45. Chapter 45
Nicole lay there in the dark, listening to the soft snoring sounds coming from the six other warm bodies lying next to her. Nicole found every time she tried falling asleep, her mind had other ideas. Each time she closed her eyes, all Nicole could see was Waverly and her sitting in the office of Black Badge, listening to the conversation between Whiskey Jim and Bobo. Nicole really knew deep down in the pits of her stomach that she too feared of losing her family, so she decided to quietly climb out of bed and try and get some research done on Whiskey Jim.
Although Nicole’s plan was to investigate some background information on Whiskey Jim, she found that the more she thought about Bobo and his involvement in the whole case, the more anxious Nicole became. During her teenage years, previously Nicole had experienced panic attacks, but they soon disappeared after she had reached her twenties. Nicole had walked into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee, she was not expecting to see her hands begin to shake uncontrollably and feel like her heart was going to beat so hard, that it would make its way up into her mouth. Nicole’s legs then started to feel like they had been made of jelly and would go out from underneath her, so Nicole made her way over to the couch, just in time.
Waverly woke up with the feeling that her heart was caught in the grasp of a tight clamp, which made the brunette sit bolt upright in their bed. When she looked down at her chest, she noticed nothing was out of sorts, so Waverly looked next to her and saw five little pups sound asleep, but Nicole was nowhere to be found. Waverly gently removed herself from under the covers and headed out the bedroom door. What she found was Nicole curled up on the couch, with her legs tucked in tightly under her chin.
Rushing to the couch, Waverly kneeled next to Nicole, who didn’t acknowledge her, which caused Waverly to become more worried about her wife. “Nicole, what’s wrong? Your shaking.”
Nicole made no sound but turned her head slightly, so that she could look at Waverly. Without making any sounds, Waverly opened her arms inviting her wife to fall into them and then be held until she was ready to talk. Nicole lay her head next to Waverly’s heart and listened to the gentle beat, while Waverly held her tight. Only there in Waverly’s arms did Nicole finally find the courage to speak. “Waves, I’m sorry. I just thought that hearing Bobo wouldn’t affect me this much. So much that it would cause me to have a panic attack.” Nicole’s voice shakes as she presses her head against Waverly’s chest.
“Oh, Baby, you’ve been out here on your own. I’m here now, so just focus on my breathing. Nothing is going to harm you or us.” Waverly coos while running a hand through Nicole’s hair. Nicole could begin to feel her anxiousness levels dropping with every feather touch from her wife. For the next half an hour, Waverly holds Nicole tightly, with Waverly every now and then would hum or sing a soothing song, while Nicole worked on controlling her nerves.
“It’s just that when I tried to sleep, all I could hear in my head was Bobo’s voice. (Breathes in and then out) In my head all I could think about was what could have happened if we were too late, when we rescued Nicolas and Alberto from Bobo. (Breathes in and then out) While lying in bed with you and our pups, I pictured what life might have been if we lost our boys. I hope it’s something we never have to experience at any time during our lives.” Nicole says.
“Nicole you’ve always been a rock, a shelter everyone can rely upon. Let me be your shelter and support. We can get through this together. I love you Nicole.” Waverly coos while stoking Nicole’s baby hairs at the back of her neck.
Waverly lays back on the couch, pulling Nicole down with her, so that the redhead could rest her weary head against her chest, as Waverly draws small circles on Nicole’s back. Nicole raises herself slightly so that she could look Waverly in the face. Waverly pulls Nicole’s face down so to connect their lips together. At first the kiss is tender but quickly becomes something more animalistic, like their lives depended upon it. Nicole could feel her cock becoming hard, while her senses told her that Waverly was aroused. With one look from Nicole, Waverly was a quivering mess as they both frantically attacked each other’s clothing. They made love and after satisfying each other’s needs, Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly and whispered in her ear, “Thank you Waverly Earp-Haught for loving me. I love you.”
Waverly raised her head and kissed Nicole before saying, “There’s no one else but you for me. I’m the one who should be thanking you. I love you so much Nicole Earp-Haught.” Before they could say anything more, they heard a barking coming from their bedroom. This meant that Max was letting them know, something was not right and that they needed to come right away. Before they could begin to redress themselves, a loud high-pitched scream met their ears, indicating that one of their pups were in pain. Both parents dressed in a flash and headed into the bedroom, where they found Bach screaming as he vomited all over the bed and his siblings.
“Nicole!” Waverly said in a troubled voice as she reached the door, with Nicole fast behind her. Seeing the mess on the bed, Nicole moved quickly so that she could pick Bach up and took him into the bathroom as Waverly followed close behind, carrying Walden and Winona. After making sure that Waverly was alright with the triplets, she headed back into their bedroom and assisted Nicolas and Alberto out of the bed, but before she left the room, Nicole removed the soiled bedsheets and covers and placed them in the laundry. Waverly tried soothing her sick and crying son, but the more she tried, the more Bach screamed. Waverly could feel that Bach was warm to the touch, she tried loosening his top, but struggled and instead decided to wait for Nicole.
“We sleep Mummy. No bath.” Nicolas and Alberto grumbled as Nicole led them into the bathroom and helped them out of their soiled pyjamas. Waverly already had the water running for the bath.
“I know Bubba and Boo, but Bach has been sick, and we need to get you all clean.” Nicole tapped each of her sons on the nose with a finger. Nicole helped her sons into the bath and proceeded to wash them. Once they had been bathed, Nicole got them dressed, while Waverly removed Walden and Winona from their dirty clothes. Nicole then bathed Walden, then Winona while Waverly dressed Walden. Nicole dressed Winona while Waverly took care of Bach, after removing her son’s clothes, Waverly gave his body the once over to make sure that he had not been bitten by something to cause Bach to become sick.
“Do you see any marks?” Nicole asks as she cuddles Walden and Winona in her arms.
“No, but he is warmer than normal.” Waverly answers as she holds Bach against her body while she runs a new bath. Once the water temperature was temperate, Waverly then placed her sick little boy in the water. Bach quietened down and soon was splashing at the water while Waverly washed him clean of all the vomit. After all the pups had been freshly cleaned and clothed, Nicole rang Wynonna and Doc and asked them to watch the pups, while her and Waverly took Bach into the hospital.
Along the way to the hospital, Waverly sat in the back with Bach just in case he was sick again, which he did twice. Bach was extremely clingy and would not stop crying until Waverly held his hand, while whimpering as he sucked on his binky. Nicole pulled her truck into the parking lot of the hospital and helped Waverly climb out, with Bach in her arms. Nicole lead them inside and approached the Emergency reception desk, where she asked for a doctor to see their son.
Waverly sat nervously in the hospital chair, while Nicole paced up and down with Bach, who was grizzly and restless. When Bach got like this, Nicole was the only one of the two, that could calm and soothe him. “Nicole, what do you think it could be? Babies of his age can pick up anything. I clean all their toys and when we’re out, we make sure to clean down the surfaces before letting them touch them.” Waverly frets as she wrings her hands together in her lap.
“Waverly, it’s most probably his teeth causing him grief and pain. You’ve been a fantastic mother to our five pups, you have not done anything wrong.” Nicole says as she sits in the chair next to Waverly and with her free arm, she wraps it around Waverly’s shoulders and pulls her so that the brunette could rest her head on her shoulder.
It is not that much longer before Bach’s name was called by the doctor, who leads them to a cubicle and then pulls the curtains around. Nicole and Waverly sat on the side of the bed, with Bach sitting on Nicole’s lap. Waverly explains to the doctor as to Bach’s symptoms, before he looks at the little boy. After checking his throat, ears and taking the little boy’s temperature, the doctor declared that Bach had an ear infection. Waverly and Nicole were told to use warm compresses, as well as giving him Tylenol to bring down his temperature.
Nicole stopped at the Chemist to purchase Tylenol, then at the café to get Wynonna and the rest of the pups, doughnuts for breakfast as it was now early morning. Once back at the homestead, Waverly, Nicole, and Bach knocked on the door of Wynonna and Doc’s house, where they were invited in and given some hot coffee to have with their doughnuts. Nicolas and Alberto rushed to their parents and after receiving their hugs and kisses, the twins asked if they could choose their doughnuts. Nicolas picked a chocolate iced one with blue sprinkles, while Alberto chose a yellow iced doughnut with chocolate sprinkles. Walden, Bach, and Winona were given a cinnamon doughnut, which was well and truly mashed and mixed with their formula milk.
“Why don’t you two go and catch up on some sleep and leave these ones with me. I am heading into Black Badge later and they can come with me. I am only going to follow up on some leads on Whiskey Jim. I will need your car Waverly.” Wynonna says as she picks up Nicole’s truck keys and hands them to the redhead.
Waverly looks over at Nicole and notices how tired and worn out she looks, Waverly knows that would be the best thing for her wife, to be able to catch some sleep. The Tylenol that the doctor had given Bach was also beginning to take effect, as he was struggling to keep his eyes open as he sat on Nicole’s lap. “I’ll bring a change of clothes over with the car. I had better get these two, home and put them straight to bed.” Waverly said as she pointed over at Nicole and Bach.
After dropping off new clothes and diapers for her pups, Waverly walked into her home and found that she could not see or hear Nicole anywhere. She headed into the nursery and found Bach’s cot empty, which caused Waverly to become more anxious and worried that maybe something bad had happened. Just then she heard the faint sound of snoring coming from their bedroom and as Waverly walked in through the door, she found Nicole fast asleep on her back on the bed, with Bach sleeping across her chest. Waverly picked up two blankets and lay them over Nicole and Bach before she climbed in under them and curled up against Nicole’s side.
For the next couple of days between Waverly and Nicole, they both cared for Bach and the other pups, while the other worked. As the doctor said, Bach’s ear infection went away after a couple of days, leaving him being less clingy and needed to be with Nicole 24/7.
Two days laterIt was a couple of days before Wynonna and Dolls had collected enough information on Whiskey Jim and his operations. To the ordinary person Whiskey Jim would appear as if he were your typical businessman, but he was a criminal. Whiskey Jim’s operations included kidnapping runaway females and transporting them into a life of prostitution and strip teasing. He also had a hand in the moving and dealing of drugs in the Ghost River Triangle.
Nicole, Waverly, Dolls, Wynonna, and Doc all sat around the Black Badge table, going through the information that had been found. Dolls stood up and moved over to the makeshift display wall, where there was a photo of Whiskey Jim and pieces of paper with writing on them. Dolls points to a map, which shows the location of Whiskey Jim’s factory as he says, “Doc and I have a meeting set up for this afternoon with Whiskey Jim. We are going to see if he will send us some merchandise at the run downed office building in the industrial area in Purgatory. And when he makes the drop off, we will then be able to arrest him, and get him to spill the beans on this Lou guy.”
“And what do you want us to do?” Wynonna asks as she picks up Peacemaker and waves it in the air.
“I am going to need you and Waverly to head over to the office building, where you will find that five rooms have been set up to look like a brothel. Waverly and Wynonna, I want you to decorate the rooms with furnishings, to make it look more believable, that we are running a real brothel. Also, the front of house needs to look business like.” Dolls answers as he picks up his pistol off the table and places it in its holster.
“So, you want us to set up a brothel for you. If you do not ask us to work for you, we will make it look believable. That way Whiskey Jim will believe that the brothel is legit and not hand over the girls. We need to save these girls and give them a second chance at life.” Wynonna says as Waverly starts googling up web sites to get ideas on how to decorate these rooms.
“Dolls, how long do we have to get this all done?” Waverly asks without looking up from her phone. Nicole peeks over Waverly’s shoulder and is surprised at the pictures of different brothel rooms.
“I am going to ask that the delivery date be for this time next week. Waverly, do you think that you and Wynonna are going to get it done in time. All the heavy work has already been done.” Dolls replies.
“I think so.” Waverly answers.
Later that afternoonDolls and Doc walk into what looked like a warehouse, but once inside the front door, they were faced with what appeared to be large cages. The bars on the cages were 50cm in diameter and attached to these bars were chains which had handcuffs attached at their ends. Knowing that the cages were being used as storage of the young women that had been kidnapped, Dolls clinched his hands into fists. Doc crouched down and touched the floor of one of the cages, when he brought his fingers to his nose, he smelt dry blood.
“Hello, can I help you?” A voice captured Doc and Dolls attention. They were surprised to see a young man who looked as if he was a runner up for Mr Universe. His bulging muscles looked as if they were trying to rip their way out from under the sleeves of his shirt.
“John Smith and Hank Weston, here to see Whiskey Jim.” Dolls said as he pointed to Doc and himself.
“I see that you’re admiring the empty cages. Just wait till you see the one with the real merchandise out the back. Whiskey Jim is waiting for you in his office.” The man said as he walked towards an office door to the left of the building.