14. Pick a Number, 1 Through 10

“I heard there is a really good one a few towns over,” Waverly informed, climbing into Nicole’s cruiser. “And it's a small family place, so there shouldn’t be a big dinner crowd.”

“Good, ‘cause I plan on eating their whole menu,” Nicole said with a laugh. “Those extracurricular activities made me quite hungry.” Waverly blushed at the wink Nicole threw in her direction. She started the car and pulled out of the station parking lot with a shit-eating grin plastered across her face.

They rode in silence for the first 15 minutes, just enjoying each other’s company, making eye contact every once and awhile. Nicole finally broke it with the question that had been swirling around in her head since they had left. “Hey, Waves?”

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering . . . why’d you take my belt off? I don’t care that you did, I’m just . . . wondering.” She glanced back and forth between her and the road.

A guilty smile slowly slid on Waverly’s face. “Well, I didn’t want your radio to get switched on and the whole police force hearing that. And I was kinda afraid your gun would go off, so . . .” She blushed with a shrug.

“Ah,” she nodded in agreement. “Look at you, thinking ahead, putting that big brain of yours to good use.” 

About five minutes later, Waverly had a question of her own. “What’d you do with the camera while you were gone?” she asked, squeezing Nicole’s hand slightly.

“I put it on Nedley’s desk,” she answered slowly, raising a brow at Waverly when noticed she was squinting at her.

“Nic,” she coaxed with an endearing smile. “What else did you do with the camera?”

“Nothing,” she insisted, biting the inside of her lip. She knew Waverly wasn’t actually mad. She thought it was quite adorable actually, the effort she was putting in to make it seem that way.

“I don’t think it takes seven minutes to put a camera on your boss’ desk that roo’s two rooms away from your own.”

“You timed me?” Nicole asked with a nervous smile.

“That is not the point,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “Just tell me what he said.”

“Huh?”

Waverly sighed, rolling her eyes with a shake of her head. “I know you went to bother Champ, I'm not stupid, Nicole. What did he do? I wanna know.” She drummed her fingers on the deputy's arm and stared at her, waiting for an answer.

Nicole’s cheeks went red and her jaw dropped open in surprise. She closed her mouth and cleared her throat. “I think I made him shit himself,” she mumbled, holding back a laugh. “He tried to tell me we had nothing on him, so I kinda maybe proved him otherwise.” She looked at Waverly with a scared grin, teeth and all.

Waverly whacked her on the arm. “Nicole! That’s, like, 110% illegal! What if he tells someone!?”

“Oh, trust me, he won’t. Doc and Dolls drilled it into his head that if he told anyone anything we did to him, terrible things would happen. He is just too stupid to realize that’s not true.” She scooped Waverly’s hand up and kissed her knuckles, making her relax a little.

She looked up at Nicole and rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do with you,” she grumbled.

Nicole kissed her knuckles again. “I have a few ideas,” she muttered under her breath with a grin.

Waverly gasped and started smacking her repeatedly. “Oh my god, quit! You’re like a teenage boy!” Nicole tried to block her flailing arms, laughing profusely. “You just missed your turn because of that, Dumbass.”

Nicole leaned forward, checking her mirrors. She slowed, pulling into a gas station parking lot, and made a u-turn. “Ahhh, I don’t care. That was funny,” she laughed, wiping her eyes from the tears that were starting to form.

“I hate you,” Waverly grumbled.

Nicole pulled into the small parking lot, labeled “Mama’s Pizza House”. “Aw, no you don’t,” she cooed, putting the car in park.

Waverly looked over at her, trying to hide a smirk. “Mmm. You’re lucky you’re cute,” she grumbled, stepping out of the car.

“Some would even say Haught.” She walked around to Waverly, who was mid-eye roll.

“You get awful cocky after your world gets rocked, huh?” Waverly grinned and smacked her ass.

“I suppose so,” she said through a smile as she placed her hands on her waist, pulling her in for a kiss. “Ms. Earp, are we calling this outing a date?”

Waverly chuckled into the next kiss. “Indeed, we are,” she confirmed, tracing a finger down Nicole's spine.

Nicole gave her a smile and pulled back, removing her hat and swinging it out in front of her. “After you, Ma’am.” Waverly smiled bashfully and walked towards the building, holding her hand out behind her for Nicole, who gladly took it. They walked into the restaurant. It had an urban look with brick walls and was beautifully furnished, much to both of their surprise. A younger woman greeted them and took them to their booth. They ordered their drinks and settled in, skimming over the menu. 

“It smells amazing in here,” Waverly hummed, leaning back in her seat.

“I know, right?” Nicole agreed, setting her hat on the booth next to her and looking around.  “I’m glad you suggested this place, it's really nice.” 

She saw the waitress returning to their table with their drinks. After setting them down, she pulled out her tablet and a pen. “Are you lovely ladies ready to order?” 

“Yes, Ma’am, we are,” Nicole responded. The waitress took both their orders and turned away with a sweet smile.

“If their food is as good as everything else here, I might have a new favorite restaurant,” Waverly said, swinging her legs under the table.

“Not me. Nothing can outdo good ole Taco Bell.” Nicole gave her a wink and moved her eyes to the TV on the wall behind her. “Ok, nevermind, they’re playing Spongebob, I’m sold.” 

Waverly laughed. What wasn’t there to love about this girl? She gazed into Nicole’s eyes that were glued to the TV and didn’t even care that they weren’t talking because the smile on her face was to die for. She came back to reality when their food arrived a little bit later.

“Thank you!” they chorused as the waitress slid their pizzas in front of them.

“Enjoy your meal,” she said as she walked away. 

When she was out of earshot, Waverly let out an excited giggle as she picked up a square of her pizza. Nicole looked up at her with an adoring smile. Waverly took a bite, and her eyes rolled back. “Oh my god, Baby,” she moaned. “It’s-”

“Didn’t think I would be hearing that again tonight,” she mumbled with a smirk, taking a bite of her own pizza.

Waverly almost choked as her eyes bugged out of her head. “Nicole!” she hissed.

“What?” she asked with a smirk, taking a sip of her drink.

“We are in public!”

“Sorry! I just couldn’t miss a golden opportunity like that. You just make it too easy, Waves.”

“I do n-" Waverly rolled her eyes and shook her head at her. "Just watch your damn Spongebob and be quiet,” she grumbled.

“But this is our first date!" Nicole whined. "We haven’t even played 20 questions yet!”

“Wait, can we actually do that? That sounds fun,” Waverly asked, pulling her legs up and sitting criss-cross.

Nicole smiled. “I was totally kidding, but now thinking about it, that does sound fun,” she agreed, digging her phone out of her pocket. “Lemme look up questions.” Waverly giggled and took another bite of pizza. “Ok, first one. When’s your birthday? Well, I know that already, Ms. Virgo.”

“I don’t know yours, though,” Waverly mumbled.

“January 5th,” Nicole answered through a mouthful.

“I'm pretty sure Capricorns and Virgos are very compatible,” Waverly pointed out with a smile.

“Hmm, good to know.” They continued on with the game, going through an assortment of different questions, learning more and more about each other each time.

Nicole checked her phone, knowing they were nearing the last few questions. “What’s your favorite animal?”

“Oooh, unicorns!” Waverly giggled, bouncing in her seat. Nicole looked up at her with soft eyes and placed her hand on top of hers. “What?” Waverly asked in confusion.

“Nothing. That was just . . . adorable,” she answered quietly. “You’re adorable.”

Waverly’s cheeks flushed, and Nicole leaned across the table to give her a kiss, bringing her hand up to her cheek. She sat back down and they both smiled at each other. 

The peaceful moment didn’t last long, though.

“Get a room!” a voice snarked from the table next to them. Nicole’s eyebrows shot up and she turned towards. There was a man, woman, and a younger daughter, who was probably six or seven.

“Excuse me?” she demanded in her Officer tone.

“Nic, don’t. Just ignore it,” Waverly mumbled under her breath as she gripped her wrist. Nicole eyed her an assurance before snapping her head back to the man, and she clenched her jaw.

“I said get a room! This is a family restaurant!"

“Gabriel, calm down,” his wife whispered.

Nicole shook her head a bit. “Sir, I’m not sure what the problem is. Do you mind filling me in?” she asked calmly, inching closer to the edge of the booth.

Waverly slid her hand up to Nicole’s upper arm, trying to pull her back. “Let it go, Babe,” she coaxed, nervously glancing at the man.

“We're trying to have ourselves a nice family dinner, and it is being ever so rudely interrupted by you two making out right next to us. Disgusting.” Nicole’s upper lip twitched in anger with the last word.

“Gabriel!” the lady hushed. 

“Sir, I’m sorry to tell you, but my girlfriend and I were not making out. We shared one kiss, which is perfectly legal.” Waverly’s brows shot up when she called her her girlfriend, but she quickly brought herself back to reality. Nicole swung her legs to the outside of the booth, and Waverly swore she saw steam coming out of her ears. She scooted closer to the edge herself, just in case, noticing that people were staring at this point. 

“If I were a man, would you have a problem with it?” Nicole asked.

“Nicole,” Waverly warned, tightening her grip on her arm. Nicole looked towards her with a clenched jaw, and Waverly tipped her head pleadingly, but her eyes were quickly right back on the man when he started speaking. 

“Of course not. I just don’t like faggots near my daughter.” 

And with that, Nicole was up out of her seat and charging for the man.

“What did you just call her, you mother-!”

She hadn’t even made it four steps before Waverly was in front of her, holding her hand in over her mouth and pushing her backward. “Nicole, he's not worth it. Stop it!” she pleaded in an attempt to calm her down, and after a few seconds, Nicole stopped pushing. Waverly dropped her hand from her mouth and placed it on her stomach.

Nicole looked down at her, her face beet-red with anger. She looked back up at the man who was, big shocker, trying to shield himself with his wife. She let out a breath and realized she was gripping Waverly’s waist very tight. She let go and looked into her worried eyes. “I- I’m sorry,” she breathed out.

Waverly shook her head. “Shh, it's ok. Just sit back down.” She wrapped her arm around her waist and walked them back to the booth, pushing Nicole's cup of water towards her. “Drink.” Nicole slowly did, but they both jumped when they heard a new voice next to them.

“What seems to be the problem, Officer?” an older lady asked kindly.

Nicole stared up at her with wide eyes. “Uh, I’m sorry for the disturbance, Ma’am, Just got a little worked up over his words, that’s all. We will pay and be out of your hair." Nicole wiped her face and went to get out of her seat.

“Oh, hush, you. Scoot!” She flapped her hands at Waverly and she did so. 

The lady sat down next to her, looking up at Nicole. “Oh, child, who hit you?” she winced, looking at her face.

“My sister,” Waverly mumbled.

“Ah . . . I see you have two protective people in your life then, huh?” The lady chuckled, giving Waverly a small smile. She blushed and nodded, looking into Nicole’s eyes. “Sorry, I get distracted easily. What was I gonna say?- Oh!” She cleared her throat and dropped her voice to a quieter tone. “Mr. Harbison over there has a tendency of putting his nose where it ain't belong. And I’m terribly sorry that y'all's business is where it ended up tonight.”

“It’s alright, Ma’am. Not your fault at all,” Nicole assured.

“Officer, please, call me Mama.” Nicole nodded. “Well, because of your troubles, your meal's on the house tonight. I don’t want y'all thinkin' we're all like that 'round here cause I would really enjoy ya back.”

Waverly quickly shook her head. “No, no. It's ok. We’ll pay. He isn’t scaring us away, right, Nic?” she asked, eyeing her. 

“Right,” she answered with a smile, but Waverly was seeing right through it.

Mama let out a tut. “No, no, I insist.”

“Please, Mama, it's really ok,” Nicole assured.

“Alright, fine,” she huffed, throwing her arms up. “But y'all are taking this and you will use it next time you come here.” She pulled her tablet out and jotted some words down, ripping the page off and handing it to Nicole. 

She looked down at it, seeing it was a handwritten coupon for a free pizza. “Well, thank you. Once again, sorry for causing a scene.”

Mama stood, shaking her head. “Officer, it was not you who started it, you have nothing to be sorry for." Mama looked between them. "You two have a good night now, ya hear?”

“We will, thanks. You too!” Waverly called as she walked away. “She's nice.”

“Yeah,” Nicole agreed softly, rubbing her thumb in circles on top of Waverly’s hand. “Let’s get going.” They gathered their things and walked to the front of the restaurant to pay. “I’m paying,” Nicole said flatly, pulling her wallet out of her pocket.

“No, I got it,” Waverly responded.

“Waves, I owe you,” she said, pushing her hand down.

Waverly huffed. “No, quit.”

“Pick a number, 1 through 10,” the teen from behind the counter sighed.

“Uhh, six,” Nicole mumbled. 

“Three,” Waverly said, crossing her arms and looking at the waiter.

“Red, you're paying, the number was eight.”

“Great,” she mumbled, handing him her card.

“You don't want to know how many times I have to do that a week,” he sighed, handing Nicole her card back with a receipt. “Have a good night.” Nicole placed her Stetson on and tipped her hat, and they walked out the door. 

As they made their way back to the car, Waverly noticed Nicole’s jaw was firmly clenched and that she was speeding up. She almost said something but decided against it, deciding that it would only do more harm than good. Nicole stopped at the hood of the car, resting both hands on it and dropping her head. Waverly picked up her pace to get to her, but was too late. 

Slowly lifting her head, Nicole balled her fist and drilled it into the hood of the car, not once, not twice, but three times. “Jesus Christ, Nicole!” Waverly caught her arm, pulling her backwards just in time before there was a fourth. She held her wrist and glanced down, noticing the blood splatter on the hood. She let out a shaky breath and looked up at Nicole, seeing that a vein in her neck was popping out and that her face was almost purple. “Breathe, it’s ok, breathe,” she soothed, slowly walking her to a clean portion of the hood and sitting her down. She looked at her hand, seeing it was bleeding out of the first and second knuckle and was swelling very rapidly.

“No one should ever say those kinds of things to you,” Nicole muttered.

“Hey, it's ok. It's over now, Nic,” she said softly, stroking her fingers through her hair.

A tear slid down Nicole’s face and then another. Before she knew it, she was sobbing in Waverly’s arms. “It’s not fair. You are new to this and you- you already got harassed. It's my fault, I should have known not to do anything in there,” she cried, wrapping her arms around Waverly tightly.

Waverly closed her eyes and pulled her hat off and set it on the hood, pushing her fingers through her hair. “Oh, Baby . . . Look at me." She pulled her head up and cupped her cheeks. "Am I freaking out about some stupid comments some jackass decided he wanted to share to the world? No. So you don't need to stress about it. I don't care and quit acting like he just said it to me, it was obviously directed at both of us." 

Nicole wiped her face with her uninjured hand. “Yeah, well, I’m used to this shit. Have you met my father?” She froze, moving her eyes away from Waverly’s, not wanting to see the fear that stormed into them. “Forget I said that,” she mumbled before pushing herself off the car. Waverly swallowed, slowly wrapping her arms around Nicole’s middle, and Nicole curled her arms around her shoulders, holding onto her as if it were for dear life.

Waverly was the first to pull back after a few minutes. “I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything and everything whenever you’re feeling up to it, you understand?” Nicole nodded with a sniffle. “Good.”

“Ahem.” 

They both spun to face the voice and immediately recognized her as Mr. Harbison's wife. “May we help you?” Nicole asked, stepping towards her with an evil hardness to her eyes.

“Nope, you may do no such thing,” Waverly snapped, pointing to the car. Nicole slumped her shoulders and walked to the car, getting in. Once her door was closed, Waverly approached the woman with crossed arms. 

“Look, I just wanted to say how terribly sorry I am for what my husband said to you two. He tends to be a bit . . . old-fashioned, and I can’t do anything when he starts to go off like that. I don’t know what got into him tonight, but you two didn’t deserve that kind of embarrassment.” 

She genuinely looked upset, so Wavelry relaxed, realizing she didn't seem to be a threat. “It's ok, I guess. I’m sorry she almost tore his head off. She tends to be a little . . . protective," she said with a half-smile.

“Trust me, I saw. That’s how you know she’s a keeper,” the woman said with a wink. “I’ll go ahead and leave you two alone now. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she sighed, turning on her heel towards the car. When she got in, she saw Nicole cleaning her hand up with a first aid kit that had somehow appeared on her lap. “Where’d that come from?” she asked with a furrowed brow.

“The glovebox . . . You’re in a police car, Wave,” Nicole reminded.

“Oh yeah,” she mumbled.

“What’d she want?” Nicole asked, slightly wincing as she patted her wounds with a saturated cotton ball.

“To apologize,” Waverly answered, taking the cotton ball and grabbing her wrist to continue cleaning her hand.

“Oh.” They sat for a little in silence, the only sound being the ever so often wincing from Nicole.

“Tape and gauze,” Waverly asked, sticking her hand out. Nicole dug around in the box and pulled some out, placing it in her outstretched hand. She laid it over her knuckles and taped it around her hand, finishing it off with a gentle kiss. “All better.”

“Thank you, Waves,” she mumbled with a little smile, but it slowly faded. “I’m sorry for making a fool out of us.”

Waverly shook her head. “No, you didn’t, don’t say that. You were just standing up for us." 

“Yeah, well, I should have listened to you and let it go.”

“Nic, it's fine, ok? I’m not mad. I’d never be mad at you for protecting me." Nicole looked at her with soft eyes. “Let’s go see Gus, huh?”

“Yeah,” she sighed, starting the car and pulling away.

They rode in silence once again, listening to the radio on low. Waverly had her legs curled up on the seat and was resting her head on her arm propped up on the center console. Her ears perked up as she heard Thinking Out Loud start to play on the radio. Nicole looked down as she felt Waverly’s arms wrap around hers and her head lean on her shoulder. She smiled and scooted closer so Waverly didn’t have to lean over as far. Nicole sunk down in her seat with a sigh, finally relaxing as she felt the vibrations of Waverly humming along to the song. She decided she wanted to take a little detour before they went back to the Homestead.

“Where’re we going?” Waverly asked with a hint of tiredness in her voice, sitting up and looking at the road in front of her.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Nicole answered with a smirk.

“I don't like surprises,” she grumbled, laying her head back down. Nicole sighed, driving up the incline. She slowed to a stop at the top and tapped Waverly’s hand, and she sat up, untangling herself from her arm. “You’re not kidnapping me are you?” she asked, stretching her legs out.

“Unfortunately not,” Nicole said with a laugh, stepping out of the car. Waverly followed her with her eyes as she walked around to the trunk. Her vision was obstructed when Nicole opened it, so she unbuckled herself and got out, feeling a chill brush across her face. She looked around, noticing they were on top of a larger hill that overlooked the countryside. “You gonna help me out a little or just stand there?” Nicole called from the other side of the car with her hands full. Waverly blushed a bit, walking towards her, seeing she was holding a stack of two blankets with a bottle of whiskey laying on top.

“You carry booze in your trunk?” she asked, taking it and looking up at Nicole with a goofy smirk on her face.

“Yup,” she laughed, popping the “p”. “These are required,” she said, signaling to the blankets. “That, not so much.”

“Well, good to know,” Waverly chuckled, taking one of the blankets from her injured hand. Nicole began walking towards the drop-off, stretching the blanket out to the best of her ability at the edge. Waverly sighed, setting her stuff down, and walked over to help her when she saw she was struggling. “Maybe don't pummel your car and we won’t have this problem,” she grumbled. 

Nicole shot her a look. “Shut up,” she mumbled.

Waverly let out a little giggle as she pulled the corners out. “There we go,” she smiled, brushing her knees off. “How’d you find this place?” She picked up the other blanket and the bottle and walked back to join her on the blanket.

“I was driving up and down the back roads around Purgatory to learn my way around the area when I first got here and stumbled across it. I figured it’d be a good place to watch the sunset.”

“Well, you figured correctly. It’s beautiful,” Waverly mumbled, sliding in between Nicole’s legs and leaning back against her. Nicole grabbed the second blanket and wrapped it around both of them, pulling it closed and resting her hands in Waverly’s lap. Waverly unscrewed the cap off the bottle and took a swig, feeling the burn travel down her throat. She offered it up to Nicole, who gladly took it. 

“What a day,” she sighed, removing her hat and setting it down next to them.

“Tell me about it,” Waverly mumbled. “I think this makes it a little better, though, don’t you think?” 

“Yeah, definitely." Nicole looked at the reds, oranges, and blues swirling across the sky in front of them.

They sat there together, making small chit-chat and watching in amazement of the beautiful sight in front of them, passing the bottle back and forth every so often.

Waverly couldn’t help but smile. Even after all of the horrible things they had to go through today, this moment right here made it all worth it. She brought her hand up to Nicole’s cheek and pulled her head down into a kiss. It lasted longer than she had expected, but when Nicole did pull away with that cheeky smile she had been longing to see, she just had to go back for more. She turned around, resting on her knees. Nicole pulled her legs into a criss-cross position, and Waverly crawled onto her lap, quickly leaning into a kiss. Waverly brought her legs behind her back and crossed her ankles. Nicole put her hands on her hips, pushing her shirt up slightly.

“Your hands are cold!” Waverly shrieked as a chill ran up her spine.

Nicole chuckled into the next kiss. “How 'bout you warm them then?” she muttered with a wink. Waverly’s mouth opened slightly and she shook her head with a laugh. She rolled off her lap and pushed Nicole back so she was laying down. Waverly went to crawl on top, but she was stopped by Nicole’s hand. “Wait,” she said with a smirk.

“What?” she asked nervously.

Nicole signaled down to her belt. “Don’t you have precautions to take care of first?”

“Oh my God,” she laughed with a roll of her eyes.

“I’m never lettin' you live that down. It was just too cute,” Nicole said with a smile.

“Mhm.” Waverly kneeled in between her legs and undid the belt. She tapped her hip and Nicole lifted up so she could slip it out from underneath her. “You happy now?” 

“Uh-huh.” Waverly giggled, straddling her. Nicole pulled her head down quickly and continued the kiss, sticking her hands back up her shirt, sending another chill up her spine. Waverly slid her tongue into her mouth, getting a groan from Nicole. 

Nicole's eyes opened and she sucked in a breath when she felt Waverly’s hand untucking her shirt from her pants. “Woah there, Cowgirl.” She eyed her nervously after pulling from her lips. 

“It's only fair, don't you think?” Waverly replied, wetting her lips.

“Good point,” Nicole shrugged, bringing her hand to the back of Waverly’s neck and pulling her back down. Waverly yanked the rest of her shirt out and did the same with the tank top underneath. She pulled Nicole’s bottom lip down with her teeth and slid her cold fingers up her sides, sending goosebumps across Nicole's whole body. 

Waverly grinded her hips into her as she felt Nicole’s fingers dig into her waist. “God damn, did you have your hands in ice water or something?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, do you not like my cold fingers ?” Waverly grinned wide as she began tickling her. Nicole’s eyes widened as she began some sort of scream-laughing as she wiggled around. Waverly let out an evil laugh as she squeezed her thighs around her hips to keep herself upright since Nicole was flailing her whole body, trying to get her off.

“No! Waverly! Quit it! I’ll pee on you, stop! Oh my god! People are gonna think you are murdering me!” She wailed more pleads in between laughs with tears streaming down her face. Waverly kept at it, though, laughing almost as hard as she was.

Nicole finally bucked her off and immediately pounced on Waverly before she could even comprehend what was happening. “Payback’s a bitch!” she laughed as she slid her hands up her shirt, continuing the tickle war.

Waverly let out a shriek and then erupted into laughter. “No! I’m sorry! Nicole! No! You’re gonna get blood on my shirt! Nic! Stop! Truce, truce, truce!” Nicole finally rolled off of her with a sigh, wiping her face. They both laid on their backs for a few seconds, trying to catch their breaths and calm down from their laughing fits.

Waverly was first to sit up. She grabbed the bottle that was surprisingly still standing upright and took a swig. “Today I learned that this makes you very ticklish,” she sighed, screwing the cap back on.

Nicole sat up and rested her arms on her knees, shooting Waverly a knowing look. ”You sure that’s what it was?” she asked with a laugh. Waverly glared at her, rolling her eyes. She plopped her head back down on the blanket. Nicole laid next to her and held her hand.

“You can already see the stars!” Waverly gasped, pointing up with her free hand.

Nicole hitched her leg up and smiled. “Oop, there’s the Big Dipper,” she added, pointing slightly left.

“Where?!” Waverly questioned, darting her eyes around in that direction.

Nicole brought their interlocked hands up and pointed. “Right . . . there.”

Waverly followed her finger up and found it. “Oooo, I see it!” Nicole let out a small chuckle, bringing their hands back down.

Eventually, Waverly got cold, so she rolled over so her top half was sprawled across Nicole. She brought her leg up so it was slightly covering Nicole’s left one and snuggled her head into her chest. Nicole smiled and began slowly stroking her back.

Waverly relaxed against her, closing her eyes for a few seconds. She let her mind wander for a few minutes, but flashes of Nicole punching her car just kep invading her memory. She shook it off, opening her eyes and trying to think about something else.

And it was then that she remembered something that had happened earlier in the night. 

“Soooooo . . . girlfriend, huh?” she asked, slowly sliding her now warm hand up Nicole’s shirt.

Nicole’s eyes shot open and her face went dark red. She had hoped Waverly hadn’t quite caught that part from earlier to save herself from this situation. “Uhhh . . . I- uhm-” She cleared her throat. “I didn’t know what else to-” 

“Well, I could get used to it,” Waverly suggested softly, looking up at Nicole with a sweet but nervous smile.

“Wh- Really?” she asked, a bit shocked. 

Waverly sunk back down against her chest. “Yeah, why not? . . . I mean, unless that’s not wha-”

“That’s definitely what I want,” Nicole cut in. 

Waverly let out a breath. “Ok, good. You scared me for a second there.”

“Oh, Baby, I knew I wanted ya the second I pulled you over." 

Those butterflies flit their way back into Waverly’s stomach, pushing a giggle out of her. “Mmm, glad we’re in agreement there.”

“And I hope we’re also in agreement that we should get going ‘cause your arm is, like, right on my bladder, which isn’t really helping my situation right now,” Nicole said with a grunt as they both sat up.

“Sorry,” Waverly winced with a blush as they gathered their things. She popped Nicole’s hat on her head with a pat and they walked back to the car. Waverly neatly folded the blankets as Nicole struggled to fasten her belt. She stacked everything back in the trunk and climbed back into the car. “How far away are we?”

“Like eight minutes,” Nicole guessed, starting the car.

They pulled up to the Homestead and Nicole practically jumped out of the car, running inside, almost plowing Gus over.“Gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee!” Waverly heard her chanting as she got out of the car. She shook her head, walking into the house and greeting Gus, who was drying off a cup.

“Where have you been? I haven’t seen either of my girls since this morning!” Gus huffed with worried eyes. 

“I was at the station all day and then we . . . wenttodinner- Wait, Wynonna still isn’t back? She’s been gone all day long!”

“No, I haven’t seen her. When’d you see her last?” Gus asked with concern in her voice.

“She said she had a lead on something and her and Dolls took off.” Waverly let out a heavy breath. “Oh, god, what if she’s hurt?” She leaned back on the couch, running her fingers through her hair.

Gus rubbed her hand up and down her arm. “I’m sure she’s fine. That girl knows how to get herself outta every pickle she’s in.”

“What are we freaking out about?” Nicole asked, walking out of the bathroom still trying to buckle her pants.

“Wynonna’s missing!” Waverly walked over to Nicole to help her out a little.

“Isn’t that her truck . . .?” she asked slowly, pointing out the open door.

Gus and Waverly spun around, seeing the headlights flip off. Waverly made a sprint for the door, and she saw Wynonna was walking towards the house. “Nonna! Where the hell-” She stopped when she noticed a woman was with her. 

“Waves, this is one of the women we saved today,” Wynonna mumbled, waving her arm in her general direction. “I told her she could crash here for a while.” Wynonna stopped to wait for the other woman to catch up to her.

“Girls, would you kindly get your butts in here an-” Gus froze, dropping the cup she was still holding, glass shattering onto the porch. “Willa."