96. The World ain't all Sunshine and Rainbows

       “She made it.” 

       The room let out a collective breath of relief. They all seemed to grab onto whoever was next to them; Doc held Alice a little tighter, Nicole pulled Waverly into her arms, and Michelle grabbed hold of both Gus and Dolls like her life depended on it. 

       “I just caught them taking her to a room- That’s how I know,” Shae added. “They said they were able to get her heart rate back up to a rhythm where they could operate with just medicine, no defibrillator or anything. And then they sewed everything back up. They fixed the holes in her stomach and intestines to stop the internal bleeding. She . . . She’s gonna be ok.”

       Waverly wiped the tears from her face, pulling back from Nicole’s python grip around her body. “C-Can we go see her?” 

       Shae nodded, pulling the door open. “Yea. They’re probably going to wait until she wakes up so they can make sure everything’s good before any of you can go in, though.” 

       The group really couldn’t care less at this point. All that mattered was that Wynonna was alive. 

       The doctor led them basically across the whole hospital, it seemed. They finally arrived at her room, and they all went to the window, seeing her and a few nurses partially through the closed blinds. Nicole took a step back, letting out a shaky breath as she covered her mouth and nose with her hands, looking towards Shae. 

       The doctor took a few steps closer to her, shaking her head. “I told you not to give up, Nic.”

       She shook her head back. “I didn’t.” 

       “You almost did,” Shae mumbled. 

       The tears stormed back into Nicole’s eyes and she sunk into herself, pulling her arms to her chest. “Cause I- I watched- She . . .” 

       Shae sighed, moving towards her when she stumbled back a step and pulling her into her arms. “I know you did . . . Shh, it’s ok. She’s ok.” 

       Waverly watched from the window as her wife broke down in Shae’s arms, clenching her jaw a little through a hint of jealousy. She was more than tired and exhausted, so she turned her head, half-expecting Wynonna to make one of her stupid comments to try and make her not think like that. 

       But then she remembered that Wynonna wasn’t there.

       She was in the hospital bed right in front of her fucking face. 

       Waverly shook her head around, rubbing her palms into her eyes as she turned from the window and went to sit on the single tiny chair that Michelle was currently in, curling up on her lap with a shaky exhale. The older woman let out a sigh, wrapping her arms around her and running one up and down her upper arm. “You alright, Angel?” She asked softly. 

       “Scared,” she mumbled. “ Really scared.”

       “I think we all are,” Mama admitted. “She’s alive, though. That’s all that matters for now.” 

       Waverly swallowed, snuggling her face into her neck with a sniffle as her brain echoed the last two words she said.

       All heads lifted when the door opened about 10 minutes later, eyes falling to the two nurses that walked out of the room. Nicole stood up off the floor where she had been sitting, running a hand down her face as she approached them. “What’s going on?”

       The one in the front cleared her throat a little, face tinting pink. “Are, uh, are you Sheriff Shithead ?” 

       Nicole’s brows drew together in confusion as she pulled her head back, but her face relaxed as her mouth came open when she realized what that meant. She gave them a quick nod, “She’s awake?”

       “Just came to. All she said was . . . a threat I’d rather not repeat if we didn’t come and find you,” the one in the front mumbled again. “This unit only allows one visitor at a time, though.” 

       Nicole turned her head, flicking her wide eyes around the rest of their faces. “Nic, go,” Waverly assured.

       “She wants you apparently,” Dolls agreed. “You’re first.” The rest nodded in agreement, so Nicole looked back forward and waited all but a second before maneuvering around the two standing in front of the door.

       She pushed it open and stepped in, meeting Wynonna’s eyes as the door slowly closed behind her. She tried to swallow down the emotions crawling up her throat, but the couple of slow tears that ran down her face proved it didn’t work. 

       “Are ya just gonna stand there and marvel at my beauty or what?” Wynonna’s voice was a little scratchy and weak, but it was clear that she was still there. 

       She was still Wynonna. 

       Nicole let out a breath, shaking her head as she moved over to her and dropped onto the open portion of the bed beside her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders tightly. Wynonna let out a pained groan but hugged her back, pushing one hand against the back of Nicole’s head as the redhead calmed herself down. 

       The Sheriff sat up after a minute, meeting her eyes as she wiped her face with the collar of her hoodie. She bared her teeth and smacked her face only a little hard. “Don’t you ever do that to us again, do you understand me?!” 

       Wynonna huffed, “Ya know, I didn’t plan on it.” 

       “Good,” she mumbled, letting her features go soft. “Cause I thought you were gone , Wy.” 

       The brunette swallowed, looking down and finding her hand. “And I woulda been, but-”

       Nicole shook her head, looking up at the window that was in front of her. “Don’t.” 

       “Nic, they said if you wouldn’t’ve-” 

       Nicole tipped her head back down to meet her eyes with a clenched jaw. “You would have done the exact same thing, so don’t even start.” 

       “I’m not allowed to thank you for not letting me go kaput ?” She asked with a tip of her head.

       “No. You’re not.”

       “ Why ?!”

       “Because . . . that’s not what matters.” 

       Wynonna scoffed. “Uh, to me it does. Cause I’m kinda alive and able to continue to annoy the shit out of you every single day, which you know is my favorite part of life.” 

       Nicole threw her a glare but rolled her eyes with a sigh, “Do you . . . Do you remember what happened? How-” she waved her hand over her stomach, “ this happened?”

       The brunette looked away from her, letting her eyes fall to her hands as she messed with the pulse reader on her finger. “I- Yea. I remember it all.” She looked towards the redhead as she shifted, leaning back against the inclined bed beside her and pulling her arm into her lap so she’d stop messing with it. “I went downstairs and looked around in that den kinda room- ya know, where it all happened. There wasn’t anything, so I turned down the hallway and that’s when he ran out. I shot at him- that’s the one that hit him, then I yelled for you as I backed away from him cause he was running at me . I shot those last few times, but I was also trying not to fall on my ass, so I missed. But . . . then he caught my arm, knocked Peacemaker out of my hand, and fuckin’ rearranged my guts, and not in the way I’m used to-”

       “ Earp ,” Nicole grumbled with a grimace.

       “What? He did. He basically tried to shove his hand inside me. Three times! And he was gonna keep going, but I pushed him off. I fell down since he wasn’t holding me upright anymore and then there you were.” 

       Nicole let out a raspberry, shaking her head before letting it fall to her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. 

       “For what?” 

       “That you got slashed. By The Slasher.”

       Wynonna shrugged. “Meh. I’m fine.” Nicole threw her a look. “Hey! They said I won’t have a shit bag. It could be worse.” 

       The redhead sighed, “Whatever . . . What’s the last thing you remember?” 

       “Sometime around when you were all crying and told me you loved me,” Wynonna answered with an obvious smirk in her voice. 

       Nicole lifted her head and looked towards her incredulously. “You were dying - Also you said it first.”

       “Uh, yea, cause I do. Duh.” 

       “Well, so do I,” the Sheriff grumbled, dropping her head back to her shoulder and rubbing her thumb over her hand. 

       “You love me, Haught Shit?” Wynonna questioned with a smile.

       “Of course I fuckin’ love you. God , who do you think I am?” 

       Wynonna chuckled, letting her head lean against her’s. “Are you gonna tell Waves you’re in love with me?” 

       Nicole let out a huff, shrugging her off of her. “In your dreams , Dude.” 

       “Oh, c’mon,” Wynonna teased. “You know you wanna tap this at least once .” 

       Nicole scrunched her face up. “Ew, no. I get my Earp fix by tapping your sister, thank you.” 

       Wynonna gagged. “ I know , trust me. Did you know we share a vent cause I did .” 

       “I know we do,” the redhead grumbled. “I learned after I woke up to you and Doc going at it one night.” She shivered at the thought. “I may have used it to my advantage, though.” 

       “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

       Nicole smirked. “Sometimes we wait until you go up to take a nap when no one else is home to fuck just to keep you up.” 

       Wynonna wacked her arm. “ Seriously ?! I thought you just had really bad timing.” 

       “Nope.”

       The brunette shook her head at her with a grimace. “I’m just glad I haven’t walked in on you.”

       “No, you have,” Nicole corrected. “Three times.”

       “ What ?”

       “We’ve learned that we have to be mostly clothed when people are home. So that one time we were spooning at like 3 PM for no reason I was strap-deep in her, another time I was sleeping on her chest when I’d actually been fingering her, and the most recent time Waves just stayed hidden under the blankets-”

       “If you say she was eating you out, I’m pushing you off this bed.” 

       “She was most definitely eating me out.”

       Wynonna let out a groaned whine, smacking her a whole bunch of times until she stopped with a wince, putting a hand to her stomach. “You two are disgusting.”

       “I know, right?” 

       The brunette let out a huff, leaning back on the bed. “We’re done talking about that.” 

       “You started it,” Nicole reminded.

       “Shut it,” Wynonna grumbled, staying quiet for a few moments, but she slowly leaned into her with her head on her shoulder again.

       Nicole crossed her ankles out in front of her, grabbing her hand again when she saw she was messing with the thing on her finger again. “What?” 

       The brunette tipped her head up to look at her, chewing her lip for a second. “You didn’t tell any of them any of the things I said, did you?” 

       She shook her head. “No. I was gonna wait until I was sure . . . that I needed to.”

       Wynonna nodded, relaxing her head back on her shoulder. “Good. Don’t.” 

       “I didn’t plan on it,” Nicole assured. “. . . Want me to send someone else in now?” She moved to get off the bed, but the brunette gripped her hand.

       “Yea, but- I don’t want you to go yet.” 

       The redhead looked down at her, watching the fear work on her face. “Nonna, they said only one at a time.”

       “I don’t care. Make them all come in.”

       Nicole sighed as she moved off the bed. “It’s on you if we get in trouble.” She opened the door and peeked her head out, tracing her eyes around and seeing that there were no hospital workers around. “C’mon. She wants everyone.”

       “But-” A few of them started but she shook her head. 

       “Are you going to deny Wynonna Earp ?” She questioned with raised brows.

       They all thought on it for a second before getting up and following her back into the room. Nicole walked back over and sat on the edge bed on the other side than she had been before, cocking a brow when she looked to see that they were all still standing by the door. 

       “Guys, seriously. I know I look hot as shit in this hospital gown, but come o- ” Wynonna stopped when Doc stepped out from behind Dolls with Alice and Waverly pushed through everyone that had been standing in front of her. It was one thing to see the rest of her family, but it was another to see the two that mattered to her most. 

       Waverly wasted no time, stumbling over to her and curling up on the bed next to her with an arm wrapped tightly around her. Wynonna pulled her closer, pressing her face into her hair and dropping a kiss to her forehead. “I’m alright, Babygirl.”

       The younger one lifted her head, looking up into her teary eyes. She let out a shaky breath, cupping her hand on the side of her face and running her thumb down the dimple that poked out when Wynonna smiled down at her. “I thought you weren’t alright, though.” 

       “Thanks to your narc wife, I’m alright,” Wynonna said with a soft smile, winking at Nicole when she shook her head at her. She flicked her eyes down to sleeping Alice, who was now in the redhead’s arms since Doc had handed her over and leaned back against the wall. She reached out and took her with a groan, pressing a bunch of kisses to her face and feeling her stir. She smiled down at her tired blue eyes that relaxed back shut the second she recognized whose arms she was in. 

       The rest of the family swarmed the bed and Wynonna looked around at all of them as they all either scolded her for scaring them or spread their thankfulness that she was still there. She glanced back towards Waverly as she leaned her head on her shoulder and then back down at Alice as she easily fell back to sleep. She let out a sigh as she leaned her head against Waverly’s, hoping and praying that they all would be able to move past what had happened, just as easy and innocent as Alice was.

       Because to her, nothing had happened at all. And that’s what she wanted the mindset to be for the rest of them. 

.  .  .

       “Wynonna,” Nicole mumbled, furrowing her brow at her in worry. 

       “I wanna go. Now , Haught.” 

       The brunette had been released from the hospital six days after her surgery and they had just gotten her back to the Homestead, but she was already limping around and pulling a new pair of clothes on. “Either you’re coming with me or I’m going by myself,” she huffed as her head poked out of the top of her ripped black t-shirt.

       The Sheriff rubbed her hand up and down her face, sliding them into her black jeans’ pockets. “Fine. We’ll go now.” 

       “ Thank you .” 

       “Should I . . . ask Waves if she wants to come?” 

       Wynonna poked at the bandages covering her abdomen with a wince, dropping her shirt and raising her eyes to her with a shrug, “Yea. I have a feeling she has a few things to say.” 

       “Alright,” Nicole said, turning out of her room so she could finish getting ready, walking downstairs and finding the brunette with her laptop on the couch. She sat on the arm behind her, dropping her hand to her shoulder. “What’re ya doin’?” 

       The brunette tipped her head back to look at her, resting it on her thigh. “I, uh, I’m helping Mr. Goddard with funeral arrangements,” she mumbled. 

       Nicole glanced at her screen, seeing a list of funeral homes in the area pulled up on it. “Oh . . . That’s nice of you, Babe.” 

       She shrugged, looking back down at her screen and clicking around. “I figured it’s the least I can do since . . .”

       The redhead shook her head, walking around to sit in front of her, pulling the computer out of her lap and tipping her head up to look at her. “Don’t. Don’t even think it, Waves. You can’t do that to yourself, I told you that.” 

       “But-” The tears rose in her eyes and she shook her head. “How the hell am I not supposed to blame myself, Cole? If it weren’t for him targeting-”

       “Stop,” Nicole whispered with a shake of her head, cupping her face and wiping her tears with her thumbs. “That doesn’t make it your fault, Baby. You weren’t deciding what happened. You didn’t want any of this to happen. You were doing everything you could to try and stop it, but . . . but life just has a sick way of working sometimes. You’ve just gotta remember that if it weren’t for you , we wouldn’t have him locked up and you wouldn’t know that this was gonna be that last time you ever had to deal with this.” She rubbed her thumbs on her cheek. “Alright?”

       Waverly nodded with a sniffle, pushing herself up and curling gently into her front. “I’m sorry.”

       Nicole shook her head, closing her eyes as she pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “It’s ok.” She held her tightly for a few seconds before releasing her and looking into her eyes. “You good?” 

       “Yea,” the brunette answered with a nod of assurance. “I just . . . thought about it too much for a minute.”

       The Sheriff pulled her fingers through her hair, pushing another kiss to her forehead. “. . . Wynonna wants to go see him now.”

       The brunette’s body went rigid and she looked up at her with scared eyes. “But- We just got her home not even 15 minutes ago. Can’t she wait a day or two?”

       “She thinks she’s waited long enough,” Nicole sighed. “I’m going with her, but she wanted me to ask if you wanted to come.” 

       Waverly dropped her gaze forward as she thought on it, swallowing the lump of nerves in her throat. “D’you think I should?” 

       “I’m not making the decision for you.” 

       She furrowed her brow, leaning her head against her shoulder and tracing her finger over the red Levi’s logo on Nicole’s grey t-shirt. “I . . . I dunno. There’s a lot of shit I wanna drill into his head, but . . .” She dropped her hand to her lap with a sad sigh. 

       “But what, Baby?” Nicole asked softly.

       “I just . . . I don’t know if I can look at him.” She raised her head to meet her eyes, feeling the tears that came back to them. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep- or even think straight if I know what he looks like.”

       Nicole gave her an assuring smile. “Then you don’t gotta come, Love. If you think you will heal better by not seeing him, it doesn’t make you any lesser. Ok?”

       Waverly let out a slow breath, nodding and cupping her cheek as she pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Ok . . . Thank you.” 

       “For what?” Nicole questioned.

       “Being my rock,” she mumbled with a tiny smile.

       The redhead smiled back but it curved into a smirk. “This shirt makes me look like The Rock, too, don’t it?” She flexed the bicep on the arm that wasn’t wrapped around her, watching the already tight short sleeves become even tighter. 

       “Shut up,” Waverly snorted with a roll of her eyes. 

       “Or Rocky maybe?” Nicole suggested as she kept her eyes on her arm, holding down a laugh.

       “Oh my God,” she muttered with a shake of her head, trying to wiggle out of her lap, but the redhead tightened her grip on her, wrapping both arms around her waist to keep her there.

       “Lemme tell ya somethin’ ya already know,” she muttered, tipping her head up to make her meet her eyes. “The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows . . . It's a very mean ‘n nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees ‘n keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life . But it ain’t about how hard ya hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward - How much ya can take and keep movin’ forward . . . That’s how winnin’ is done.” 

       Waverly blinked up at her for a long couple of seconds as she took in her words, slowly tipping her head after. “. . . Nicole Rayleigh Haught, if you just quoted a Rocky monologue , I swear.”

       Nicole shrugged with a dimpled smile. “That’s the quote I live by . . . I even had a poster that said it. Liz hung it up right above my head on the ceiling in my room when I lived with her. We saw the movie together in theaters when it came out and- trust me when I tell you, things don’t give me chills often, but when Rocky said that?” She shook her head. “I sat there for a good five minutes after the credits rolled cause I was still processing it.” 

       Waverly let out a sigh, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Well, it’s a beautiful quote, Baby.” 

       Both of their heads turned at the sound of slow feet coming down the stairs, watching as Wynonna slowly inched down them. She looked up and met their eyes, pausing at the middle and throwing a hand out. “No help?”

       Waverly huffed, peeling off of Nicole and walking over to her sister, meeting her on the stair she was on and helping her down. “So are you coming?” The older one questioned, raising her brows at her after her boots touched the wood floor. 

       Waverly shook her head. “I don’t think it’d be a good idea,” she mumbled.

       “Ya sure?” 

       “I’m sure,” the brunette assured. 

       “I’ll let ya kick him in the nuts?” Wynonna offered. “More than once.” 

       Waverly smiled but shook her head again. “I’ll be ok. Just give ‘em the ol’ Triple S for me and I’ll be good.”

       Wynonna grinned and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Nicole cocked a brow at them as she adjusted the backward grey Rangers snapback on her head while she walked to the door. “Do I wanna know what a Triple S is?” 

       The sisters both smirked widely at one another. “ Snout, stomach, sack !” They shouted in unison. 

       Nicole’s eyes widened at them as they laughed their asses off, Wynonna almost doubling over with pain but pressing her hand to the door to keep herself upright. “. . . Alright then.” She looked towards her wife when she took her hand, hearing her giggles fade off as she leaned into her front.

       “Mama's been teaching us defense tactics since we could lift our heads. That was one of our favorite ones when we were younger.”

       The Sheriff nodded with a chuckle. “I can see why.” 

       “I’ve done it to probably one too many guys at Shorty’s over the years,” she sighed.

       Nicole chuckled, shaking her head. “So is the sack part a fist or a knee?” She questioned, looking between them.

       “Snout is your palm jabbed upward into the nose, stomach is a fist to the gut, and sack is a knee to the nads-” Waverly pretended to jerk her knee up, but Nicole shoved her back and covered herself with her hands, staring at her with wide eyes. 

       “Damn, Haughty,” Wynonna chuckled. “Ya good there?

       She let out a breath, shooting her wife a warning glare. “I have a traumatic experience that involves getting nailed in the vag.”

       Waverly pouted her lip as she held in a laugh, running her hand down her arm when her’s relaxed back at her sides. “Sorry, Babe.” 

       “Do tell,” Wynonna grinned. 

       Nicole pursed her lips at her. “Let’s just say I had a soccer ball kicked full force at the goods during a game when I was, like, 12. I threw up all over the goalie box in front of everyone and couldn’t walk for a week.” 

       “Jesus,” Waverly mumbled with a furrow of her brows while Wynonna laughed her ass off. 

       “I wish I coulda seen that shit!” She cackled, arm wrapped around her abdomen as she leaned back against the wall. 

       Nicole rolled her eyes, pulling the door open and pressing a quick kiss to Waverly’s lips. “Love you. I’ll see you later.” 

       “Love you, too. Be safe . Both of you. I mean it.” The brunette looked between them pointedly. 

       “We will, Babygirl. I promise.” Wynonna shot her a smile as she hobbled out the door. “Call us if you need anything!” 

       Nicole pulled her cruiser into the station’s parking lot, putting it in park and climbing out. Wynonna followed her inside, shooting glares at all the deputies that looked at her weird for how she was walking. “So where’s he at?” She questioned, noticing how Nicole wasn’t leading her back to the holding cells. 

       “You’ll find out,” she assured with a smirk. 

       They continued on and Wynonna’s eyes widened up at the sign on the door when she saw that they were outside the morgue. “He’s in one of those metal things?!”

       Nicole leaned back against the wall with a sigh, “Yep . . . Dolls, Doc, Jeremy, and I have been switching off watching the room since they shoved him in there.” 

       “Is he, like, moving ‘n shit?” She questioned.

       “Oh yea. We’ve had to knock him out a few times cause he keeps yelling and stuff- I should also probably mention that he thinks you died.” 

       Wynonna’s eyes widened. “You told him I died !?” A huge smile pushed onto her face. “ Sick !” 

       “I kinda decided we should fuck with him,” Nicole smirked. “They thought it was a bad idea, but I figured you’d be game.”

       “Hell yea, I am. Let’s go.” Wynonna went to move to the door, but she grabbed her arm. 

       “ Maybe I can get him out and fuck with him a little more first?” 

       The brunette grinned a little. “ Naughty Haughty .” 

       Nicole chuckled, holding her hand out. “Peacemaker? I’ve got an idea.” 

       Wynonna pulled the gun out of it's holster, handing it over. “Be my guest. I’ll be here scaring anyone that wants to come in away.” 

       The Sheriff smirked as she pushed the door open, entering the morgue. “This is gonna be fun.”  

       Jeremy stood when she walked in, furrowing a brow at her. “I thought Dolls’ shift was next?”

       “No more shifts, Kid.” She held up Peacemaker and gestured towards the door, showing that Wynonna was standing out there.

       Jeremy’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Oh. Gotcha.” He smiled a little. “Can I watch?” 

       “No.” 

       “Why?” He whined as his face fell. 

       “Cause I don’t want you to be able to tell my wife about anything that happens in here.” She raised her brows at him as she pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of her pocket and slipped them on her right hand. “Now get.”  

       Jeremy widened his eyes in interest, but let out a defeated sigh, trudging towards the door. “ Fine .” He left the room and Nicole let out a breath, shoving Peacemaker in the waistband at the back of her jeans. She pulled up the handle on the stretcher door and ripped it open, jerking the body tray out. 

       The Slasher immediately met her eyes, quickly rolling off and hitting the floor in a last-chance attempt to flee, but it seemed his legs weren’t working enough to get himself up considering that he had been stuck in a box for almost a week. Nicole pushed the tray back in and pounced on him. “ Nope .” She grabbed him by the back of his light blue long-sleeved shirt and hauled him to his feet when she stood up straight. “Nice try, though.” 

       He jerked around in her grip, flashing his eyes. “So now you take me out of there, huh?” 

       “ Sit down .” She shoved him onto the chair that Jeremy had been previously sitting in, letting out a heaved breath as she stared down at him. She paused, squinting at his face just hard enough to notice something. 

       The tear stains.

       Nicole smirked, wide and evil, letting out a bark of a laugh. “Were you crying, Tough Guy?” 

       He let out a scoff, quickly wiping his face. “ No .” 

       “No? It sure looks like you were . . . What? You’re not all big and bad when you don’t got those murder gloves on, are you?” She leaned forward with her hands on his knees, tipping her head as his wide eyes stared back at her. “How’s it feel when a woman has power over you?” 

       The Slasher let out another demonic growl, shoving her back. “ Fuck you .” 

       The Sheriff bared her teeth, starting forward and grabbing him by the throat, dragging him out of the chair and shoving him up against the stretcher doors. She socked him across the nose with her metal-equipped hand, hearing the pained whine he let out. “Wanna say that again?” He sunk in on himself, swallowing under her palm. “Huh?! ”

       “ No ,” he squeaked out. 

       “You really are nothing without those fuckin’ gloves,” she grit through her teeth. 

       “And you’re nothing when I do have them,” he fired back, spitting blood in her face. He used the second she let her guard down as she wiped her face off to shove her off and make another move for the door. 

       The redhead whipped around and started for him, catching him by the arm and jerking him around. She let go and nailed him with an uppercut, swinging at him again when he stumbled back and knocking him hard enough to send him to the floor. She stalked over and stood right above him, reaching down and dragging him to his feet by his bullethole-ripped shirt. Her adrenaline was pumping hard, making her able to lift him straight off the floor as she walked them forward a few steps, slamming his back up against the wall. His head bobbed as it hung down before he was able to lift it, letting her see the dark-bloodied gash on his left cheek and the split in his lip accompanying his bleeding nose. 

       “Who won that fight, huh?” Nicole growled out as she let his feet touch the floor, still keeping him pinned there. “Who’s the one who brought the gun to the knife fight and shot you in the fuckin’ face?” 

       “. . . You ,” he mumbled under his breath.

       Nicole quickly nodded. “Yea. Me .” She leaned in closer to his face. “You don’t scare me. Cause I know you’re just a pathetic little boy deep down . . . And considering the type of women you went after, I’m gonna also guess that you’ve got some serious Mommy Issues.” 

       He let out a growl, flashing his eyes as he thrashed around. “You don’t know shit!”  

       The redhead reached around and pulled Peacemaker out of her waistband, smacking him across the jaw with the butt before pointing at him with it and watching his eyes shoot out of his head when he realized what it was. “Maybe I don’t know anything-” She pulled the hammer back on the gun, tapping the tip against his cheek. “Though I think I was onto something there- But if there is something I do know, it’s that the number one thing you’re scared of is this gun and what it can do to you.” 

       The Slasher swallowed down the fear in his throat, lifting his chin as he met her eyes. “I’m not afraid of it in your hands.” A sick smile pushed onto his face. “You can beat me around as long and as much as you want if it makes you feel better about the fact that you couldn’t save Wynonna.” Nicole’s lip twitched with anger as a snarl crept up her throat. “I would say I was sorry for killing her, but . . .” He shrugged with a grin. “I think we both know I’m really not.”

       Nicole snapped.

       She hooked the barrel of the gun through the loop on her jeans and felt the brass knuckles cut into her fingers with the force she used to jab her hand into his gut. His body tried to double over, but she forced him back with that hand to let the sting wear off as she nailed him in the mouth with the other, sliding her hand back up to his neck and letting the metal dig into his throat. “I don’t know if I’ve made it clear or not, but you do not fuck with my family.” 

       “It’s a little late for that,” he slurred through the blood in his mouth. 

       “Oh yea?” She questioned through her teeth. 

       “Yea,” he mumbled with a grin. “My plan was to ruin your wife little by little. And if killing her babysitter and her favorite teacher wasn’t enough, I think taking her sister down really took the cake.”

       Nicole bared her teeth and used every ounce of control in her body to not strangle him. She pulled him off the wall and grabbed him by the back of the neck, driving him forward to smash his face up against the window of the door. “I dunno about you , but she doesn’t look very dead to me.” 

       The Sheriff watched from above his head as Wynonna looked up from the wall she was leaning against, eyes widening at the bloody face staring back at her. The brunette pushed off the wall with a smirk, and Nicole pulled him off the door, letting her walk in. “Surprise!” She said with a smile, taking Peacemaker when Nicole handed it to her after she let go of him. “Haught Sauce had some fun with you, God damn-” Her eyes flicked to her hand with a gasp. “ Brass knuckles? You didn’t tell me we could bring toys !” 

       Nicole threw her a look. “I didn’t want you bringing a flamethrower or something,” she grumbled.

       Wynonna pursed her lips at her. “Well, Waves is gonna kill you for those bruises on your hands, not me.” She looked back towards The Slasher, who stood frozen as he stared at Wynonna in horror. “So . . .” She spun the gun around her finger before aiming it at him for a second and letting the barrel give off it's glow. She dropped it back to her side with a sigh, “You really thought a couple of stabby-stabs could take an Earp down, huh?” She slowly started towards him, smirking a tiny bit at how he backed up as she approached.

       The Slasher shook his head, putting his hands out slightly. “How?- Th-they told me you were dead .” 

       “I don’t look very dead to you, do I?” Wynonna asked with a tip of her head, pressing the tip of the barrel against his neck and making him sit down in the chair behind him. “I mean, I figured of all people, you would know what a dead lady looked like.” 

       He gripped the arms with white knuckles, leaning as far back in it as he could. “No. You don’t.” 

       “No,” Wynonna said with a shake of her head. “I don’t because they lied to you, Psycho Pants.” 

       He flashed his eyes as he looked towards Nicole, who was leaning back against the table next to him and spinning the brass knuckles around one of her fingers. She pouted her lip at him. “What’s wrong? Do you feel unaccomplished now?”

       The Slasher jerked to get up but Wynonna whipped him across the face with the butt of Peacemaker, keeping him in his seat. “ Bad boy ,” she scolded. “ Stay .” 

       The Slasher let out a low growl, wiping his bloody face on his shirt. “Just shoot me already!” He huffed. “What else do you want ?” 

       “I actually have a few questions for you, Rev,” Wynonna informed, crossing her arms. “And I would highly suggest you answer them truthfully.” Nicole watched him roll his eyes, slamming her shoe into his chair leg in warning. “Alright, first.” Wynonna moved over, leaning back against the metal doors. “What’s your name?” 

       “ That’s what you wanna know?” He questioned, blinking slowly.

       “Yes,” they both answered at the same time. 

       “I’d really love to know your name,” the brunette added. 

       He let out a sigh, “Fletcher.”

       “Fletcher . . .?” Nicole questioned, sliding her to y , as Wynonna put it, on and off her slowly swelling fingers. 

       “ William Fletcher,” he answered, turning his head towards the redhead with a knowing smirk.

       Wynonna’s eyes snapped to Nicole when she shot up off the table and jumped at him. She knocked the chair sideways, making both of their bodies smack against the metal wall of doors before wrestling him underneath him and letting her fists fly.

       “ Jesus , Haught,” Wynonna breathed out, standing up straight. 

       “ You son of a bitch !” Nicole snarled, grabbing the wooden leg of the chair that broke off and holding it down over his throat. 

       The Slasher clawed at her hands and then tried pushing at her as he tried to pull air into his lungs. He managed to get one of his legs up and hooked her hip with his foot, rolling her off and ripping the chair leg out of her hand. He pinned her neck down with his palm as he flipped on top of her, wacking her across the face with the wood. “It’s funny you bring up my ‘ mommy issues’ when you can’t handle your daddy issues.” 

       Nicole let out an honest to God growl , practically throwing him off of her and pouncing right back on him before he could recover from the way his head smacked against the tiles. She drove her knuckles into his face as she blinked the blood out of her eye. “I’m not murdering people over my fucking father , you-” 

       Wynonna finally managed to grab ahold of Nicole’s arm, letting out a groan as she drug her off of him. “Let off , Haught! We want ‘em conscious!- And I’d prefer you conscious, too!” She let out a huff as she stood up straight. 

       Nicole pushed to her feet with a clenched jaw, reaching up and touching above her left eye and looking at the blood on her fingers when she pulled her hand back. She rolled her eyes and shoved the chair out of the way, walking around the table and grabbing another for him to sit in. Wynonna hauled him up off the floor and dropped his half-limp body onto it. “I’m not done with you,” she grumbled, pressing the side of Peacemaker against his face and watching him straighten right up when she heard the sizzle of his cheek burning. She pulled back and crossed her arms. “Alright, Billiam I won’t say your actual first name Fletcher. Why is it that you decided to make my darling sister your target of hate this year?” 

       “Cause I know the thing that hurts the both of you the most is seeing her in pain,” he answered, tipping his head with a crooked grin.

       Wynonna’s eyes went hard and she sucked in a breath. “ Gimme that .” She ripped the chair leg out of Nicole’s hand and smacked it down on his nuts. He let out a wail of pain, curling up on the chair. She dropped it to the floor with a shake of her head.  “You’re a sick fucking puppy . . . Your poor mother.” 

       “Too bad I stabbed her to death,” he mumbled as his pain-ridden body loosened, raising his head to look at the brunette. “Why do you think Wyatt put me down to begin with?” 

       Nicole’s face scrunched in disgust as she glared at him and Wynonna looked towards her, meeting her eyes with a raise of her brows. The redhead nodded, so she let out a sigh as she raised Peacemaker, cocking the hammer. “Yea, well, looks like this shouldn’t be your first rodeo then.” She stepped towards him and hooked the barrel under his chin, coaxing him to his feet and kicking the chair back. “Any last words, Fletcher?” 

       He stared at her for a moment before flicking his eyes towards Nicole. “Let’s hope I meet your old man down here.”

       Nicole went to start for him again, but Wynonna pulled the trigger and put her arm out to keep her back as the fiery hole opened in the floor and sucked him into it. She dropped her arm to her side, sticking Peacemaker back in it’s holster and slowly turning towards her. The redhead met her eyes as she grit her teeth and Wynonna slid her hands down her arms. “You alright?” 

       “How the fuck did he know some of this stuff?” 

       The brunette shook her head, letting out a breath. “I have no idea, but . . . maybe it’s better that we don’t know.” She reached her hands up and grabbed her face, tipping it down so she could look at the gash just below her brow. “C’mon. Waves needs to doctor that up.”

       “Shouldn’t we clean up in here first?” 

       They both looked around, seeing the blood on the door, the wall, the metal doors, the floor, not to mention the broken chair and things all over the floor that fell off the table. Wynonna let out a heavy sigh, shoving her hands into her pockets and turning towards the back door exit. “I’ll make Dolls do it. We both needa drink.” 

       Wynonna and Nicole walked up to the front door and the brunette pushed it open. “We’re back, Babygirl,” Wynonna called to the girl in the kitchen. 

       “Oh, thank God. You were taking so long, I was starting to think something- Oh my God, your face !” Waverly dropped the dishtowel in her hand and rushed towards Nicole, pulling her head down so she could look at it. 

       “Baby, I’m fine,” she said softly as she wrapped her fingers around her wrists.

       “What happened ?- Cole .” Her voice broke as she took her hands in her’s, looking over the bruising and blood on her knuckles and the cuts on her right hand’s fingers.

       “Waves,” Nicole mumbled, getting her to meet her eyes. “I’m ok. I promise.” 

       She let out a sigh of disagreement, letting her go and moving towards Wynonna to look her over. “Where’s your battle wounds?” 

       Wynonna lifted her shirt and pointed to her stomach. “Uh, right here.” 

       Waverly threw her a look, taking her hands and looking her over. “Nothing else, though?” 

       “No, Babygirl. Haught Hands did all the hard work,” she assured, giving her a little smile.

       Waverly looked back to her wife, taking her hand and pulling her along to the sink in the kitchen. She turned the tap on to a drizzle and pulled a chair over for her, wetting a washcloth and sitting in a chair in front of her as she gently began to wipe the trails of blood off her face. “What even happened?” 

       “I beat the fuck out of him, that’s what.” She let out a wince, sitting forward and pulling the brass knuckles that had been digging into her butt out of her back pocket and tossing them into the sink.

       Waverly cocked a brow, peeking over to see what it was. She let out a loud gasp, snapping her eyes back to the redhead. “ Nicole !” She snatched her hand back up. “No wonder your hands all cut up - And this is your bad hand , too! You could’ve messed it up again!” 

       “Wave, I’m fine , ok? Trust me.” 

       “But-” She let out a heavy breath, letting her shoulders relax and dropping her hand, moving one of her’s back up to cup her cheek as she continued to wipe her face off. “So how did this happen then?” Nicole swallowed, flicking her eyes to Wynonna for a second before looking back at her wife. Waverly furrowed her brows, rubbing her thumb over her ear. “Does it have to do with why you’re so tense now?” She asked softly, watching as Nicole immediately loosened her muscles and leaned her head into her hand as she closed her eyes.

       Waverly looked up at her sister in question as she continued to wipe her face, gently tracing her thumb in patterns on her cheek. The older one leaned back against the table, rubbing her hands up and down her face with a sigh. “He, uh, The Slasher . . . His name’s William.” Waverly flicked her eyes towards the redhead, feeling her flinch against Wynonna’s words. “And he knew about her dad, I guess, and tried to torment her with it.” 

       “Oh, Baby,” Waverly mumbled softly, pressing a delicate kiss to her forehead.

       “Nic kinda snapped,” Wynonna continued. “Broke the chair he was in when she tackled him, did something I won’t tell you with the chair leg, but . . . he got her off of him. He grabbed the thing and wacked her with it- That’s where that came from.” She nodded towards her face.

       The brunette shook her head, looking down as she gently cleaned her hands off before dropping the rag in the sink and pulling her into a hug. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “He should’ve never done that to you.”

       Nicole sat back with a sniffle, shaking her head as she wiped her face. “It’s not about me.” 

       Waverly’s eyes softened and she tipped her head at her with a sigh, looking up at her sister. “Go grab the first aid kit and the peroxide out of the bathroom, would you?” 

       “ Noo ,” Nicole whined as Wynonna nodded, heading off to do so.

       “ Yes ,” Waverly corrected. She tipped her chin up with her finger, scooting closer to her. “Look at me. He hurt you, both mentally and physically. That means at one point, it was about you.” 

       Nicole let out a teary huff. “It’s not, though. I-it’s about you and Nonna and Whitney and everyone else he hurt . . . It was never about me, b-but I’m making it about me cause I can’t fucking handle-” 

       “Nic , no.” The brunette wiped the mix of angry and sad tears from her face. “You’re allowed to feel things. You’re allowed to get upset or angry or sad . It’s not a competition on who’s going through the most for who gets to show that things hurt them.” She looked up, taking the things Wynonna handed her and setting them on the counter next to her. “What’s that stupid Rocky quote you told me right before you left? Something like It's a mean and nasty world and I don't care how tough you are?” Nicole smiled the slightest bit with a shrugged nod. It was close enough. “That means all of the pain that this brought back is there because you are human . It’s normal . And you’re allowed to feel like this over it.” 

       The redhead let out a sigh, shaking her head. “There’s just- So much shit is coming up soon. I’ll be in Vegas for Liz’s birthday’s in a few weeks a-and fuckin’ . . . his stupid anniversary is in August. It’s all coming just right after another, and I dunno if I can handle it.” Waverly ran her hands across her thighs a few times, staring at her for a few seconds in thought. “What?” Nicole mumbled.

       She brought her attention back, smiling at her. “I got an idea.” 

       “An idea for what?” The redhead questioned.

       Waverly looked between her and Wynonna for a few seconds before settling on the Sheriff’s face. “If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but . . . I think I know what we can do to make it easier- Make everything that’s happened this year easier for us all really.” 

       “Oo, axe throwing ,” Wynonna grinned. 

       “ No ,” they both grumbled. 

       She let out an annoyed sigh, “ Fine . What, Waves?” 

       The brunette smiled, pulling her legs up criss-cross on her chair and tapping her fingertips together. “So. What if . . .”

.  .  .

       Nicole smiled a little when she spotted Waverly walking over to her. “Hey, Baby.”

       The brunette nestled under her arm, running her thumb over the redhead’s hand when she let it fall to her waist. “Hi, Love.”

       “Ya doing alright?” Nicole questioned, looking down at her slightly puffy eyes with a furrow of her brow.

       “I’m good. Just . . . talked with some classmates I haven’t seen in a while and brought up some old memories about Mrs. Goddard from in school.” 

       Nicole nodded, leaning her head against her’s. “That’s good.”

       They were currently at the funeral reception for Whitney and Waverly had previously been walking around mingling. Nicole left her be, knowing it wasn’t her place to be following her around the whole time, so she stuck to leaning against the wall to keep an eye on the room, chatting with whatever townsfolk wandered over to her and most of the time informing them how disrespectful it was to try and get information on the teacher’s murder that hadn’t been released to the public at her funeral .

       It had been a good service, though. Waverly had given the final speech at the wake earlier and it had left every eye in the room misty at the least by the end. The burial had also been quite beautiful, and now everyone was eating, chatting, and catching up with others as they all moseyed about the dining hall the Goddard’s had rented. 

       “Where’s Wynonna?” Nicole questioned. 

       Waverly rolled her eyes. “ Eating . I made Gus go keep an eye on her.”

       “That’s probably a good idea,” she mumbled.

       “I’m letting it slide cause I know she doesn’t do well at funerals.”

       The Sheriff nodded, letting out a sigh. “That’s fair, I guess.” Waverly leaned more into her, turning so she could mess with the buttons on the front of her black suit, but she straightened up when she spied a familiar face walking their way.

       “Waverly!” The woman smiled.

       “Mrs. Burke! Hi!” Waverly pulled away from Nicole’s arm and wrapped the older blonde woman into a hug. The redhead raised her brows at how her tiny wife was a few inches taller than this woman.

       The woman pulled back and gave her a smile, moving her eyes towards Nicole. “Hello, Sheriff.”

       “Hi,” she greeted, shaking her hand when she offered it up. She couldn’t help but think that she recognized her somehow, more than just having seen her around town once or twice.

       “You really got lucky with this one,” Mrs. Burke said, shooting the brunette a wink. 

       Nicole chuckled, bumping Waverly’s arm. “I know, right?” 

       She rolled her eyes with a shake of her head as she looked up at the Sheriff. “You remember Heidi, right?” The redhead widened her eyes at her, smiling with a nod as a cry for help. Waverly shot her a look for a split second before continuing on. “Yea. She’s the principal at the grade school.” 

       Light bulbs went off in Nicole’s brain and her face relaxed as she leaned back against the wall. “Yea. We talked once or twice when I went up there with you.” 

       “We did, indeed,” Heidi smiled, apparently not having noticed that Nicole hadn’t a clue who she was five seconds before. She looked back to the brunette. “That was a beautiful speech you gave earlier, Dear.”

       “Aw, thank you,” she smiled with a blush. “Mrs. Goddard was . . .” She let out a raspberry, shaking her head. “The best teacher I ever had and definitely one of the best women I ever met. She deserved every word.” 

       The principal nodded, taking a sip of her drink. “I couldn’t agree more. That’s, uh, actually why I’m over here, though.” Waverly furrowed her brow, tipping her head in question. “Just- Before anything, I just came from talking with Mr. Goddard. He’s the one who mentioned it and sent me off to find you, so don’t think I would just bring this up here if I hadn’t had his word for it.” 

       “Ok,” Waverly said slowly.

       “He, and the rest of us really, think that if Whitney was able to give out her last wishes that she would’ve without a doubt said that we . . . should give you the first dibs on her position at the school.” Waverly’s eyes shot out of her head. “I know that you said you’d rather a position with younger kids, but I also know that you were hoping for a spot in Purgatory, so . . . if you want it, the job’s yours. We’re very sure that Whitney wouldn’t want to pass the ropes to anyone else but you cause, trust me, Waverly. I heard how she talked about you.” 

       The brunette slid her hands down her face, taking a step back and bumping into Nicole’s front. She looked up at her, seeing the surprised but gleeful look on her face as she looked down at her. Waverly dropped her head back down to look at the principal. “I, uh- Wow . That . . . I haven’t even thought about that.”

       Mrs. Burke gave her a soft smile, shaking her head. “I’m not saying you have to make a decision right this second. Take some time to think on it, but . . . the offer’s there. Mr. Goddard said he’d be happy to hand over all of her materials and the things in her classroom cause he knows that’s what she would’ve done.” 

       Waverly blinked hard a few times to make sure that she was still in reality, letting out a raspberry. “I . . . Hold on.” She pivoted around to look up at the redhead, furrowing her brow tightly as her hands tightened in the front of her suit. “What do I do?” 

       Nicole let out a laugh, sliding her hands down her arms. “Baby, that’s up to you.” 

       “What do you think I should do then?” She offered, eyes pleading for her to at least give her something . 

       “I think . . . Well, you’ve always said you’d give anything to work in town. Maybe seventh and eighth graders are the opposite of what you wanted, but social studies is basically history and you love history, so maybe that evens out the hormonal pre-teeness you’ll deal with. And . . . like she said, I’m sure Whitney would want nothing else but for you to take over.” She raised her hand to rest on her shoulder with a squeeze and a dimpled smile. “If it were me , I’d take it, but-” 

       Waverly spun back around with a beaming smile and a nod. “I’ll take it.”

       Heidi blinked at her, surprised at the sudden answer. “You’ll take it?” 

       “A million percent yes,” she assured with a sharp nod. “I wouldn’t dream of turning that down.”