42. I Was Born Ready

       Nicole hadn’t been bitchy to the boys the whole time. They all had a lot of fun, actually. And they found her funny, which was always a plus. She walked them through a couple more practice drills, hit some pop-ups to the fielders, helped them improve their throwing. But she had to show off a little, getting their pitcher to pitch to her, proving her pop time was still pretty good. And it was. Her best was 1.78, not bad for not playing for over 4 years. 

       Waverly pulled up to Mama’s Pizza House, carrying through with the bet and taking the Officer out to dinner. “Yessssss!” The redhead breathed as they parked. Waverly chuckled, climbing out of the car. They walked in and got seated. Nicole took a sip of her water, folding her foot under her knee. “Thanks for today, Love,” she smiled.

       Waverly blushed. “You’re welcome.” 

       “I haven’t had that much fun in a while.” 

       She tipped her head. “I thought this morning was pretty fun,” she smirked.

       Nicole nodded her head in agreement. “We do love a good pre-practice warm-up.” The brunette almost shot her drink out of her nose. Nicole felt her phone ringing in her pocket. She pulled it out, seeing it was an unknown number. She put the phone to her ear. “Sheriff’s Deputy Haught.” 

       “Hey, it’s Marty,” the voice answered. 

       “Oh, hey. What’s up?” 

       “So . . . I talked to the boys after practice. They really like you, Haught.”

       She smiled. “I’m . . . glad. I had a great time with them today.” 

       “Yea, I could tell. I already called the school board. They said they’d be fine with hiring an assistant coach for the team . . . if you are interested, that is.”

       Her eyes widened. “Y-You want me to coach with you? Permanently?” Waverly matched her expression. 

       “We all do, actually. I’ve never seen this team work like they did today. I think you’d be really good for them.” 

       “Uhm, wow. I- I’ll have to talk to the Sheriff about it, but I will definitely think about it.”

       She could hear his smile. “Great! We’ll keep in touch. Just . . . letting you know. It’s summer, so we only have three practices a week. Monday and Friday at the Purgatory Park, Wednesday at the training center. They always start at 11 and end at 2.”

       She nodded her head, looking into Waverly’s eyes. “Alright, if I can make it on Friday, I’ll let you know.” 

       “Sounds good. Thanks again, Haught.” 

       “Yep, no problem. Thanks, Marty.” She hung up and smiled from ear to ear. 

       “He wants to hire you?” Waverly asked. 

       “The school wants to hire me!” 

       “That’s great, Baby!” Nicole drummed her hands on the table. 

       They got their pizza not long after and were just as impressed as they had been on their first visit. Waverly had snatched the grey snapback off her head at some point and Nicole couldn’t handle how cute she looked with it on. She flashed heart eyes every time she looked at her. 

       “Is it the 21st?” She asked all of a sudden. Waverly nodded, taking a bite of pizza. “How many days till the 2nd?” She bit at her cheek a little.

       Waverly thought about it, counting in her head. “11, why?” Nicole pursed her lips, pulling her phone out. “Why?” Waverly repeated after several seconds. “Nicole.”

       She held a finger up, clicking around on her phone. She finally looked up at her annoyed girlfriend after a few minutes. “You want to come to Vegas with me next week?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

       The brunette blinked at her. “Huh?” 

       “I have to go to Vegas for a couple of days. Do you want to come?”

       She blinked at her harder. “Wh- Why?”

       Nicole picked at her fingers. “It’s . . . gonna be 4 years since Aunt Liz . . . I always go down there for it.”

       Her eyes softened. “Y-Yea, I’ll come. Only if you want me to, though.” 

       The redhead met her eyes with a nod. “Of course I want you to come,” she said softly.

       Waverly reached across the table and took her hand. “I’ll come. I’ll have to go get a passport, but I’ll come.”

       Nicole gave her a small smile, looking back down to her phone. “The flight’s at 10 AM next Wednesday,” she informed. “Annnd we’re coming back on the 5th so you can be there on the 4th of July.” 

       “Fireworks?!” She gasped. 

       “So many fireworks,” she smiled. Waverly giggled. They chatted about all the things they could do for the week they were there, but Nicole left off a few parts. She already knew she wanted there to be some surprises.

.  .  .

       Wednesday rolled around faster than expected. Nicole had officially started coaching the Blue Devils with Coach Fasbinder, and she was surprisingly able to be at both of the practices so far. Waverly got herself a passport, but could not stop freaking out about the whole flying aspect of the trip. She had never been on a plane and was more than terrified about it. Nicole tried to convince her that she’d be ok, but it did absolutely nothing to calm her nerves. 

       BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The smaller girl groaned, flipping off of Nicole and smacking the alarm off. It was 5 AM. She rolled back onto the redhead, snuggling her head into the warmth of her chest. “Too early,” Waverly mumbled.

       Nicole let out a grunt in agreement, wrapping her arms around her. “We have to leave by 6,” she yawned. Waverly almost dozed off after a few minutes, but she caught herself. The Officer, though, had not. “Cole.” She lifted her head up, looking at her sleeping face, hearing quiet snores coming from her slightly parted lips. “Cole,” she mumbled again, poking her the bottom of her chin.

       She stirred slightly. “Hmm?” 

       “Wake up.” 

       “‘M ‘wake.”

       Waverly laughed quietly to herself. “C’mon, Babe.” She sat up and set her hand on her bare stomach, stroking her fingers along her skin.

       “The sun isn’t up, therefore I don’t have to be up.” 

       “I’ll get Wynonna to come jump on the bed again,” she threatened.

       Nicole opened her eyes, narrowing them at the brunette. “You mean jump on me? Cause she literally almost broke my boob last time.”

       Waverly giggled, straddling her hips. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

       “Your sister can make anything possible. She sends things to Hell for a living,” Nicole defended. Waverly smiled, cupping her cheeks, leaning down into a soft kiss. The redhead must have moved her legs because she slid forward slightly. “Ok,” she groaned. “That’s my bladder.” Waverly sat back up with an apology, crawling off of her. She sat up with a grunt, getting off the bed. She grabbed a stack of clothes and headed off to the bathroom. 

       “Seriously, Haught Bod? Put some clothes on,” Wynonna complained groggily as she walked out of her room.

       She looked down at herself, just in a bra and briefs. “I’m working on it,” she argued, flapping the handful of clothes at her. 

       “Acting like it’s 100 degrees in this damn house,” she muttered, walking down the steps. 

       “You try sleeping with 3 blankets and a Waverly in the summer ‘n see how you dress.” She heard her mumble something back, but couldn’t understand the words. She sighed, walking in the bathroom.

       She had just climbed in the shower and rubbed some shampoo into her hair when she felt arms wrap around her middle. She tensed up for a second in shock but relaxed back into the brunette as she pushed a kiss in between her shoulder blades. “Hey, you,” Nicole breathed as she turned to face her. 

       “Hi,” she smiled.

       They switched positions so the smaller girl could get her hair wet. Nicole pressed her front into the curve of her back, hugging her arms around her stomach, placing slow kisses along her shoulder. “You ready for today?” 

       “No,” she mumbled, placing her hands on either of her’s. 

       “It’s only a 3-hour flight, Love. It’ll be ok.” 

       “It's still scary, though.” 

       “I know . . . I’m sorry.” She kissed her neck gently and the brunette sighed into it, tipping her head back into her collar bone. “I downloaded all three Toy Story movies on my iPad for us to watch. I thought it might distract you a little.”

       Waverly turned around in her arms. “Really?” She asked softly with doe eyes.

       Nicole blushed a little. “Yea,” She answered with a shy smile.

       She beamed lovingly up at her. “That’s really sweet,” the shorter girl mumbled, voice wavering a little. “Thank you.”

       Nicole cupped her face in her hands, kissing away the few tears that spilled out of her eyes. “You’re welcome, Baby . . . Don’t cry,” she soothed.

       Waverly laughed softly. “I’m not, I . . . got shampoo in my eyes.”

       Nicole smiled, shaking her head at her. “You haven’t washed your hair yet, Wave,” she reminded with a laugh. Waverly pursed her lips at her, snatching the bottle off the shelf. 

       After they both finished, they hopped out and dried themselves off. Waverly wrapped a towel around her body, blow-drying her hair in front of the mirror. Nicole stood behind her as she put her underclothes on. She snaked her hand around to the front of her body, tugging the fold of her towel out. It dropped to the ground and she smirked at her through the mirror. Waverly tutted, turning the hairdryer off. “Nic,” she chastised, turning around.

       “My bad,” she drawled, tracing her eyes down her body. Waverly sauntered towards her, pushing her hand against her stomach, walking her back to the wall. Nicole pressed her palms flat against it, mouth coming open slightly in fear. “I-”

       “Did I tell you to do that?” She asked, tipping her head at her. 

       “N-No, Ma’am,” Nicole stuttered, shaking her head.

       Waverly shook her head back. “No . . . I didn’t.” Her voice was low, purposely teasing her. “What do you say?” She slid her fingers down, hooking around the elastic of her briefs. 

       “I’m s-sorry.”

       She smirked, flipping her hand over, sliding it down, slipping her fingers through wet folds, pressing into her sensitive bud. The redhead choked back a moan. “Thank you.” She nipped at her chin. “Sheriff’s Deputy.” She pulled her hand out and turned back to the mirror, retucking her towel and turning the hair dryer back on. Nicole was trying to calm her staggered breathing, still pressed to the wall. She gulped, slowly moving to grab her clothes. She slipped some black basketball shorts on and pulled a grey t-shirt over her head. Waverly made eye contact with her and shot her a wink as she left the bathroom. She let out a breath after she closed the door behind her. 

       Downstairs, she found Gus in the kitchen starting up a pot of coffee. “Mornin,” she greeted with a smile. 

       “Good morning, Nicole,” she sighed.

       Nicole cocked an eyebrow. “You ok?” She asked, leaning back onto the counter and crossing her arms. 

       “Oh, I’m fine . . . Just thinking about how I have to ride in a car with Wynonna for at least 2 hours today.” 

       The Officer sighed a laugh. “Don’t remind me.”

       Gus smiled, grabbing 4 cups out of the cabinet. “How’s Waverly doing? Still nervous?”

       She held back a smile at just the sound of her name. She cleared her throat a bit. “Yea, she is. But, I think she’ll be ok.” Gus nodded.

       Wynonna walked in from outside. “She’s not naked anymore!” She cheered.

       Nicole’s face turned the color of her hair. “I wasn’t naked, Wynonna,” she grumbled. It didn’t matter how many things had been mentioned in front of Gus, the redhead still had the same reaction every time. The coffee brewed up, so she poured herself a cup, talking to the older woman as she took a sip. She felt a tug around her waist and looked down, seeing her shorts around her ankles. She looked up at Gus wide-eyed, setting her mug down and turning around, finding a giggling Waverly. 

       “My bad,” she mocked. Nicole inhaled deeply, pulling her pants back up. The brunette must have seen it in her eyes because she took off. The Officer was right behind her. “NOO!” Nicole wrapped her arms around her waist, picking her up and flipping her upside down. “NIC!” 

       “What do you say?!” She asked, holding in a laugh as she spazzed her free hand around on her stomach.

       “I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY, OK!” She walked them back over to the counter and took a sip of her coffee, Waverly pleading to be put down.

       Gus and Wynonna looked on in amusement. “I full-heartedly think you deserve this, Waverly,” the older woman admitted with a small smirk. 

       “You know what I did to her earlier?!” Waverly asked. Nicole quickly flipped her, setting her back on her feet. “That’s what I thought,” she smiled, taking a drink of the redhead’s coffee. Nicole swallowed, clasping her hands in front of her with an innocent grin. 

       “Guys . . . It’s 5:50,” Wynonna informed. They looked to the clock on the stove, confirming it was. They ran upstairs to gather their last few things (Nicole handing out multiple threats, most making Waverly’s eyes darken). They walked back down and out to the Jeep, which they had loaded up the night before. 

       “I’ll see you later, Ladies,” Doc said, tipping his hat. Waverly gave him a hug. 

       “Bye, Doc,” Nicole said with a wave. 

       “I’m sitting in the back with Babygirl!” The older Earp announced, climbing in and slamming the door. Waverly went to complain, but Nicole shook her head, showing she didn’t mind. They all piled into the car, Gus in the driver’s seat, and pulled away from the Homestead. “Haught Pants, you're DJ.” She grinned into the mirror, plugging her phone into the jack.

       “Oh no,” the brunette muttered. The beginning beat of Sugar, We’re Going Down started up, the song she had heard at least 100 times in the past month, for it was Nicole’s all-time favorite. “Babeeee,” she complained. Nicole turned it up so she couldn’t hear her. 

       Throughout the hour-and-a-half drive to the airport in Calgary (They got caught in a lot of traffic), they listened to a wide variety of songs. Nicole and Wynonna rocked out to the alternative songs, Waverly and Nicole sang the lovey-dovey songs together, the trio of girls screamed the annoying pop songs, and Gus hummed along to the occasional Elvis and Johnny Cash. 

       Gus pulled up to the entrance and parked, Nicole slowly turning the music down. Wynonna looked out the window, looking back to her baby sister with a frown. “Noo,” she whined. Waverly pouted her bottom lip out at her. They all got out of the Jeep, Nicole and Waverly grabbing their bags. “Ima miss you,” Wynonna mumbled from beside her. 

       “I’ll miss you, too, Nonna,” Waverly murmured, pulling her in for a hug. 

       “Bye, Dear,” Gus said when Nicole hugged her. 

       “You might need to pray for me, I have to refuse an Earp alcohol,” she groaned quietly into her ear. This was true. Waverly wasn’t turning 21 for another 2 months, so she wasn’t of legal age in the US.

       Gus pulled back with a chuckle. “Have you reminded her of that yet?”

       “Nope,” she sighed. 

       “Ooh boy.” The sisters walked over to them and Wynonna smacked Nicole on the back maybe a little too hard. She winced, shoving her shoulders up as a reflex, glaring at her when she turned around. 

       “Haught.” 

       “Earp.” They stared at each other for a long couple of seconds, not really sure what their next move should be. Wynonna slowly stepped forward, wrapping her arms lightly around the Officer’s shoulders. She did the same, resulting in the most uncomfortable looking hug to have ever happened. Waverly snapped a quick picture of the two with a big smile on her face. They, of course, had no idea she had done that.

       They pulled away, standing awkwardly in front of one another. “I never thought I’d say this, but I think I’m gonna miss your narc-ass,” the dark brunette admitted. 

       “Yea . . . I think I’ll miss your dumbass-ass, too.” They both nodded at one another.

       “This is weird.” 

       “Yea, I’m over it.” Nicole shoved her hands in her pockets, walking away.

       Waverly pulled out of Gus’ hug and she gave her a reassuring squeeze of the arm. “You two have fun, alright? But still be safe. Haught, I’m warning you, she bett-” 

       “I’ll watch over her like a hawk,” Nicole assured, cutting Gus off. She nodded. 

       “Bye, guys! Love you!” Waverly called as they climbed back into the Jeep. Wynonna flapped her hand at them out the window as they pulled away.

       Nicole grabbed onto the handle of her suitcase, throwing the strap of her carry-on over her shoulder. Waverly did the same before taking her hand. “You ready?” she asked with a smile, squeezing her hand a few times. 

       “I was born ready,” Waverly confirmed. 

.  .  .

       “OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod-” 

       “Waverly.” Nicole tilted her head towards her. They had just boarded the plane and the brunette was already flipping her shit. “Shh, look at me. You’re ok, Baby.”

       “I can’t do this,” she breathed out.

       Nicole shook her head. “Yes, you can. I’ve been on a plane at least 50 times and nothing bad has ever happened. We’re gonna be fine, I promise.”

       Waverly darted her eyes over her face, digging her nails into her hand. Nicole could feel her skin splitting, but she kept her face normal. “You don’t know that, Nic.”

       She cupped her hand over the brunette’s, hoping to get her to remove her claws, and she did, thankfully. “Waves, Baby. We’ll be ok. Breathe.” She wiped away the single tear that slid down her face, pushing their foreheads together. “It’s ok,” she whispered. The smaller girl nodded, squeezing her eyes together to rid them of tears. 

       “It’s ok,” she echoed softly. Nicole smiled at her, giving her a soft kiss. 

       When the plane started moving, Waverly wrapped herself around Nicole’s arm. “Cole,” she cried in a whisper. The Officer knew she only called her that when she was tired, drunk, or terrified. It wasn’t hard to figure out which of the three it was at the moment. She flipped the armrest between them up, tugging her arm out of her grasp, curling it around her, pulling her as close as the seatbelts would allow her. Waverly clutched her shirt, breath shaky.

       Nicole pushed a kiss into the top of her head, leaving her face there. “You’re safe, Babygirl. I promise.” The redhead’s eyes shot open. She had never called her that before, knowing it had been reserved by Wynonna. But it had just slipped out. She got scared, hoping she hadn’t overstepped. It was quite the opposite, actually. Waverly gripped her shirt harder but seemed to relax a little, lifting her head from where it was buried. Nicole let out a relieved breath, rubbing her hand up and down on her side. She felt the nose of the plane start to tip towards the sky, hearing the wheels come off the runway. Waverly turned her body, looking out the window as they climbed into the air. She could feel her body start to relax. But a wiggle of turbulence sent her right back under Nicole’s arm. “Just turbulence,” she whispered, kissing her temple as she got Toy Story pulled up with her free hand. She stuck her earbuds into the iPad and handed one to the brunette. 

       “Thanks,” she mumbled, pushing it in her ear. Nicole put in the other and pressed play on the movie, holding it between them. 

       After about 10 minutes, they were allowed to remove their seatbelts. They did so and Waverly crawled up onto the Officer's lap, resting her head in the crook of her neck.

       Nicole gasped, looking down at the screen. “Buzz Lightning!”

       Waverly snorted. “LightYEAR. Buzz Lightyear!” She corrected.

       The redhead blushed. “That’s what I said.” She shook her head, interlocking their fingers on her lap. 

       On their screen, the crowd of toys made room for Buzz as he walked towards the edge of the bed and climbed up on the bedpost. Standing on top of it, he posed like a diver and shut his eyes. 

       “Ready, ready, ready . . .” Waverly said with a big smile, looking up at her girlfriend. 

       “To infinity and beyond!” They exclaimed quietly with the character’s voice as he jumped off. Waverly giggled, mouth curving into an even bigger smile. Nicole matched it, cupping her cheek, kissing her with every ounce of love that she could possibly deliver. 

       “I love you, Nic.”

       Her heart swelled. She would never get tired of hearing those three words. “One more time?” She asked, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

       Waverly looped her arms around her neck. “I. Love. You.” She ended each word with a kiss.

       Nicole sighed into her lips. “I love you, too.”

.  .  .

       Nicole stood when they were directed to grab their carry-ons after they landed. The descent for Waverly was much easier than the takeoff. She handed her her bag and took her hand, leading her off the plane. They walked out of the exit tunnel and into the airport. “Welcome to America,” she smiled, taking her sunglasses off the collar of her shirt and sticking them on top of her head. Waverly’s eyes were wide as she looked around, Nicole pulling her along to baggage claim.

       They stood next to the conveyor belt and the shorter girl leaned back into the Officer. “I’m in a different country,” she breathed aloud to herself. 

       “Mhm.” 

       “Wow.”

       They got both of their bags and Nicole led them to an ATM. “I need me some ‘Murica money,” she smirked, pushing a card into the machine. Waverly wasn’t going to comment on which account she watched her pull out of. Or how much for that matter. Out of their whole 4 months of being together, she had never seen her do that before. The only other time that she knew of was when she worked on the Homestead. She looked down at her phone, snapping Wynonna back as Nicole counted through a healthy handful of 100 dollar bills. She tucked it away in her wallet and took Waverly’s hand. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry.” 

       “I am starving!” They walked out the front exit of the airport and Nicole put her sunglasses on, the brunette gawking at all the buildings in the close distance. The Officer pulled her phone out, sending a text. Waverly had watched her do this twice now since they got there. She did a double-take, squinting up the street. No.

       Sure enough, the electric blue Lamborghini rolled to a stop in front of them and a man climbed out. The redhead handed him one of the bills she had just gotten and he walked off. “How’d this get here?!”

       Nicole smiled, picking up her suitcase and stuffing it into the trunk. “I think that guy just parked it in front of us,” she joked, getting the rest of their bags in there and climbing into the car. 

       “Nic,” she swooned. 

       “Everything for you, My Love.” She leaned over the console, giving her a kiss.