90. It’s The Shit that Shapes You Into Who You Are

       “ Tell me what happened!” Nicole shouted as she tried to keep up with Wynonna. 

       “I had him! I fucking had him, Haught!” She slammed Peacemaker down on the table, starting for the liquor cabinet. 

       “Well, obviously you didn’t!” She grabbed her arm and turned her away from it. “ Look at me.” 

       “It’s fucking b-” 

       “ Stop .” She slid her hands up to her face. “Wy, there’s nothing you can do right now, so tell me what happened.” 

       The brunette took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she relaxed back against the counter, pushing her hand through her hair. Nicole took a step back from her, pulling her blazer off and tossing it onto the table as she rolled her sleeves to her elbows. “I was just coloring with Ali in the living room. Doc’s at Shorty’s and Mama and Gus were here in the kitchen. We were just getting our scribble on when I saw a fucking shadow of a hanging body come up on the wall. I looked out and . . . there he was. Tying the last knot on the rope or something, I dunno. I grabbed Peacemaker off of the shelf, but by the time I got out there, he was already heading for his truck. I fired a couple of shots, I think I hit him once, but not where it counts. And he was already gone before I could get in a car to go after him . . . I’m thinking that he thought I wasn’t here cause Doc has my truck, so he figured he was fine to do this in the daylight.” 

       Nicole ran her hands down her face, leaning back onto the table. She pulled them away, though, looking down at the hands pawing at her leg. “Coe,” Alice sniffled, holding her hands in the air. The redhead looked up, seeing Michelle standing against the wall. 

       “The gunshots scared her. And, for some reason, all she wants is you,” she sighed. 

       The Sheriff looked back down at the baby, reaching down and lifting her up. She hugged her tightly, pushing a kiss to her head. “Shh, it’s ok, Baby,” she soothed, bouncing her a little as she looked back up at Wynonna, hearing her cries start to settle. “Did you get the plate?” 

       “There was no back plate,” she mumbled with a shake of her head. 

       “The make?” 

       “Kinda rusted, black GMC with a red stripe down the side. Late 90s, probably,” she guessed with a shrug. 

       Nicole switched hands holding her niece, pulling her notebook out of her pocket and dropping it onto the table. She flipped it opened and jotted that down. “What’d he look like?” She looked up at the brunette after a few seconds with no answer. “Earp, what did he look like? You saw him, right?”

       “Yep.” 

       She blinked at her for a second. “Dude.” 

       “He’s a kid , Nicole.” 

       Her brows furrowed tightly. “ What ?” 

       “I’m talking 17-18 years old? I saw his face in the reflection of his side mirror.” 

       The redhead shook her head, standing up straight and turning to face her all the way. “You’re telling me some teenage Revenant is behind all of this?” 

       She nodded slowly. “And he looks like your average high school kid, too- He dresses like you!”

       She scoffed a little. “Wow, thanks, Earp.”

       “He had some ripped jeans and a black and grey flannel. Some kind of skater shoes, Vans probably, and a white beanie on.”

       “So he blends in?” She questioned as she wrote it down.

       “I didn’t know he was a Revenant until his eyes flashed when he floored it, put it that way.” 

       Nicole let out a breath, “Ok. Body build?” 

       “Six foot on a good day? But hella arms, though.” Nicole shot her a glare. “What? It’s true.”

       “ Ok . You said you saw his face, right?” 

       “Yea. Brown hair. Thick eyebrows, but they looked like he took care of them. Ovalish, clean-shaven face with, like, Harry Potter glasses . . . And let’s just say if he wasn’t a serial killer and a hundred years old, he’d be getting all the ladies.”

       The redhead let out a huffed sigh, setting her pen down and pinching the bridge of her nose. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps coming up behind her, giving Dolls a raise of her brows. “Jeremy wants you to see something before they take the body up to get looked at.” 

       She grabbed her notebook and pushed it back in her pocket, walking towards him and holding the baby out in front of him. He took her, cocking a brow at Nicole before slowly bringing Alice into his arms. The Sheriff smacked his shoulder as she walked out. “Thanks.” 

       The Marshal looked down at her with a shake of his head as she stared up at him with questioning blue eyes. “Your aunt sure is a special one, Kid.” 

       Nicole walked out and unstuck her shirt from her shoulder where the mixture of Alice’s tears and drool was keeping it. She walked down the driveway and met Jeremy and a few of her Deputies, getting some nods from them. “What’d you want, Nerd?” She questioned, looking down at the sheet-covered body on the stretcher before lifting her eyes to him. 

       “I, uh, I need your permission to remove the envelope from her body,” he mumbled. 

       “ What ?” 

       “There’s an envelope stapled to her back with your name on it.” He pulled the sheet back so she could see it, for the body was flipped over on the stretcher. “Can I?” 

       Nicole let out a breath when she realized what he had used for ink to address her name on the front. Blood . She turned and looked around for a second before walking towards Pearson. “Gloves. Do you have gloves?” 

       He quickly nodded, pulling a pair of latex gloves out of his utility belt. “Here.”

       She thanked him, pulling them on as she turned back to Jeremy. “Go ahead.” He nodded, using a pair of tweezers to pull the staples pressed into her skin on all four corners of the envelope out. He placed them in an evidence bag before slowly lifting the envelope up and handing it over. Nicole let out a breath, flipping it over and gently peeling the flap open, pulling the sheet of notebook paper out and handing him the empty envelope to store away in evidence. She unfolded it, seeing that he had continued to use blood as his preferred marking tool.

       But that wasn’t the most sickening bit.

              Dear Sheriff Haught,

       Happy summer! Oh wait. Sorry, I forgot that you hate summer. Surely it is because of your pedo teacher, Mrs. Summers, and not me, right? Anyway. You didn’t think I was done, did you? Of course not, Haught. You’re not that lucky. 

       There is one good thing about being a Revenant. I’ll be able to keep this up until your sister-in-law and Peacemaker find me. Oh, congrats on your wedding, by the way. It was a great reception. I would’ve been there for the ceremony, too, but I’m kinda forbidden from walking on this land, so. 

       How am I? Thanks for asking! I’m pretty great, actually. I’ve had many months to think about what my future plans are. For me, they sound like a blast. For you? Maybe they’re not as great. 

       Sorry not sorry. 

       Wow, that was cheesy. But also a Demi Lovato song, right? Yea, you know it. Cause Waverly likes her music. Man, she must really like it considering that she went to one of her concerts for her bachelorette party. Too bad she didn’t tell you about the creep at that bar that they ran into, though. 

       Bad timing? Sorry, I know the trial is today. 

       You are probably wondering how do I know all of these things. Let’s just say I have my ways, Sheriff Haught. It’s up to you to figure them out before things get worse. And trust me when I tell you that they will. But for now? 

We’re starting with this lady. 

Best wishes, of course!

Your best bud,

Double S

(PS: That just means Summer Slasher. Don’t think into it.)

(PPS: I mean, not unless you want to waste your time. By all means, go for it then if you are so inclined to.)

(PPPS: That nickname might not be as useful this year though.)

       Nicole reread the note. Twice. Her chest heaved in time with the droplets of sweat rolling down her temples as her eyes skimmed quickly across the paper. The people around her grew quiet and still as they waited for her first move. 

       Which didn’t take long to come. 

       The Sheriff took a quick step forward, smacking the note down on the edge of the stretcher. She fumbled around in her pocket, flicking her notebook open to a clean sheet as she clicked her pen open. 

       She hadn’t noticed until her second read through that it wasn’t just odd marks on the paper and that certain letters were deliberately underlined on the note. She flicked her eyes between the two sheets as she quickly decoded it, her heart rate going up with every letter until she stood up straight, staring down at what she had copied with wide eyes. 

       Jeremy slowly walked around to her side with furrowed brows, keeping his distance from her as he read over the note himself before switching to what she had written, feeling his eyes pop out. 

I will break your wife more than Champ did. Starting with this lady.

       Nicole met his eyes when he lifted his head, feeling her breath still coming in ragged. She grabbed the Slasher’s note, holding it out to him. “Bag it and flip her.” 

       His face stormed with fear at how low and rough her voice came out. But he had no time to even try and think about it because of how fast she grabbed her notebook and took off for the Homestead. 

       Nicole pushed the door open, tracing her eyes around before heading towards Wynonna in the kitchen. She had been talking to her mother and Dolls, but the second she saw the redhead’s face, she was out of her seat and moving towards her. “Haught? What’s wrong?” 

       “Come with me.” 

       “Why?” 

       She lifted the notebook with a shaky hand, letting her read it. “There was a note on the body for me and it was coded.” Wynonna lifted her eyes to her with her mouth opened slightly. “I need to see if you can ID the body.” 

       Wynonna nodded, and they both made their way outside. Jeremy and the Deputies had successfully flipped the body back over by the time they arrived. Nicole looked to the brunette, bringing her brows together a little. “You ready?” 

       “No.” 

       She pursed her lips with a sigh, taking the sheet by the top and gently pulling it down to reveal the woman’s face. Wynonna took a slow step forward so she could see her, immediately letting out a string of curses as she quickly backed away, covering her face with her hands. Nicole dropped the sheet, rushing over to her and grabbing onto her shoulders to stop her before she backed herself into the ditch by the road. “Hey, hey, hey, stop.” 

       “Oh my God !” She clutched her arms around her neck when Nicole pulled her into a hug. 

       “Who is she, Wy?” The redhead asked softly after several moments. 

       “She . . . Amy Asher. She was our babysitter from when Willa went to kindergarten to The Seven. She watched us when Daddy was working and Mama was out being Mama . And-” She let out a breath as she pulled from her arms so she could look at her. “Nic, she was the one who taught Wave how to read . At three years old . That girl wouldn’t be the Waves we know without her . She’s the one that gave her that fucking brain. And now she’s . . .” 

       The Sheriff pulled her back into her arms so she didn’t have to say it, letting out a shaky breath. “I’m sorry, Wy.” She pushed the girl’s head to her shoulder as she looked up for a second, signaling for them to load the body up and get it away before gripping her arms tighter around her. “I’m so sorry.” 

       Wynonna calmed down after a little while, and Nicole left her with Mama and a sketch artist, gathering her Deputies and Dolls in the front yard. “Ok. Here’s what’s gonna happen now.” She looked toward Wagner. “You’re gonna head up to the coroners with Jeremy and make copies of all of the paperwork from the tox screen and all the other tests. Call me right away if anything comes up.” He nodded, turning and heading to his cruiser to do so. Nicole looked towards Pearson. “You’re gonna stay with the crime scene people here and keep watch. Same thing. Let me know if there’s something I should know about.” 

       “Yes, Sheriff,” he said, turning away towards the end of the driveway. 

       She looked to Lonnie. “You . . . Head to the station and fill out the incident report. And do it right, please.” 

       “When do I not?” He huffed, but he shut right up with the look he was shot. “Ok, I’m going.” 

       The redhead shook her head with an exhale as she looked to Dolls. “Why don’t you fire him?” He questioned, turning his head just in time to see him trip over a rock in the driveway as he made his way to his car. 

       “Cause then I have to fill his position and I don’t exactly have a waiting list,” she said with a small wince, for that was really the only reason he still had a job. 

       “Fair enough,” he said with a little shrug.

       Nicole slid her hands through her hair, dropping her hands to cross in front of her. “Do you mind heading to the courthouse to wait for Waves? I really don’t want her without an escort right now.” 

       “Yea, I’ll go. I don’t know what this fool has planned.” He shook his head as he looked over to watch one of the CSIs up on a ladder, untying the rope from the arch. “Honestly, if I were you, I’d move her in here. He can’t come on the land and she’d be with family all the time, I’m sure that’d help settle her nerves.”

       Nicole slowly nodded, chewing the skin off her lip. “. . . There’s no way in hell I’m letting anything else happen to her.” 

       “She’s been through enough this year,” Dolls agreed. “We need to catch this son of a bitch and move on.”

       “Yea, and judging by that note, it’s not just going to be a three-time thing this year, so we need to get to it.” She straightened her tie and unrolled her sleeves. 

       “Where’re you going?” 

       Nicole looked up at him. “I have to go inform her family and make a statement.”

       He nodded as they each made their way to their vehicles. “I’ll tell her you’ll be home late.” 

       She gave him a little smile, pulling her door open. “Thanks . . . Still make sure she calls me when the verdict comes, though.” 

       “Will do. Keep me posted, Haught.” 

.  .  . 

       Nicole ran her hands down her face after she closed herself in her cruiser, letting out a shaky sigh. There was nothing she hated more than informing family members about the death of their loved one. The way the sight of her standing at their door wiped all of the emotions off of their face and the way they came right back after she broke the news was heart-wrenching, to say the least. 

       Alas, she had done it despite the pain it caused her. 

       She was a second from sticking her keys in the ignition when she felt her phone ringing in her jacket pocket. She let out a sigh as she pushed the key in to get it out of her hand, using the other to pull it out and check her screen. 

       Waverly. 

       She felt a strange calm come over her that was somehow mixed with a twist in her stomach as she pushed it to her ear. “Hey, Baby.” 

       “Hi,” she sighed over the line.

       Nicole shifted in her seat, leaning her head back against her headrest and tapping her thumb on the bottom of her steering wheel. “What’s goin’ on?” 

       “Well . . .” 

       “. . . Wave?” She asked after a few seconds of silence. 

       “Well I have $50,000 that I don’t know what to do with.” 

       The redhead’s brows shot right up to her hairline just as fast as she sat up. “W- We won!?”

       The younger girl let out a breathy laugh. “We won , Nic. I don’t know why they decided to only cut the money settlement by half , but we won!” 

       “Oh m- They’re disbarred, too?” She questioned, letting her eyes dart around the street in front of her, a small, but definitely there, smile pushing onto her face. 

       “Disbarred with 60 hours of community service each,” she answered. 

       “That’s great , Love! See, I told you it’d be ok.” She relaxed her into the seat, hearing the sound of her walking out a door. “Are you getting ready to head back now?” 

       “Yep, we’re just about to l-” Nicole heard her pause, both speaking and walking. “Babe, why’s Dolls here?” 

       The redhead’s eyes widened, for she brought herself back to reality, remembering everything that had happened in the past several hours. She let out a breathy curse as she pulled her phone away from her ear and put her on speaker as she directed herself to her messages. 

Haught: Ur just there just in case. Got it?

Dolls: 10-4

       “Nicole?” 

       “Sorry, what you’d say?” She questioned, wincing at herself for the obviousness of the lie. 

       “I asked why Dolls is here. He’s just standing by his SUV next to my jeep,” the brunette repeated, and the redhead heard her start to walk again. 

       “He’s just there for protection, Sweetheart. It’s better safe than sorry.”

       “Oh . . . Ok.”

       Nicole was quick to hear the nerves in her voice. “Hey, everything’s alright. Don’t stress about it too much.”

       She heard her pull the phone away from her ear to bid farewell to Jessie for a moment before her voice returned. “Everything’s not alright if you think I need an escort. What’s going on?”

       The Sheriff closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a heavy sigh. “Just . . . We can talk when I get home, alright?”

       “Nic, why-” 

       “Wave, please . Just let him take you home and I’ll have someone get the Jeep later. I’m about to go make the statement to the public and I don’t need to be worrying about you the whole time.” 

       “Why the hell are you so worried about me , Ni-”

       “ Waverly .” The redhead let out a sigh after hearing Dolls’ warning voice, unclenching her jaw, for she knew she was about to snap. 

       The brunette let out a huff, and Nicole relaxed fully again after hearing the sound of their car doors shutting. “Alright. Later. Fine.” 

       “ Thank you, Baby.” 

       “Yea,” she mumbled. “I’ll see you when you get back.” 

       “It shouldn’t take too long. I’m helping set up and pack up, though, so I don’t know.” She glanced to the clock, seeing that it was almost 5 PM. “Make Dolls take you to get something for dinner, yea?” 

       “That means you better have eaten something before you get home then.” 

       “I don't think I’ll be hung-”

       “ Nicole ,” she warned. 

       She sighed, nodding her head to no one. “Ok, yea. I will.” 

       “Good. Thank you . . . I love you.”

       “I love you, too, Wave. Keep the lizard entertained.” 

       Nicole smiled as the brunette giggled, “I will. Buh-bye.” 

       “Bye, Baby.” She pressed the end call button, dropping her phone to the seat next to her with an exhale as she started the car. “Alright, Haught, put your big girl pants on,” she muttered to herself before pulling away and heading for the location of the conference. 

.  .  .

       After it was all done and over with, time was ticking past 7 PM. The redhead shoved the last bit of the burger she had grabbed on the way home in her mouth as she walked up the steps, slowing once she could hear the two voices coming from inside, feeling her stomach knot. 

       “ Fuuuuuck . God, Waverly ,” Dolls groaned. 

       “See, this was a good idea,” her wife said with an obvious smirk. 

       “You’re just . . . Better at this than I thought you would be,” he said through another very scary noise that the redhead wished to never hear. 

       “Mhm.” 

       “ Yes . Keep doing tha- Shiit .” 

       The redhead blinked at her door for a few more seconds of his moans and groans before ripping her Glock that she had shoved in her back waistband out and shoving the door open. 

       “Jesus fuck !” Waverly pushed off the man and he rolled over, pulling his own gun out and pointing it right back at the Sheriff’s on him as he sat up, the brunette shielding herself behind him. 

       Nicole took a second to let her eyes process what she had seen in the single second before they had moved and let out a heavy breath, dropping the weapon to her side. “Oh, thank God .” 

       Waverly, of course, had been giving him a back massage. 

       “What the FUCK , Nicole?!” She snapped as she pushed herself to her feet from the floor. 

       “Yea, Haught. Jeez . You almost got a bullet between the eyes,” Dolls mumbled as he did the same, grabbing his shirt off the table and pulling it back on. 

       She threw her arms out as she walked the rest of the way into the house, closing the door behind her. “Well, I’m sorry , but your back massage noises really fucking sound like blowjob noises, Dude.” 

       “ WHAT ?!” They both gawked. “WHY WOULD WE-” 

       “I know , ok!?” She let out a breath, shaking her head as she walked over to the kitchen and threw her trash away. “I’m just . . . not all here right now. I’m sorry.” 

       “ Obviously not,” Dolls scoffed, putting his gun back in it’s holster and crossing his arms uncomfortably in front of his chest. 

       “ No - Why the HELL would I ever do that, Nicole?!” She shouted as she started towards her. 

       She pushed the gun back in her waistband, shaking her head as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Baby, I know you wouldn’t. I just . . . wasn’t thinking, I don’t know.” 

       “Well, maybe you need to start fucking thinking. Jesus Christ .” She turned away from her with a scoff.

       Nicole pursed her lips at her back with a sigh, looking up to Dolls with yet another look of apology. He cleared his throat, turning towards the door. “I’m gonna go.” 

       She nodded with an attempt at a smile. “Thanks for today. Call me if you get anything.” 

       He looked between the two before opening the door. “Anytime. I will.” They both handed out their goodbyes before he pulled it closed behind him.

       Nicole rubbed her hands up and down her face with a few mumbled curses as she made her way over to the fridge and grabbed a longneck of beer, twisting the cap off and pushing the trash can lid open with her foot, tossing it away as she chugged half of it down. She tipped her head back down, pulling in a breath and turning her head to see the glare she was still being shot from the couch. With a sigh, she made her way over, kicking her shoes off and loosening her tie as she sat down to face her on the opposite end. She tested the waters a little by throwing on her best puppy dog eyes as she ran her finger through the condensation on her bottle in her lap, keeping a breath of relief from releasing when she watched her glare disappear with a roll of her eyes. 

       “You are unbelievable,” she grumbled. 

       “How are you going to sit here and tell me that he wasn’t being at least a little too vocal with some choice words?!” The Sheriff huffed. 

       “He was tense , Nicole!” 

       She quickly nodded, “Uh, yea , I got that much.” 

       Waverly tried to keep an angry face on, but it slipped away with a snort as she shook her head before letting it fall back onto the arm of the couch with a groan. “I can’t believe you thought I was- Good lord. ” 

       She smiled a little as she took another pull of her beer when she raised her head back up. “Well, I’m sorry that Fuck, Waverly, keep doing that, shiiit wasn’t very telling that you were giving him a back massage !”

       “ Oh my God, eww !” She gagged. 

       “See , that’s what I heard!” Nicole reasoned with a laugh. 

       She sighed, “ Ok . Enough with . . . that .” She let her face sour with one last shake of her head, trying to rid the imagery in her brain. 

       The cats jumped up onto the couch, and CJ pawed at Nicole’s hands on the bottle in her lap, making her move it so she could lay there. “Yes, Princess,” she mumbled after having sat it on the floor, slowly running her hand down her back . 

       Waverly scooped Geranimo into her arms, pressing a kiss to his face before letting him settle on her stomach when she threw her legs out, resting her feet on Nicole’s leg. “So . . .”

       “So,” Nicole mumbled, looking down as Calamity circled a few times before finally settling, leaning her head on top of the brunette’s foot.

       “So tell me what’s going on, Babe,” Waverly coaxed, furrowing her brows. 

       The older one swallowed, rubbing her thumb on CJ’s foot. “By the time I got there, the body was already pulled down. I went in and Wynonna was running around, having a fit. Turns out she saw the dude and ended up hitting him at least once with Peacemaker before he could floor it. She saw him, I got a description, and uh, then . . .” 

       She had a decision to make. 

       In fact, that was all she had thought about on the drive home. Did she tell her about the note and it's contents? Did she tell her what the bastard’s plan was? Or did she hide it? Did she withhold it to keep her calm?

       After some contemplation and a small chat on a call with Wynonna, they decided together that it would be best if she didn’t know about anything revolving the note.

       So she wasn’t going to tell her.

       “Then what?” Waverly questioned. 

       “Then . . . Then I brought Wynonna out to see if she could ID the woman.”

       Waverly pulled her head back a little, feeling her heart start to thump against her ribs. The look on her wife’s face wasn’t promising, to say the least. “Cole,” she swallowed. “Who was it?”

       The Sheriff looked down at her hands, chewing at her cheek for a second before raising her head with pained eyes as she dropped her hand gently to her ankle. “. . . It was Amy Asher, Baby.” 

       Her eyes slowly widened with a shake of her head. “No.” 

       “I’m so sorry, Wave.” 

       Her head continued to shake as tears welled up in her eyes and she brought her hands up to cover her mouth. “ No .” 

       The redhead felt a burn in her throat as she moved the cat off her lap, setting her behind her as she quickly moved towards her, doing the same with the grey one before pulling her into her arms. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, turning them so she could lean back where she had been before, slowly running her hand up and down her back as she curled her fingers into her shirt, letting the sobs escape her mouth. Nicole let her eyes close, feeling a single tear run down her cheek as she pushed her face into her hair.

       An hour or so passed and Waverly had now calmed down, but remained laying on Nicole’s chest. At some point, after she had regained the ability to breathe smoothly again, the older one had pulled a blanket over them and put Tangled on the TV, volume low, to get her to think about something else for a little while. It worked for the most part, for her puffy eyes remained on the screen, the smallest hints of smiles popping up every once in a while as Nicole rubbed her thumb in patterns on her side under the blanket.

       They laid in silence as the credits rolled, even for a few minutes after they disappeared and it flashed back to the Netflix home screen. Nicole eventually ran her hand gently through her hair, letting out a heavy sigh. “. . . I talked with Nonna,” she mumbled, waiting until she let out a little hum to continue. “And we both agreed that’d it be best if the four of us moved into the Homestead for the time being.”

       She tipped her head up to look at her with her brows furrowed. “Four?” 

       The Sheriff gave her a tiny, crooked smile. “Me, you, MoMo, ‘n CJ.”

       She rolled her eyes playfully, dropping her head back forward. “Oh.”

       Nicole pushed her hand through her hair again. “Is that ok with you?” 

       “Whatever you think is best, Love,” she mumbled. “I don’t really care at this point.”

       “Waves,” she said quietly with sadness in her voice. “Don’t say that.” 

       The brunette pushed herself to sit up, standing up with a stretch. “Well, I’m not gonna lie to you.”

       The redhead did the same, standing with a sigh. She knew better than to push it anymore, so she decided to just let it go, changing the subject. “You ready for bed then?” 

       She nodded with a yawn, making her way to the bedroom, grabbing Calamity off the end of the couch as she passed her. They walked in and Nicole flicked the light on, watching as her wife crawled right into bed, for she had changed out of her court clothes when she had gotten home, it seemed. She quickly changed herself, pulling on some basketball shorts and her cropped hoodie from Athens before cutting the lights and dropping down beside her, pulling her into a spoon after yanking the blankets up over them. She pushed a kiss to her cheek, waiting for her to turn her head to press a soft one to her lips. “Sleep good, ok?” 

       She hummed before pulling away. “You, too.” She gave her one last peck before letting her head drop forward and closing her eyes, hoping and praying good dreams would come her way. 

.  .  .

       “Gus, no ,” Nicole argued, trying to stop her from carrying the last tote of her things upstairs to Mama’s/Waverly’s old room. 

       “ Ah !” She jerked her arm out of her grip. “If y’all both are gonna be here, the least you deserve is some damned privacy , and the best we can do is shove ya down here!” 

       “But-”

       “Nope.” She continued up the stairs. “I shared a room with my sister my whole childhood. There’s no reason I can’t do it now.” The redhead watched as she turned the corner at the top, letting out a heavy sigh as she decided there was no point in arguing about it. It was Gus’ way or the highway. 

       They had only packed each of their car’s full of things that morning, for they knew that this wasn’t going to be permanent. The majority of it was their clothes and the essentials, then a couple of things that Waverly said were essential, but Nicole was not going to tell her no. 

       Within a few hours, they had everything stored away in their new living area and were able to relax from their long day of packing and unpacking. 

       Well.

       Waverly was able to relax. Nicole had jumped in a quick shower before throwing her uniform and giving them a quick goodbye before heading off to work with Wynonna and Doc, for they decided it’d be best if Waverly took a break from Black Badge so she could focus on the last few weeks of school before she got her degree.

       So she did.

.  .  .

       Nicole pulled her Spaghettios out of the microwave, doing the “Hot Bowl” dance as she quickly set it on the counter, shaking her hands out with a wince. She took to making Waverly’s peanut butter and banana sandwich that she had asked for while it cooled down a little because they were truly eating like little kids tonight.

       “It’s literally 12 in the morning. What are you doing?” Wynonna asked as she came down the stairs. 

       “What’s it look like I’m doing,” she chuckled with her back to her. 

       “It looks like you’re making- Oo, Spaghettios.” 

       Nicole whipped around. “It’s h-” Wynonna shoved a spoonful in her mouth, immediately dropping it back into the bowl and rushing to the sink, spitting it out with a whine as she grabbed the sprayer and tried to cool her sizzled tongue. “Hot,” the redhead finished, shaking her head at her with a roll of her eyes as she continued to slice the banana. “That’s what you get, Asshole.”

       “What the hell, Dude?” She huffed with another whine, walking over to the freezer and grabbing an ice cube to shove in her mouth.

       “What? You’re the one who touched my food. That’s on you.” She placed the bananas on the bread that she had already layered with peanut butter, closing it and turning around with the plate, seeing the brunette staring at something with her arms crossed. She turned her head, snorting when she realized she was having a showdown with Geronimo, who was sitting on the kitchen table staring right back at her. 

       “Your cat’s getting his butt all over my table,” she grumbled, keeping her eyes on him. 

       Nicole set the plate down, walking over and scooping him up, pressing kisses all over his head. “I bet your butt’s cleaner than her’s, isn’t it, MoMo?” 

       “Hey!” 

       She smirked, giving him one last squeeze before shoving him into her arms and turning away. “I’ll have you know I raised my son to have amazing ass hygiene.”

       “Mhm, I bet.” She rolled her eyes at the back of her head, but let them flick down to her visible left bicep with a cocked brow, for she was only wearing a sports bra. She set the cat down and grabbed her before she could walk away entirely, pulling her back over and poking the long scar there that she had noticed a few times before, but never paid much attention to until now. “What’s that from?”

       Nicole dropped her eyes down to her arm, feeling nerves gather in her chest. She looked back up at the brunette, jerking her arm away. “Nothing.” 

       The older one quickly realized that she must have hit a nerve, for she seemed to have completely shut off the witty, sarcasticness that had been there only moments prior. “. . . Haught?” She raised her brows slightly in question when she turned to look at her, not really trying to ask what it was from again, but more seeking assurance that she was still with her. 

       The Sheriff poked her tongue into her cheek, letting her shoulders drop and her muscles relax as she moved over to the table and sat on the edge, pulling a chair in front of her to put her feet on. Wynonna moved to stand directly across from her, leaning back on the counter. Nicole pulled at a hangnail on her thumb, unlocking her jaw. “Y’know how there’s that one . . . That one part of me that I never talk about?” 

       Wynonna fixed her eyes on her, letting them narrow for a second as she thought about it before righting them. “Why you left Dallas?” 

       She slowly nodded, sitting up straight. “And d’you remember the day . . .” She let out a little breath of air with a small smile in remembrance. “The day that we almost beat the snot out of Chump’s lawyer and then you came in later drunk, tryin’ to drill me about schtupping your baby sister?” 

       She chuckled a little, “Yea.” The smile on her face, though, faded as she remembered what had happened. They had fought. Shoved each other across the room, knocked each other around, pinned each other against walls. And it had only gotten to that extent because she had brought up how she was a runner. And her family. It took a second, but she then remembered what had happened when she had mentioned watching her   dad die. 

       Nicole had shut down completely .

       She brought her eyes back to her’s, and Nicole tipped her head a little. “D’you know what else happened the night I got this scar?” She tapped her arm. The brunette slowly shook her head. “I watched four cops empty their clips into my father.” 

       “What?” She breathed out with wide eyes.

       “ One of them being Nedley.”

       “ What ?” Wynonna shook her head around. “W- Why ?”

       The redhead shifted a little bit. “I mean, they shot him cause he ran at them with a knife, but . . .” She put her hand up. “Ok. Let me set the scene for you. My father was an army general and became a drunk when I was around six. He abused my mom, mentally, verbally, physically, all that. She didn’t put her foot down 'til he knocked me around when I was eight, so we moved out and everything was fine. Flash forward to the night of my first day of Sophomore year, and he broke in,  threatening my mom with a knife cause he found out somehow that I was gay. He saw me at the top of the steps when I called 911 and made me come down. Shoved me against a wall with his arm across my shoulders and started beating the crap out of me, saying all kinds of nasty shit.” She poked her scar. “Guess which hand the knife was in.” Wynonna’s eyes widened in realization. “Cops came in and he pulled me in front of him with the knife on my throat. They tried to talk him down, but after 20 minutes he shoved me away and charged at them.”

       Her jaw stuttered for a few seconds as she watched the anger work on the redhead’s face. “Holy fucking shit , Nicole.” 

       She cleared her throat a little. “My mom decided she couldn’t take care of me anymore- but it's not like she was after she found out I was a fag the year before. Anyway . She gave me to my lesbian aunt, Liz, that I was really close with to take care of. And she was, uh, filthy rich.” 

       Her eyes popped out. “Wait-”

       Nicole cut her off. “I lived with her until I finished high school, and then I moved in with Jeremy up here the day after I graduated cause I needed to get out of Texas. But . . . Liz died on duty as a firefighter coming on six years ago this July in Vegas, trying to get people out of an apartment fire . . . I was left everything she owned in her will. Her cars and Harley, her condo in Vegas, a little over 700K, and . . .” She looked over at Calamity sleeping on the back of the couch. “CJ.” She turned her head back to look at Wynonna’s almost horrified face as she tried to piece all of it together. “So now does it make sense as to why my bank account is semi-loaded? And why I got heavily triggered into flashbacks and shattered my hand on my car hood? And why I go to Vegas every July? And why I basically shut down for a week or two in August? And why Orion’s case hit me so fucking hard? And . . . why Nedley’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a father?” 

       She slowly ran her hands down her cheeks. “ Everything about you makes so much more sense now,” she mumbled. 

       The redhead shrugged, crossing her arms and resting her elbows on her knees. “We’ve all been through some shit, Earp. And it's the shit that shapes you into who you are. That’s why Dallas is still my favorite place in the whole entire world. Without Dallas, I wouldn’t be me, and without the Homestead, you wouldn’t be you.” 

       Wynonna continued to stare at her for a minute. It was a lot to process. She had previously thought her best friend was just your average flatfoot, but it seemed that she was just as fucked up as the rest of them.

       And that only made her love her more. 

       “Baby, where the hell is my sandwich?” Waverly whined as she stomped into the kitchen, but she slowed after she flicked her eyes between them, the looks on each of their faces telling her that she had most definitely just interrupted something important. “What?” She asked slowly. 

       “Psh, ya know.” Wynonna waved her hand as if it was nothing. “We’re just chatting about how our Pop’s are shitheads. The usual.” 

       The younger one’s eyes snapped towards Nicole’s and she moved towards her. “You told her?” She questioned quietly, running her hands down her arm.

       She gave her a little smile with a nod, moving the chair out of the way and pulling in between her knees to lean back into her. “It was time.” She pressed a kiss to her head as she wrapped her arms and legs around her to keep her there. 

       “Yea, turns out your wife’s even more badass than I thought she was,” Wynonna admitted. 

       Waverly tipped her head back to look at her with a small bit of worry in her eyes. “Are you ok?” 

       “I’m fine, Love,” she assured, squeezing her arms around her shoulders tighter. “I promise.” 

       She let out a sigh, “If you say so.” She wiggled out of her grip and pulled her off the table. “Now, where’s my sandwich?”

       Nicole threw her a look, pointing to the counter where she left it, watching her happy clap as she walked over and grabbed the plate. She walked over to her bowl of Spaghettios, looking towards Wynonna with a smirk. “I guess it’s cooled off now.”

       “Oh, fuck off ,” she grumbled, reaching in the cabinet and grabbing a container of pizza Pringles before heading towards the stairs. 

       “Night, Wy,” Waverly said as she walked back to the bedroom.

       “Night, Babygirl,” she said through a mouthful as she went upstairs. “Night, Haught Sauce.” 

       “G’Night, Earp.”