29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

A loud commotion somewhere downstairs startled Nicole awake and had her reaching blindly for the gun she kept in her nightstand. Jerking up right when her hand came in contact with a leather bond book instead of the cold metal of her Beretta Nano, she blinked rapidly, looking around the dark room, only illuminated by the bit of moonlight peaking through the window.

She looked to her left over at Waverly, who hadn’t been woken by the noise and was cocooned in the quilt that had at one point been covering both of them. She leaned over and kissed Waverly on the forehead before sliding out of bed and looking around the room for something to use as a weapon.

Cursing under her breath when she came up empty, Nicole made her way out of the room quietly, tiptoeing towards the stairs and peaking over the railing down to the pitch black first floor. She took a few deep, calming breaths to try and slow her pounding heart, straining her ears to pick up any sound from downstairs over the loud beating of her heart.

When a crash came from downstairs followed by an exclaimed ‘shit’ and groaning, Nicole took the stairs two at a time, recognizing the voice instantly.

Grouping the wall blindly for the light switch she had seen earlier in the night, she flipped it on, light illuminating the small hall between the living room and the staircase, enough light spilling into the living room for her to be able to see Wynonna on the floor next to a wooden chair that had been knocked over.

“Wynonna,” she called softly, moving to the woman’s side to help her up.

She gripped Wynonna under her right arm, ignoring the fact that she smelt like a damn distillery and hauled her to her feet before dumping her on the couch.  

She wanted to ask how much Wynonna had to drink, if she had actually drank that whole bottle of whiskey but, she knew it wasn’t her place to question Wynonna’s drinking habits. They were just starting to be friends and she didn’t want to mess that up.

“Officer Hottie!” Wynonna gave a drunken grin, lifting the almost empty bottle of whiskey to her lips and taking a long swig from it. “What are you still doing here?”

“We had too much wine during Scrabble, I couldn’t drive so I just stayed over,” Nicole answered, righting the chair Wynonna knocked over before taking a seat on the coffee table to help Wynonna with her boots.

“What are you doing?” Wynonna grunted, jerking her booted foot away from Nicole.

“Well, I was going to help you take your boots off but, if you don’t want my help than please do it yourself.” Nicole sat back and motioned for Wynonna to go ahead and do it herself.

She watched Wynonna sat the bottle of whiskey next to her on the couch, watched as she bent over to try and undo her boots, waited for the nausea she was sure Wynonna would experience to come.

Wynonna groaned and slumped back into the couch, face much paler than before, blue eyes watery. She grimaced and gripped her stomach tightly.

“I’ll get you some water.” Nicole stood, picking up the bottle of whiskey and making her way into the kitchen, flipping the light on as she went.

Setting the bottle down on the counter next to the one she brought, Nicole went through the cabinets, looking for where the glasses were kept. She probably should have been paying attention to where Waverly had gotten their glasses from earlier instead of staring at her ass.

“Second cabinet from the fridge,” Wynonna called from the living room, watching Nicole look around the kitchen like a lost puppy.

Nicole nodded her thanks and grabbed a glass out of the second cabinet from the fridge like Wynonna said and filled it with water. On her way back to the living room, she stopped by the front door, locking the old deadbolt then yanking on the door to make sure it was secure.

She had a hard time falling asleep earlier knowing that the door was unlocked, that anyone could just waltz right in at any given moment.

Waverly had reassured her multiple times that they were safe and eventually the steady beating of Waverly’s heart and her light snoring lulled Nicole into a restless sleep.

“Can I help now?” Nicole asked, handing Wynonna the glass of water and taking a seat back on the coffee table.

Wynonna nodded, already gulping down half of the water as Nicole pat her thigh, singling for Wynonna’s foot.

Wynonna studied Nicole with an unreadable expression, as Nicole unlaced her boot, as if she was trying to see inside her head, trying to figure her out.

“You played Scrabble with Waverly?” Wynonna finally asked after Nicole had finished with the first boot and was pulling Wynonna’s other foot into her lap.

Nicole looked up from the task at hand, eyebrow raised. “That really the question you wanted to ask?”

She wasn’t absolutely sure what she was expecting Wynonna to ask her but, it definitely wasn’t that. If she had to guess, she would have thought Wynonna would question her friendship with Waverly.

Wynonna may have left Waverly behind while she was trying to run away from her past, her problems but, Nicole could see how much she loved her sister and how much she wanted to protect her sister.

“No,” Wynonna shrugged, pulling her jacket off and dropping it to the floor. “But I figured I’d start with something easy.”

“Yes, we played Scrabble,” Nicole said, tossing Wynonna’s boot over by the other one then picked up her leather jacket up off the floor, getting up to hang the jacket up by the door. “You can’t treat leather this way.”

She’d humor Wynonna, answer whatever random, unimportant questions Wynonna asked until she got to whatever it was she really wanted to ask, really wanted to know.

It’s not like she had anything better to do at the moment. Sure, she’d much rather be in bed with Waverly but, she wasn’t going to pass up a chance to gain Wynonna’s trust, for them to talk, to bond.

“Why?” Wynonna asked, throwing her legs up on the couch, stretching out, fully intending to sleep right here. Her and Waverly had cleared out the master bedroom and put a bed in there for her but, she wasn’t ready to sleep in there. Hell, she wasn’t even sure she was ready to stay in this house at all. “Waverly is crazy smart, you had to know you’d lose.”

“It wasn’t about winning.” Nicole sat down in the beat up recliner to the right of the couch. She shook her head with a smile, laughing softly to herself. “Usually I’m extremely competitive, I’ve got to win at all cost but, with Waverly I’m okay with losing as long as I get to see that adorable smile of hers.”   

Wynonna stared at her, eyebrows knitted together in confusion and Nicole shifted nervously in her chair. She gave too much away, let her feelings for Waverly shine through so clearly.

She honestly didn’t care that Wynonna knew how she felt for Waverly but, she wasn’t sure how Waverly would feel about it. She knew that Waverly wasn’t ready to tell people yet, wasn’t ready to let the world in on this bubble they’ve created around themselves.

Once that bubble was popped and the world was let in, things became real, the risk of being hurt became real. It wasn’t that Waverly was just afraid of what people would think, she just wanted to live in their bubble a little longer and Nicole was okay with that. She’d give Waverly whatever she wanted, whatever she needed as long as at the end of the day Waverly was hers.

The confusion on Wynonna’s face shifted to understanding, like she finally figured out the answer to a problem she’s been trying to solve. “You like her.”

It wasn’t a question, it was a statement, a fact but Nicole answered anyways. “I do.”

“Hmm,” Wynonna hummed, propping her head up on her forearm and staring up at the ceiling. “Well, you’re definitely a step up from the douchebag she was dating.”

“Just a step?” Nicole asked, feigning hurt. “I’m offended Earp, I thought I was at least three or four steps up from Hardy.”

Wynonna laughed lightly as she lazily pulled Peacemaker from it’s holster, pointing the gun at Nicole without so as looking in her direction. “I don’t know where Waverly stands on her feelings towards you but I do know that she trusts you and if you betray that trust, if you hurt her in any way, if you pressure her into anything she doesn’t want, I will send your ass to hell.”

Maybe it wasn’t her place to threaten Haught on Waverly’s behalf. She had been in and out of Waverly’s life since the night half of them died, she had been completely MIA the past three years and she had no right to butt into the life Waverly had made for herself.

She has been a shitty sister to Waverly and there was nothing on this earth that she could do to make up for how terrible she had been, how absent she had been but, she could try to protect Waverly from getting hurt, she could try to be a better sister.

“I’d sooner die than hurt her, betray her trust or pressure her into something she didn’t want.”

“Good, we’re on the same page,” Wynonna yawned, placing Peacemaker back in it’s holster.

“When’s the last time you slept?” Nicole asked, taking in the bags under Wynonna’s eyes, the dark circles there. “Really slept?”

Wynonna looked over at Nicole with narrow eyes, trying to figure out why she was asking. She was met with big brown eyes filled with nothing but concern, she saw no ulterior motive behind the concern.

“It’s been awhile,” she reluctantly admitted to the redhead. “Probably haven’t gotten a good night's sleep since before I came back.”

She didn’t quite trust Nicole just yet, didn’t know what Nicole wanted from her, didn’t know why Nicole was so nice to her, so helpful. She was sure Nicole had some sort of ulterior motive for it all. No one was nice to her, helpful without wanting something from her.

As distrustful as she was of Nicole, she’d admitted that the redhead was growing on her. Mainly because of how easily Nicole was able to make Waverly smile brighter than Wynonna had ever seen, how she was able to make Waverly laugh harder than Wynonna ever thought possible.  

Nicole seemed to be able to bring out a different side of Waverly, a happier, almost carefree side that Wynonna had never seen and it made her want to trust her but, years of people turning their backs on her, using her for their own gain, treating her like she was insane made it hard.

“Too many bad memories?” Nicole question, getting comfortable in her chair, propping her feet up on the coffee table. “Or too much crazy shit happening here in Purgatory to let your guard down enough to sleep?”

She didn’t want to push Wynonna, didn’t want to make her talk about something she wasn’t ready to open up to her about but, she wanted to help Wynonna. Wanted to help her figure out why she wasn’t able to sleep and hopefully help her actually get some sleep.

Wynonna gave a nonchalant shrug. “Bit of both, I guess.”

Nicole waited for Wynonna to elaborate, to say something, anything more on the subject but, she didn’t, she just continued to stare up that the ceiling. Nicole nodded even though the other woman couldn’t see it and stood up, walking around the coffee table. She grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over Wynonna.

Without a word, she walked out of the room and towards the closet in the hallway by the stairs to grab the sawed off shotgun she saw Waverly put in there this morning. Turning the hallway light off, she went back into the living room, sitting back in her chair.

“Sleep Earp,” she said softly, laying the shotgun over her thighs. She might not be able to rid Wynonna of the terrible memories that plague her but, she could make sure that Wynonna was safe, that nothing or no one could get to her, she could make sure that Wynonna got a bit of sleep. “I’ll watch over you and Waverly.”

Wynonna wasn’t sure how she felt about Nicole watching over her but honestly she was too tired to care. She wanted, she needed sleep so she wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity.

“Thanks, Red,” she mumbled, rolling over onto her side and pulling the blanket tighter around her.

“Anytime, Earp.”  

Waverly rolled over in bed, feeling the warm morning sun across her bare legs, refusing to open her eyes and wake up fully as she reached for Nicole, intending to cuddle with the redhead a bit longer before she had to start her day. Instead of finding Nicole’s warm, soft body, she was met with a cold, empty spot next to her.

Opening her eyes slowly, Waverly pulled herself up into a sitting position, fighting off a wave of panic as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes then looked around the room for the redhead.

Nicole’s clothes were still folded neatly on Waverly’s desk chair where she had left them the night before and her cellphone was still sitting on the nightstand, so obviously she was still here but where?

“Nicky,” she called softly, sliding out of bed, her bare feet hitting the hardwood floor with a soft thud.

This wouldn't be the first time Nicole had woken up before Waverly. Nicole was very much an early riser, never one to sleep the day away but, usually when she woke up before Waverly, she stayed in bed, allowing Waverly to cuddle into her side or practically lie on top of her and continue sleeping while she read a book or a case file in bed.  

When she received no answer, she checked the upstairs bathroom before heading down stairs. The stairs creaked under her feet, followed by a quiet ‘shhhh’ from the living room.

“Nicole,” Waverly whispered, walking into the living room, finding Nicole leaned back in the recliner, shotgun in her lap and reading a book she must have gotten from Waverly’s shelf.

“Sorry, she’s finally sleeping peacefully,” Nicole spoke quietly, pointing to Wynonna on the couch, who had a blanket tucked in tightly around her and looked completely relax for the first time since she’s been back in town.

Nicole got up from the recliner, laying the shotgun and book in her place and held her hand out to Waverly. The second Waverly’s hand is in hers, Nicole pulled her into a tight embrace, pressing a kiss to her temple before mumbling a soft ‘good morning’ into her hair.

“Come on, I made coffee.” Nicole pulled back from the hug, her fingers trailing down Waverly’s arm to intertwined their fingers then leaded Waverly to the kitchen.

“How long have you been up?” Waverly asked, watching Nicole move around the kitchen easily as if it was her own.

There was something comforting about watching Nicole move around the kitchen as if she’d done this a thousand times, as if she belonged here, lived here with Waverly. It made Waverly hope that this could one day be their future, living together in the safety of the homestead, having coffee together every morning to the sounds of Wynonna’s snoring, having dinner together after long days and falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Waverly never had much hope for the future. Sure, she was a planner but she never planned for a future full of love and happiness, never planned for a future with someone who really saw her and understood her, never planned for a future with someone like Nicole.

She wondered if Nicole had the same hope of a future with her. She wondered if Nicole even wanted a future with her, wanted to live together, wanted to spend their lives together.

“Uh, since four,” Nicole shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, pouring coffee into the two mugs she gotten from the cabinet, adding two spoonfuls of sugar into one for her and three into the other for Waverly, adding a splash of milk to both. “I hope you don’t mind, I snooped around a bit to familiarize myself with where everything is at.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” Waverly asked as Nicole sat next to her at the table, passing her a coffee mug, which Waverly took with a kiss to Nicole’s cheek as a thank you.

Checking towards the living room to make sure Wynonna was still asleep, Waverly leaned forward and cupped Nicole’s jaw, thumb brushing slowly against her cheek as she took in the dark circles under Nicole’s eyes, took in the way Nicole’s eyes drooped just a bit, took in the beautiful, sleepy smile Nicole gave her.

“You look exhausted,” Waverly whispered, still caressing Nicole’s cheek. “What woke and kept you up?”

Nicole’s eyes slid closed as she nuzzled into Waverly’s touch, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She could probably fall asleep just like this with Waverly’s soft, gentle fingers on her skin.

“Wynonna coming in woke me up, I helped her with her boots, made her drink some water then we talked a bit,” Nicole said, her words a mumbled, sleepy mess. “She was so tired but wouldn’t or couldn’t fall asleep, too worried about being caught of guard I guess, so I offered to stay up and keep an eye on both you.”

Waverly’s heart swelled with affection for the woman before her. Nicole had willingly given up sleep, knowing that she had to work an overnight shift, just so Wynonna could get a few hours of sleep.

No one, absolutely no one put Wynonna’s wellbeing before themselves (Waverly had always been put first after the attack on the homestead). No one besides Gus and Curtis had never been willing to lose sleep to make sure Wynonna got a few hours herself. No one other than family had ever actually given a shit about Wynonna.

The fact that Nicole cared enough to put Wynonna before herself, cared enough to lose sleep for Wynonna’s sake, it meant a lot to Waverly. It made Waverly fall that much more in love with her.

“Thank you for,” Waverly waved her hand between the two of them, trying to find the right words. Trying to figure out what exactly she was thanking her for. “For being your perfect, amazing, caring self.”

Nicole shrugged again as if this too wasn’t a big deal, taking a sip of her coffee before speaking softly. “I don’t know how to be anyone or anything else.”

Waverly brought the hand not caressing Nicole’s jaw, up and ran it through messy red locks, drawing the redhead into a gentle kiss then pressed their foreheads together, looking deeply into sleepy brown eyes. “I know, it’s what I adore about you.”

Waverly looked to her right when Wynonna stopped next to her and leaned against the weather worn railing of the porch, taking a sip of her coffee that for once didn’t have whiskey in it (something Waverly was sure she should thank Nicole for).

She turned her attention back out into the yard, where Nicole was unloading the last of Waverly’s things from the bed of her truck, still wearing her boxers, Waverly’s slightly too tight t-shirt and the boots she had worn the night before. Which made her look absolutely ridiculous and adorable at the same time.

Both Earps had offered to help but Nicole had waved them both off, saying that they should spend time together and that she could handle the last bit of stuff herself.

“I get why you trust her so much,” Wynonna nodded towards the redhead, studying Waverly from the corner of her eye. “She kinda makes it hard not to.”

“She's a good person.” Waverly smiled softly at the redhead as she made her way up the porch steps with a box, smiling back at Waverly so wide her dimples showed.

“I threatened her,” Wynonna said when Nicole was out of earshot, stealing another glance at Waverly and shifting nervously, unsure of what her reaction might be.

She wasn’t sure if Waverly might think she was overstepping. She had been gone for so long, let Waverly down time and time again, hurt Waverly so much that Waverly might think she didn’t have a right to try and be a big sister now.

“Nonna!” Waverly exclaimed finally pulling her eyes from Nicole and giving Wynonna her full attention.

“I just warned her not to break the trust you placed in her and maybe it’s not my place, not now, not after everything.” Wynonna rubbed the back of her neck, looking anywhere but at her sister.

She wanted to apologize for not being there for Waverly, for running, for only thinking of herself all those years, for not being the big sister that Waverly deserved but, she knew that a simple ‘I’m sorry’ wouldn’t do, wouldn’t be enough.

It was all she had though. It was all she could give Waverly at the moment and she hoped that it would be enough for now. She hoped that one day Waverly forgive her for everything. She hoped that one day they could rebuild their relationship. She hoped that one day Waverly would trust her again.

“I’m sorry baby girl, for everything I’ve done,” Wynonna said quietly, looking down at her coffee cup, wishing it had a splash of whiskey in it. “For everything I didn’t do.”

Waverly bit down on her bottom lip, studying what bit of Wynonna’s face she could see, conflicted on whether or not she was ready to accept her apology.

She wanted to forgive her, wanted to trust her again. Wanted to believe that she wasn’t just going to up and leave at any given moment but she wasn’t ready yet.

As much as she wanted to ease the sorrow she had seen in Wynonna’s eyes before she looked down, she knew she couldn’t, not without lying, not without putting someone else’s feelings before her own once again.

One of the most important things Waverly had learned from Nicole was that she shouldn’t have to always put everyone else before herself, that she shouldn’t hide, shouldn’t pretend for the sake of other people.

“I’m not ready to forgive you just yet,” Waverly whispered, taking one of Wynonna’s hands in her own and squeezing lightly. “I need more time.”

She loved her sister, she really did but forgiving her before she was truly ready wouldn’t do either of them any good. She just hoped that Wynonna would understand, would give her the time she needed.

“ ‘Course.” Wynonna forced a smile, leaning forward to press a kiss into Waverly’s hair before stepping back and making her way inside. She understood, she really did but that didn’t make it any easier.

Waverly watched her go, frowning as Nicole walked back onto the porch, placing the box she was carrying down and moving to Waverly.

“Waves,” she spoke gently, reaching out to the younger woman, bringing her to her chest and resting her head on top of Waverly’s, listening for sounds of Wynonna returning. “You okay?”

“I think so,” Waverly mumbled into Nicole’s chest, snaking her arms around Nicole’s waist, pulling her closer and taking comfort in the strong, steady beat of her heart.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Maybe later,” Waverly said, her fingers running up and down Nicole’s back, enjoying the way Nicole’s chest vibrated lightly when Nicole hummed in contentment.

“Okay baby.”

Nicole sat down at her desk after clocking in, sipping her coffee and trying to suppress yet another a yawn and seriously regretting not taking Waverly up on her offer of a nap earlier in the day.

She had wanted to nap with Waverly. God, how she wanted to do something as simple as taking a nap in the middle of the day with the woman she loved but, she knew that if she had crawled into bed with Waverly then she wouldn’t wanted to have to drag her ass back out and home to shower for work.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Eric said, standing up from his desk, placing his stetson on his head then securing his pistol in it’s holster on his right hip. “We’re taking a ride to pay Levi a visit.”

Nicole groaned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. As much as she wanted to go and talk to this Levi guy, as much as she wanted to find Curtis’ killer, she just wanted a moment to rest her eyes and relax more.

“Can we stop for coffee on the way?” Nicole asked, standing up from her desk and jogging in place for a few moments, trying to work her heavy limbs and wake herself up some.

Eric watched her in amusement as she switched from jogging to doing jumping jacks before gathering her things and downing the last of her coffee.

“Haught date keep you up all night, Haught?” He asked with a smirk, opening the bottom left drawer of his desk and grabbed a redbull, tossing it at the rookie.

Nicole rolled her eyes at her partner, catching the can with ease. “You know who I was with last night.”

“Fine, let me rephrase my question,” he said as they made their way out of the station and towards his parked cruiser. “Did Waverly Earp keep you up all night?”

“She wasn't the Earp that kept me up all night, Wynonna has had trouble sleeping since coming to town so I offered to keep an eye on her and Waverly while she slept.”

“Are you even real?” Eric looked over at her, reaching out and poking her cheek with his pointer finger as Nicole tried slapping his hand away. “You’re so damn good and caring Nicole Haught and sometimes I think you’re too good to be true, to be real.”

There was awe and wonder in his tone that had Nicole’s pale cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she ducked her head. “I was just doing what I could to help.”

She didn’t want praise for doing something as simple as staying up so Wynonna could sleep. She didn’t want praise for just doing what she was raised to do. She didn’t want praise for doing what any decent person would have done.

Wynonna may be the town pariah. People may think she is crazy and cursed but she still deserved to be treated with kindness, she still deserved to have someone looking after her, caring for her.  

“I can count on one hand the number of people who would have done that for her, who would have cared enough to make sure she got some sleep, who cared enough to protect her,” Eric said, unlocking the cruiser and opening the driver side door, sliding into his seat. “People still only see the little girl who shot her father, the little girl who wrecked havoc everywhere she went.”

“Yeah well,” Nicole sighed, scrubbing her hand across her face as she shut the car door with the other. “The people here turned their back on Wynonna instead of helping her and in doing so, they made her into who she is.”

Eric started the car and put the car in reverse, placing his arm on the back of Nicole’s seat, looking over his shoulder as he back out of the parking space. “It seems like she’s getting her life together, walking the straight and narrow, workin’ with the law instead of breaking it.”

“For her’s and Waverly’s sake, I hope so,” Nicole looked out her window, watching the town and people that had done nothing but hurt the Earps pass by. “They’re both damaged in their own ways, both fighting their own demons, both trying to heal themselves but not realizing that no amount of healing will ever rid them completely of their pain, of their past.”

Eric looked over at her, studying her side profile before turning his eyes back to the road. “I take it you’re speaking from experiences.”

She was damaged in her own way as well, maybe not as severe as the Earps but, she was damaged, was broken in a way, was fighting her own demons, living breathing ones that were waiting for her to fail, to come crawling back to them, to come back to a place that was never home.

“We all have our own demons.”

“I suppose that’s true, the only difference is how one deals with them, some try to drown them in the bottom of a bottle, some suffer in silence, others hurt themselves in countless different ways.” Eric glanced over at her again, brows furrowed in concern for the rookie, worried that she may be dealing with things in an unhealthy way, though he had seen no signs of it. “How do you deal with yours?”

“I fight my demons every time I put this uniform on.”

“Your father?”

He knew little of Nicole’s father but, he did know that her father did not approve of her becoming a cop, of Trenten becoming a nurse and that their father made their lives extremely difficult for going against his wishes.

He didn’t understand how their father wasn’t proud of them and the people they had become. The Haught siblings were good kids, good people that never put themselves before anyone else. They were compassionate and looked out for others and Eric hoped that his daughter grew up to be half as decent as the Haught siblings.

Eric reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Those demons of yours ever get overwhelming, I’m here for ya.”

“Thanks Eric.”

When Eric pulled the police cruiser to a stop outside the trailer park's front gate, there was already a group of ten or so men standing there, each with a shotgun or rifle in hand, waiting, as if they knew they had been coming.

A man wearing a large, dark brown fur coat that was too hot for the weather, stood in the middle of the group, his black mohawk slicked back as he scratched at the part of his short beard that was dyed blonde, watching them like a hawk as Eric shut the car off.

The ringleader. Nicole guessed.

“Bobo,” Eric said before Nicole even had a chance to ask. “He owns the trailer park and he’s not the kind of guy you want to piss off.”

“Bobo,” Nicole laughed, dragging her eyes away from the man still staring at her and over to Eric, who looked more uneasy by the second. “How much did his parents hate him?”

“His real name is Robert but he doesn’t like to be called that, so stick to Bobo or Mr. Del Rey.” Eric unbuckled his seatbelt and stuff the car keys in the front pocket of his shirt. “No matter what, do not let any of these guys get behind you, do not draw your weapon unless you want five more pointing back at you, these guys are the scum of Purgatory Haught, do not underestimate them and stay with me at all times, understood?”

Nicole nodded as a bit of fear mixed with nervousness simmered just under the surface. She had never seen Eric look so uneasy, never seen him be anything other than calm and level headed while they were dealing the people of Purgatory.

“Alright Haught, let's do this.” Eric stepped out of the car, with Nicole following suit, slipping a pair of aviators on her face to battle the blinding sun that had yet to set.

“Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite Deputy, how are ya doin’ Eric?” Bobo asked, stepping forward to meet them halfway as the men behind him spread out some.

“I’m doin’ pretty well Mr. Del Rey,” Eric answered, hands coming up to rest on his utility belt. “And yourself?”

Nicole’s eyes scanned the men behind Bobo, watching closely for any kind of movement, watching for even the slightest twitch of a finger towards the trigger on the guns they carried.  She wasn’t going to let her guard down around these guys while Eric made small talk with them.

“Oh you know, same, old same old.”

“We stopped by to have a chat with Levi, he around?” Eric questioned, shifting uncomfortable on his feet as Bobo stepped closer to them.

“Sorry, you just missed him.” Bobo smiled in a way that showed how not sorry he really was. “He just up and left town in the middle of the night last night.”

The guys behind Bobo chuckled as if they knew something Nicole and Eric didn’t.

“He happen to mention where he was going?”

Bobo tapped his chin as if he was thinking on it. “Can’t say that he did.”

“Could we take a look around Mr. Levi’s former residents then?” Nicole asked, stepping forward when she realized that Eric doing all the talking wasn’t going to get them anywhere. This Bobo wasn’t going to give them anything unless he absolutely had to.

“Unless you have a warrant.” Bobo flicked her nameplate, leering at her. “ Officer Haught , I’m gonna say no but, I will be happy to give you a private tour of my trailer, starting with the bedroom, if you’d like.”

Nicole’s skin crawled as Bobo’s redneck buddies eyes roamed over her body but she refused to let her disgust, her discomfort show. She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.

“Sorry Robert but, you’re not my type.”  

He snapped his teeth at her as he glared, the anger apparent in his eyes. “Right, I forgot that you have a thing for the youngest Earp bitch.”

Nicole’s fist clenched at her side as she gritted her teeth. Nothing angered her more than someone disrespecting Waverly and as much as she wanted to punch this guy out, maybe yell at him to show some respect, she knew she couldn't not without risking her job.

She got away with punching Champ in uniform but she knew she wouldn’t get away with it this time and honestly, she didn’t want some guy like Bobo as an enemy.

He looked back at his buddies with a smirk. “Sweet, little Waverly Earp.” He bit his bottom lip and made a humming sound, his piercing blue grey eyes staring her down when he turned back to her. “Now that’s who’d I love to get into my bedroom.”

Before Nicole could react, Eric gripped her shoulder, pulling her backwards. “Thanks for your time, Mr. Del Rey.”

“Any time Officers!” He called after them. “I do hope to see you around Officer Haught.”

Nicole fought of a shiver. His tone made it sound more like a threat than anything else and Nicole didn’t doubt that the man would follow through with any threat he made.

“What now?” Nicole asked once they were safely back in the car.

“Now we find out where Levi went and what Bobo is hiding.”

Nicole was leaned back in her chair, eyes closed and feet propped up on her desk. It was almost midnight and she still had six hours left till she could go home and crawl in her bed and finally get some sleep.

The bell above the door chimed, signaling that someone had entered, causing Nicole to jerk upright, trying and failing to look like she hadn’t just been about to fall asleep on the job.

“I’m gonna pretend that I didn’t see you fast asleep,” Trent laughed as he made his way around the front desk, thermos in one hand and a tupperware container in the other. “I brought something to help keep you awake.”

“Oh God,” Nicole took the thermos first, untwisting the top and taking a long swig of the almost too hot coffee. “Have I told you lately that you’re my favorite brother?”

Trent shook his head with a smile, rolling another chair over to Nicole’s desk and sitting down. “Seeing as your other brothers are assholes, I figured I was by default.”

“You’re my favorite because you bring me coffee.” She grinned at him before her face turned serious.“And because you've always been there for me, always been on my side.”

“Yeah, yeah, no need to get sappy on me,” Trent opened the tupperware container and handing it over. “Chrissy made tacos for dinner.”

“She’s making you dinner,” Nicole commented, picking up one of the tacos. “Things getting serious between you two?”  

“Waverly makes you dinner, things serious between you?” Trent countered with a smirk. “So was it a date last night? Is that why you’re so tired? She keep you up all night?”

“It wasn’t a date,” Nicole said around a mouth full of taco, hand covering her mouth as she looked anywhere but Trent.

“Oh come on!” He exclaimed, rolling his eyes. “She went through the trouble to make your favorite meal, it was a date Nicky, whether you admit it or not.”

Nicole took another bite of taco to keep from having to say anything, not that it mattered, Trent kept talking.

“She hunted me down just so she could find out what your favorite thing to eat was, she took the time to make it for you, she cares about you, alot.” He stood up, getting ready to leave. Chrissy was waiting in the car and he didn't want to make her wait too long. “Just woman up and ask her out, she’ll say yes.”

With that, he kissed the top of her head and made his way out the station, leaving Nicole to stare after him with a smile. She honestly couldn’t ask for a better brother than Trenten.