72. Here Come The Brides
A couple weeks later
Jeremy practically jumped up from the ground to the top step of Nicole’s porch before rapping at the door until somebody answered.
“Jeremy?” Nicole questioned with a concerned look on her face. “Have you been drinking espresso again?”
He pushed past her inside the house, ignoring her comment. “I am freaking out.” He said, clearly perturbed as he paced back and forth in the living room while Waverly walked down the stairs.
“Jeremy? What’s wrong?” She looked over her friend with worried eyes. “You’re looking a little pale. Here, sit down.” She guided him over to the couch as Nicole brought him a glass of water, which he gulped down before letting out a deep breath.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Waverly asked.
“Well, Robin and I were laying in bed talking about moving in together again. He mentioned possibly doing it this weekend.”
“And you don’t want to?” Nicole asked with a quirked eyebrow.
“No, I do. I do want to. That’s not the problem.”
“So then, what is the problem?” Waverly asked in curiosity.
Jeremy shook his head as he loudly exhaled. “He said that he wanted to marry me someday.”
They gave him a quizzical look, still not understanding the problem.
“Wait, you don’t want to marry him?” Waverly asked in confusion.
“I don’t want to marry anyone! I’ve always been against marriage!” He quickly added, “I mean, no offense. I’m super stoked for your wedding and can’t wait to be one of your brides-baes.”
Both Waverly and Nicole shrugged nonchalantly, showing that they weren’t offended.
“But for me personally, it’s just not something I’ve ever wanted. Everyone in my family has gotten divorced. Literally everyone, not a single marriage has worked out. And I don’t want that to happen to Robin and me. I love him too much for it all to just end with expensive lawyers and us hating each other.” He sighed as he sunk back into the couch.
“Just because it didn’t work out with your relatives doesn’t mean it won’t work out with you and Robin. You two really love each other. I see it.” Waverly smiled as she reassuringly rubbed his arm.
Nicole nodded in agreement. “Yeah! And there are lots of marriages that end up working out.”
“Right!” Waverly looked at the redhead, joining in with her head nod before turning back to Jeremy. “Like Will and Jada!”
“Tom and Rita!” Nicole added.
“Right!” Waverly nodded. “Barack and Michelle,” she pointed encouragingly.
“Donald and Melania!”
Both Waverly and Jeremy looked at Nicole in confusion, and the redhead lowered the corners of her mouth.
“Sorry, I got stuck on presidents. Bad example.”
Waverly turned back to Jeremy with a shake of her head. “The point is, just because some marriages didn’t work out doesn’t mean that you and Robin won’t.”
“I just don’t see the point in making it a legally binding thing. Can’t me wanting to be with him forever be commitment enough?”
“You’re right,” Nicole nodded. “You don’t have to be married to show that you’re committed. But there are also some legal rights you’ll be missing out on.”
“And plus, marriage has always been something that Robin has wanted. Even in high school he talked about being married someday.” Waverly shrugged. “So if your only reason for not wanting to get married is because you’re afraid of getting divorced...”
“Then maybe you should think about if that’s really a good reason.” Nicole said with a slight shrug.
Jeremy sighed as he shook his head. “I should go apologize for running out.”
Nicole drew her eyebrows together. “Wait, you actually ran out?”
“Well, I just kind of said I’d be right back...and then ran out of the house.”
Both Waverly and Nicole shook their heads in disappointment.
“Yeah, I’m definitely going to go apologize. Thanks for the talk, guys.”
When he walked out of the house, Nicole looked behind her at Waverly sitting on the couch, and they broke out into laughter.
“Are you afraid of us getting divorced?” Nicole asked in a teasing tone.
“Nope. You’re stuck with me forever,” Waverly replied as she pulled Nicole down and climbed on top of her before immediately wrapping her arms around the redhead’s neck.
“Oh no. Such a punishment.” Nicole teased and pulled Waverly into a kiss as she relaxed into the couch.
---
When the weekend rolled around, Waverly, Nicole, Sam, Chrissy, and Rosita went to Jeremy’s apartment to help them move Robin’s stuff in. After nearly four hours of packing and unloading the moving truck, the group went out to the bar to celebrate.
“So, when are we getting another marriage proposal?” Chrissy asked as she sipped her cocktail. “Because I’ve already got some ideas for your bachelor parties that may or may not involve some hot strippers.” She winked.
Nicole and Waverly’s smiles quickly dropped, hoping the blonde didn’t just start an awkward conversation.
“Actually, we talked about it and are considering it. But we don’t have a time frame yet, so you’re just going to have to wait,” Jeremy replied in a slightly chipper tone.
Waverly furrowed her brow at the unexpected news. “Really?”
“Yeah, I realized that I’m not actually against marriage. I was just scared.” He took Robin’s hand and looked up at him with a smile. “And if there’s anyone I’d consider getting married for, it’s this guy.”
A wide grin spread across Robin’s face as he leaned down for a kiss, eliciting an array of ‘aww’s’ from the table. “But it won’t be for a while,” he added.
“Yeah, Nicole and Waverly have to tie the knot first.” Rosita teased as she playfully shoved Nicole’s arm. “Any wedding updates yet?”
“Well, we haven’t really been talking about it much lately.” Waverly shrugged and looked over at Nicole. “I guess planning a big wedding is a lot more time consuming than I thought.”
“You’ve never talked about wanting a big wedding before.” Chrissy said curiously.
“Yeah, I haven’t.” Waverly furrowed her brow before looking over at Nicole. “Do you want a big wedding?”
“I just want to marry you,” Nicole replied.
“Me too.” Waverly looked down at the table in thought. “You know what, screw the whole big wedding thing. Why don’t we just get married at the homestead?”
Nicole looked at the brunette in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah. Just friends and family. A small ceremony.” Waverly looked around the table. “One of you guys can get ordained and do it.”
“Me! I’m actually already ordained. It’s a long story.” Chrissy waved her hand before continuing. “Please can I do it?!” She begged with her hands clasped together underneath her chin.
“Sure,” Waverly chuckled, and Chrissy squealed in excitement.
“What about a reception?” Nicole asked.
“We can all just go to Shorty’s and have a little after party.” Waverly shrugged. “What do you think?”
“Well...” With a small sigh, Nicole slightly shook her head before a smile spread across her face. “It sounds perfect.”
“Yeah?” Waverly asked in excitement.
“Yeah.” Nicole nodded.
Waverly beamed as she tightly hugged Nicole’s side. “Now all we need is a date.”
“Why not next weekend?” Nicole suggested before looking around the table. “Are you guys busy?”
Their friends shook their heads excitedly, as Waverly looked up at her with wide eyes.
“Are you sure you want to do it so soon?”
“Why not? I’m sure I want to marry you. And we don’t have to do a lot of planning. As long as everyone is available, why wait?”
Waverly paused in thought as excitement slowly took over her. “Alright then, why not?”
“Sounds like we’ve got a wedding!” Jeremy said with his arms raised.
With a huge grin on her face, Nicole raised her glass in the air. “We’re getting married next weekend, so save the date!” Everyone at the table cheered as they congratulated the couple.
“Another round of drinks on me!” Chrissy said, and her smile quickly dropped when she realized that she didn’t actually have the money to pay for it after all the bills she had just paid.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go in halfsies.” Rosita reassured as she patted her roommate’s back, and the blonde sighed in relief.
With giddy grins, Nicole and Waverly looked at each other as they sipped their drinks, both of them imagining calling the other one wife.
---
Monday
“Heya ex-partner!” Nicole greeted in a cheery voice as she walked up to Dolls and gave him a strong pat on the shoulder.
He looked at her with a furrowed brow. “I’d prefer former partner, Sheriff. Ex-partner makes it sound like we broke up.”
“It wasn’t you, it was me. I moved onto bigger and better things. I hope we can still be friends?” She teased.
“Friends with my boss? It’s what I’ve always dreamed of.”
“Well don’t think I’m gonna go easy on you. I’ve gotta keep you and Lonnie in shape.”
“Oh trust me, you’ve been tougher on us these past couple of weeks than Nedley was during his entire time as sheriff combined.” He shook his head in amusement. “So, what’s got you in a good mood on a Monday morning?”
“Well, Waverly and I are getting married this weekend!”
His eyes widened in excitement. “No way!”
“Yep! We decided neither of us really wanted a big wedding, so we’re just going to do it at the homestead.”
“That’s awesome! Can I bring Kathy as my plus one?”
“Sure.” Nicole shrugged.
“I mean, that won’t be weird, right? Me bringing your ex-hookup to your wedding?” He smirked, indicating that he was teasing her.
“Hey, you’ve officially had sex with her more than I have, so now I only see her as your girlfriend.”
Dolls paused as the corners of his mouth slowly dropped in a grimace. “Okay, the whole reason I said hook up was to avoid saying the word ‘sex’. Because I’d rather not think about you and her together while we’re getting’ it on...”
“Oh please. That’s like every straight guy’s fantasy.” She hit him on the back of the head as she walked into her office.
“Um, not when it’s with my work partner!” He shouted.
“Ex-work partner!” Nicole shouted back from her office.
“Former work partner!”
Nicole chuckled and shook her head as she sat down at her desk, trying not to think too much about how Lonnie would be the only one in the station on her wedding day. She really needed to hire more staff. She made a quick mental note before pushing all work matters aside, as there were more important things to get done; writing her vows.
---
Wedding Day
Nicole straightened up her tie as she paced around the room that was formerly Waverly’s bedroom. She could feel the sweat dripping down her back from all the nervousness as she focused on her breathing.
“Nicole, relax. It’s just Waverly,” Sam said in a calming tone from where she sat on the edge of the bed.
“I know, and this is the most important day of her life. Of my life. We only get one shot at this, and what if it goes horribly wrong?”
“Like what? What do you think’s gonna happen? Demons popping out of nowhere just as you’re about to kiss?” She chuckled lightly.
Nicole quirked an eyebrow.
“Sorry, I’ve been watching a lot of Buffy lately. I had forgotten how good that show was.”
“Okay, maybe nothing like that will happen. But something even worse could happen.”
“Like what?”
Nicole shrugged. “Like, I could forget my vows.”
Sam rolled her eyes at how dramatic the redhead was being. “You’ve practiced them a hundred times. And you’ve got everything written down on a piece of paper nestled safely inside your jacket pocket. I think you’ll be fine.”
“Well what if Waverly just…” She waved her hands around. “Passes out? And we have to call an ambulance?”
“Seriously? What are the odds of her randomly passing out?”
“Do you know us? Everything always goes wrong. I mean, when she was going to propose to me I got shot.” She let out a small laugh, although it really wasn’t funny. But she was slowly becoming hysterical.
Sam stood up from the bed and grabbed Nicole’s shoulders to stop her pacing. “Okay, Nicole, look at me.”
The redhead froze and faced her best friend as she took a deep breath.
“Everything is going to be fine, alright? You and Waverly are going to have a beautiful wedding, and then we’re all going to celebrate at Shorty’s while you hang all over your wife and make all of us jealous.”
Nicole beamed. “Waverly is going to be my wife.”
“Yep, she sure is. But not if you don’t get your ass outside.”
“Okay, I’m going.” Nicole said with nod of her head before letting out a deep breath in an attempt to muster up all the confidence she had inside her. “Thanks, Sam. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”
“Sure you would. You just wouldn’t be able to do it as well.” She winked as she smacked Nicole’s backside to urge her out the door.
---
As Waverly stood in Wynonna’s bedroom, she looked over herself in the full-length mirror, making sure everything was perfect.
“You look beautiful.” Wynonna said from behind Waverly as she placed her hands on her sister’s shoulders and rested her chin on top.
Waverly smiled and looked at her sister’s reflection. “I hope Nicole thinks so.”
“Are you kidding? She’ll probably cry when she sees you. I’d put all my money down on it.” She winked, earning a small laugh from Waverly. “I can’t believe my baby sister is getting married.”
“Did you think it would happen before you?”
“Yep. We all know how shitty I am with commitment.”
Waverly nodded. “Very true.” As she ran her palms over the front of her dress, the spark in her eyes dropped a little.
“What’s wrong?” Wynonna was a clearly concerned. The runaway bride scenario was always in the back of her mind. Of course she’d help Waverly make her escape, but all while telling her how much of an idiot she was because she wasn’t going to find anyone better than Nicole; not that she’d ever tell the redhead that.
Waverly sighed as she continued to look over her dress. “Do you think Mama and Daddy would’ve come if they were still here?”
Wynonna shrugged. “Probably. Uncle Curtis would have for sure though. And Willa...well, Willa probably would’ve given you the stink eye the whole time because she was always a jealous bitch.” Wynonna smiled as she nudged Waverly in the side with her elbow, who gave her a small smile in return.
“I wish he was here.”
“I know Baby Girl,” Wynonna said sympathetically as she rubbed her sister’s back. “But he would’ve been super proud of you, you know. Especially for dumping Champ’s ass.” She rolled her eyes, still wondering how Waverly had managed to stay with him for so long.
“And he would’ve been proud of you for kicking Champ’s ass.” Waverly chuckled.
Wynonna looked up in thought. “Yeah, that one felt really good.” She smiled at the memory as she looked over at the clock on her nightstand. “Alright, we better get you out there before Nicole starts thinking that you’re a runaway bride.”
“Why would Nicole think that? We already live together.”
Wynonna shrugged. “Hey, it’s always a possibility.”
Waverly opened the door, revealing the gorgeous decorations that Robin and Jeremy had set up, and everyone turned around in their chairs. Wynonna pressed play on her phone to start the Bridal March as she followed behind Waverly. She tried not to laugh at how ridiculous it was that she was playing the music from her phone, but at the same time it was perfect. There was no need to buy a sound system for one song as Waverly took the 30-second walk to where Nicole and Chrissy were standing.
As Waverly got closer to Nicole, she noticed the redhead quickly wiping her eyes.
“Told you,” Wynonna whispered, but Waverly’s ignored it. Nicole had her full attention.
“You look...wow.” Nicole said in awe as she roamed her eyes over Waverly.
“You too.” Waverly smiled back.
“Can we kiss already?”
“No!” Chrissy said sternly as Waverly giggled and Nicole just shrugged in amusement. “No kissing until I say so.” The blonde stood up tall and looked out at the audience — which was Jeremy, Robin, Rosita, Dolls, Kathy, Darren, Gus, and Doc holding Alice, who was sleeping on his shoulder.
As Chrissy began, Nicole and Waverly couldn’t stop staring at each other. Small smiles graced their cheeks as they looked into each other’s eyes, not hearing a word the blonde was saying.
“Uh, guys?” Chrissy said, breaking them out of their trance. “The marriage license?”
“Oh, right.” Waverly said as she and Nicole both signed the official document.
“And now, the vows.” Chrissy looked between them, waiting for someone to speak.
“Well, I guess I’ll go first.” Nicole chuckled and inhaled through her nose as she prepared herself to start. “My dearest Waverly, I wish I could explain to you how much I love you, but I can’t. It’s not possible, because the words don’t exist. No combination of words or letters can express the amount of love I have for you, because it’s not just something that’s in my heart, but something that’s in my entire body. It’s all around us, taking up space as we walk through life together. The only way to tell you how much I love you is by showing you, and even that doesn’t feel like it’s enough. I want to give you the world, but I can’t, so instead I’ll give you me — all of me. Even the parts of me that others don’t see, because you always see me. And I promise to always see you. I promise to love you, even when you feel unlovable or when you feel like you don’t deserve it, because I don’t know how to stop loving you. I promise to always choose you. Without hesitation, or doubt, I’ll keep choosing you. I promise to laugh with you, because your laughter is one of the best sounds in this world...aside from your sexy sounds.”
Waverly’s face reddened as she heard everyone laugh, and she shook her head in amusement at the redhead with a huge smile on her face, not even bothering to wipe the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.
“I promise to finish building the swing set for our kid when you get too frustrated by the useless instructions. I promise to do the dishes even though it’s your turn because you had a bad day. I promise to keep you safe and to protect you, even though you’re strong as hell and don’t need it, because it’s in my nature. I promise to be the best wife that I can be, even when we’re at our worst.” She let out a shaky breath. “I’ve realized that falling in love is not actually falling at all, but rather walking into a little coffee shop and having your heart stolen by the cute barista. And I can’t wait to grow old with you and to see the many adventures we go on, because I couldn’t imagine doing any of this without you. You’re the love of my life, my soul mate, and my wife. And I am forever yours.”
Waverly loudly exhaled as she wiped her face with her hands. “Well that’s going to be tough to follow up, but I’ll try.” She laughed softly before taking in a deep breath. “The day you first walked into the coffee shop with that ridiculous order, I knew you were the one.”
Nicole smiled. It was a pretty ridiculous order.
“And since that day, I’ve become a firm believer that true love is not something that you find, but rather something that finds you. You’ve seen me at my best, but you’ve also seen me at my worst. And yet, you always look at me like I’m perfect, even though we both know I’m not.” She chuckled as she quickly wiped her eyes. “I cannot promise that I’ll always be the perfect wife, but I can promise to love you through the good times and the bad. I promise to always fight with you and for you, but never against you. I promise to remember that we are not perfect, only perfect for each other. And I promise to love you for the rest of our lives. Thank you for saving me from a life of monotony, and for showing me that love is worth fighting for, no matter how difficult that fight may be. Thank you for showing me that it’s okay to be who I am, and that life is so much better when I embrace the parts of me that others may not like. I promise to always show you that it’s okay to be who you are too, and that you’ll always have someone cheering you on — me. So today, in front of all of our friends and family, I take you as my wife. Because this is an epic love story that everyone is totally jealous of, and we’re getting married. And I love you.”
The sounds of Wynonna sobbing from where she stood behind Waverly cut through the coos coming from everyone else.
“Wow. Well...okay then.” Chrissy fanned her eyes, trying her best not to smudge her makeup. “So...it’s time to exchange the rings.” She leaned in towards the couple and whispered, “We didn’t actually rehearse this part. What should I say?”
Nicole and Waverly just shrugged as they looked at each other.
“I’ve never been to a wedding.” Nicole said.
Waverly shifted her eyes between the two. “Me neither. But none of this is really traditional so just wing it.”
Chrissy straightened and grinned at everyone as Sam and Wynonna handed over the rings. “Uh, Nicole, do you take Waverly to be your wife?”
The redhead slipped the ring on Waverly’s finger with a look of endearment. “I do.”
“And do you, Waverly, take Nicole to be your wife?”
“I do,” She beamed as she bit her cheeks, trying to hold back her laughter.
“Then I now pronounced you married! You may now kiss each other.”
“But not too much,” Wynonna stated pointedly.
Waverly and Nicole grinned as they leaned in to kiss each other, and everyone applauded.
“We’re married.” Waverly giggled as she continued kissing her wife.
“We sure are.” Nicole said through her smile against Waverly’s lips.
“Alright alright, save it for the honeymoon.” Wynonna said as she pulled the couple apart. “Is it time for the after party now?”
Waverly rolled her eyes. “Yes, it’s time for the after party.”
“Woohoo!” Wynonna shouted as she held her hands in the air. “Everyone, to Shorty’s! But first, I need to get out of this dress and into my party pants.” She rushed towards the house as everyone else got up from their chairs to congratulate the newlyweds before heading to their cars.
“Can we just skip the party and go straight to the cabin?” Waverly whined as she hugged Nicole and placed a hand on her chest.
Nicole chuckled at how cute her wife was. “How about we stay for a little bit and then dip out early to go to the cabin?”
Waverly looked up at the redhead with bright eyes before giving a few firm head nods. “Yes please.”