stuff? Yea, she is great- kinda nosey though. She always wants to know what Dolls and I are doing.” Wynonna shrugged. “At least she likes my puns.”

“Oh, I’m sure she does,” Waverly muttered. 

Wynonna chuckled into the bottle pressed against her lips, thinking for a second before abruptly bringing the bottle down onto her lap. “Wait. How do you know Haughty?” 

Waverly’s eyes widened. “Uhhh . . .”

“You’re gonna tell me or I’m gonna make you eat those hot wings over there with no drink,” Wynonna warned with a glare.

The younger one sat quietly for a few seconds, looking up at the wall as she picked at her fingers.  “. . . Imayhavegottenpulledover.”

“You what?!- Waves, you’re supposed to be the good one! What did you do?!” Wynonna demanded, shaking her wrist.

“I only had a tail light out, Wy. I didn’t know,” she grumbled.

Wynonna dropped her arm, cocking her head at her. “Really? . . . Well, that’s boring. I thought you might have gotten caught joyriding down the highway or something like that. Ya know, the fun stuff people your age do.” She took another swig of her drink.

“I’m sorry I abide by the laws of this country, unlike somebody I know,” Waverly mumbled with a smirk, nudging her knee.

“Yea, you better. Gus’ll shoot me if she thinks I’m rubbing off on you.” The older girl's phone buzzed, so she looked down at the text on her screen. “Doc wants to meet at Shorty’s to get a little tipsy. You in for some fun tonight, Babygirl?”

“Last time I had some fun with you, you barfed all over my brand new dress, which is still stained by the way. I think I’ll pass . . . I have to be at work early tomorrow, anyway.”

“You’re missing out, Waves.” Wynonna took one last gulp and trotted up the stairs to get changed.

“Mhm, I’m sure I am,” she grumbled. She sat back and began to flip through the channels to find something good to watch. She eventually found a documentary about Ancient Egyptian pyramids and relaxed again.

A few minutes later, Wynonna came back down and kissed Waverly on the cheek before heading out to Shorty’s. Waverly waited until she heard the rickety blue truck leave the Homestead’s driveway before pulling Officer Haught’s card out of her pocket. She stared at it for a second, and then pulled her phone out from her pocket, adding her number to her contacts. She smiled and set her phone down with the card on top of the table behind her.

She wasn’t going to text her. She definitely wasn’t going to call her. Hell, she shouldn’t even have her number. She was dating Champ. 

Champ. The asshole that had cheated on her more times than she could count on her hands, lied about anything and everything, and only seemed to care about her when she was either mad at him or he needed something. He always told her he loved her, and she told him the same thing back. 

She wasn’t so sure that she did anymore, though.

Whatever the fuck she had felt talking to that  tall and ginger and nice and pretty cop had her basically questioning her entire existence.