17. Was That Necessary?

“Nicole,” Waverly said as she squeezed Nicole’s thigh, snapping her girlfriend out of it. 

Nicole realized she had been zoned out, staring out the window. “What?” Nicole asked, darting her eyes around for a second in worry.

“Sorry,” she said, placing her hand on her leg. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Put the ice pack on, we’re only three minutes away from the hospital.”

“Oh, right.” It had been a long drive; the closest hospital was 45 minutes away from the Homestead since they were in the middle of nowhere, so it didn't matter if she actually did put it back on or not. It had completely melted 20 minutes ago.

Waverly put the car in park after finally finding a parking spot after 10 minutes of driving around the lot. They stepped out and stretched for a few seconds before meeting each other around the front of the car. “You ready, Baby?” Waverly asked, holding her hand out.

“Let’s get this over with,” she sighed, taking her hand and interlocking their fingers. They walked into the large building and went up to the front desk of the ER.

“Good afternoon, Ladies. You here to check in?” the receptionist asked.

“Hi. Yes, we are,” Nicole answered with a small smile.

“Neither of you are seriously injured, am I correct?”

“Unless this is seriously injured,” Waverly said with a sigh, pulling her hand up over the counter. “Then no.” Nicole gave her a look.

She widened her eyes a bit at her hand. “Oh, wow, ok. Well, here’s your paperwork. Just bring it up here when you’re done with it. Go ahead and have a seat, and we’ll try to get a Triage nurse to get your vitals as soon as possible,” she said with a smile, handing them a clipboard and a pen.

“Alright, thanks,” Nicole replied. They made their way to one of the two loveseats in the waiting room and sat down. There were a pretty decent amount of other people in there that Nicole noticed as she was looking around. Some of them just looked sick, but there was a man with a bloody towel pressed against his forehead and an older woman with a badly bruised arm. Waverly set the clipboard on her lap and Nicole gently placed the pen in her hand. “My handwriting is already shit, so the person who has to read this should be really excited,” she mumbled, starting to write her name at the top of the paper.

“You want me to fill it out for you?” 

Nicole looked up at her with a brow cocked. She hadn’t really thought about that. “Uh, yeah, thanks,” she said with a smile, placing it in her lap. 

She finished filling out her name, then circled female, and wrote in the month and day of her birthday. “Year?” she asked, clicking the pen a few times.

“1990,” she answered, placing her arm across the back of the couch and holding Waverly’s shoulder.

Waverly’s brows shot up. “26?! You’re an old woman!” she said in a granny voice, wiggling her fingers around on her ribs, making Nicole lurch forward.

“Waverly!” She swatted her hand away, glancing around at the handful of people that were now staring at them. Waverly had a pleased smirk on her face, and Nicole shook her head. She put her arm back around her shoulders and leaned back, throwing her right foot over her left knee.

Waverly continued on, asking her questions when needed. “How did your injury occur?” she asked sarcastically.

“Hmm. Well. Some fuck-truck spewed some bullshit comments at my girlfriend so I pretended the hood of my car was his face,” she said with an obnoxious grin.

Waverly scooted closer to her and kissed her cheek with a smile. “Such a badass,” she hummed, writing Got mad and punched car hood down on the paper.

Nicole glanced down at it with a purse of her lips. “Well, that’s not as fun.”

“Yeah. Exactly.” Nicole laughed, leaning forward and grabbing one of the magazines off the table. Waverly looked back down at the paper. “What’s next . . . Oh, emergency contact?”

Nicole looked over at her a bit confused, bringing her hand down to squeeze her thigh. “You, obviously.”

“Wh- Me? Why me?” 

“Who else would I put, Waves? Nedley?” she asked with a chuckle.

“I . . . don't know,” she mumbled, jotting her name and number down.

Nicole kissed her temple and opened the magazine. “Actin’ like you ain’t the best thing that’s happened to me,” she mumbled under her breath, turning the page.

Waverly looked over at her with her mouth open in a tiny smile. “Can you not be cute for, like, two seconds?” she asked softly, leaning her head on her shoulder.

Nicole looked over at her with her cheeks pink. “Nah.”

Waverly rolled her eyes and stood up. “I’m giving this to the lady. Stay put.” Nicole nodded, and Waverly gave her a peck before walking off. Nicole watched her for a few seconds and then went back to her magazine.

“You better marry that one.”

Nicole quickly looked up at the woman with the bruised arm, who was looking at her with a kind smile. “I, uh, I’m hoping to, Ma’am,” she mumbled without even realizing it, looking over at her girlfriend, who was having a chat with the receptionist. Waverly happened to look over at her and smiled a wide smile, and Nicole did the same. Their vision was locked on one another for a few seconds until Waverly dipped her head and went back to her conversation with the lady at the counter.

The older woman shook her head in awe, resituating her hurt arm on her lap. “Love is a magical thing. Some are lucky enough to find it, some aren’t. But, you, my dear, have certainly found it.”

“I sure have,” she said in a breathy voice, taking one more look at Waverly, who had just started walking back. She looked back at the woman with a smile, and the woman gave her a wink.

“Miss me?” Waverly asked, plopping back down next to her and leaning her head on the armrest that was on Nicole’s side.

Nicole brought her arm down and rested it on her stomach. “Nope,” she teased with a smirk, popping the p.

“Mmm. Good. I have to say, I was thrilled to get a break from your cocky ass,” Waverly smirked, twirling a red lock around her finger.

“I’m a cop, I have to be. It worked on you, didn’t it?” Nicole asked, flicking her earlobe with her thumb. “You still owe me that coffee, by the way.”  

“I did agree to that, didn’t I?” Waverly mumbled.

“Unfortunately you did, Ma’am,” she confirmed in her officer drawl.

Waverly’s eyelashes fluttered a bit and her mouth came open. “You’re not allowed to do that to me,” she muttered.

Nicole let out a chuckle and traced her fingers along her abs with a raised brow. “Says who?”

“Says my ability to hold it together,” Waverly answered.

Nicole licked her bottom lip. “Section 2 of The Charter says every citizen here has the Freedom of Expression. So I’m afraid to tell you, Ms. Earp, that by law, ‘cause I’m not hurting anyone or anything, I may say as I please,” she recited in her drawl again.

Waverly bit the sides of her cheeks and shook her head at her. “You’re hurting my underwear,” she whispered through her teeth.

Nicole let out a snort and covered her mouth, turning her head away. “Waverly Earp, we’re in a hospital,” she whispered back when she looked back down at her.

“That’s not my fault!"

“Nicole Haught!” a nurse called from across the room.

Waverly sat up off her lap and Nicole stood. “You can go . . . fix your situation,” she said with a wink as she walked away. Waverly’s eyes widened and she said a few curses under her breath with a smile plastered across her face.

The nurse and Nicole walked into a small room that was attached to the waiting room. She weighed her and measured her. “5 foot 8 and a half,” the nurse mumbled as she walked over to her tablet to log the information.

“You sure it's not 5’9? I’m pretty sure I’m 5’9,” Nicole said with a smile.

The nurse looked up at her but quickly back down to hide a blush. “I-I’m sure,” she answered. “Now I need to take your blood pressure.” She pointed to a chair and Nicole sat down. “Can you take this off for me?” She gestured to her jacket and Nicole did so. The nurse placed the band around her arm and began squeezing the ball. “How’d you do that anyway . . . if you don’t mind me asking?”

“No, it's fine. My girlfriend and I were at dinner last night, and this dude started complaining about us and called her- us the f-word. It made me pissed and I kinda punched the crap out of my car after we left,” she explained.

The nurse undid the band on her arm after she got the reading. “Wow, that’s really horrible. People are jerks, I’m sorry,” she sighed with a sympathetic look on her face. Nicole nodded with a shrug, clenching her jaw. She took a few more of her vitals and then did a quick examination of her hand, asking a few questions. “Ok, well, I will send a slip to our x-ray tech and we’ll try to get you in there ASAP. It definitely seems broken to me, but that’s just my opinion.” She gave Nicole a smile as she slipped her jacket back on.

“Alright, thank you so much."

“No problem. Just go ahead back to the waiting room.” Nicole gave her a wave and walked out. She walked back to the couch and sat down next to Waverly, who had begun reading her magazine.

“What’d she say?” she asked, fiddling with a crease on Nicole’s pant leg after having dropped her hand to her thigh.

“She said she thinks it's broken. She sent in a thingy so I’m in line for the x-ray. Waverly groaned and wrapped her arm around Nicole’s, leaning her head on her shoulder. They sat like that for a little while. 

“What are you gonna do about work?” Waverly asked, breaking the silence. 

“I guess I’ll be on paperwork duty, but then again, I probably won’t be able to write.” She rubbed her face. “Whe- . . . When are you gonna go back to work?” she asked, dropping her tone a bit.

“I- I don’t know. I haven’t even been back there yet,” she said softly. “Now that Gus is living with us and has basically taken over my position there, I don’t feel like I need to rush. Do I?” Gus had convinced the sisters that until Waverly was back on her normal routine, she would be staying there, no but’s about it.

“No, I don’t think so,” Nicole assured. “It's only been a few days, Wave, and you’ve been doing amazing. But you need to take your time with the future steps, ok?”

“It's almost been a week,” she mumbled, tightening her grip on her arm.

Nicole shifted her body to face her, cupping her cheek. “Hey. Don’t think about that. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been. What matters is that you’re here and you stay.” She wiped the single tear from her cheek and wrapped her arm around the Waverly’s waist, pulling her into her. “You’re gonna get through this, I promise,” she whispered, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

“We’re gonna get through this,” Waverly corrected, looking up into her girlfriend’s eyes, and Nicole nodded with a small smile.

“Officer Haught!” a voice called. They looked over and saw a young man in scrubs standing with a tablet, leaning on the doorframe. Nicole stood up and held out her hand for Waverly, who took it. They walked toward the man. “Hello, I'm Dr. Evans,” he said with a smile. “I’ll be doing your x-ray. Please follow me.”

“How’d he know I’m a cop?” Nicole whispered to Waverly as they walked.

“I might have mentioned it to the receptionist,” she replied with a smirk. 

“Ma’am, I have to ask that you wait out here,” he said to Waverly when they reached the room. 

“Okie dokie,” she replied, turning towards Nicole. “Good luck.” She raised herself on up her tippy-toes and gave her a quick kiss. 

Nicole nodded with a smile and followed the doctor into the room. He explained what they were going to do and that they would be taking multiple pictures of her hand. “Alright, so if you would sit in this chair here and put your hand on this plate, I’ll get you your lead vest real fast.” He walked off to the hooks on the wall. Nicole sat down and decided she would need to take her jacket off again, so she did so. Dr. Evans came back and gently propped the heavy vest across her front. “First we need one with your hand flat,” he said, looking at her and waiting for her to do it.

“Uh, little problem there, Doc, can’t really open my hand,” she mumbled, scratching the back of her head.

“Ook . . . let see then.” He walked around to the front of the table and placed each of his hands on the sides of her hand. “Tell me if it hurts too much,” he said with a little worry on his face.

“I promise I won’t hit you,” she said with a chuckle to hide her nervousness. He eyed her and stuck his fingers under her pinky and pointer finger and began to slowly open them, sliding them in further as the space between her palm and fingers got wider. Her hand began to tremble as he got further, feeling as if her knuckle was being ripped apart. By halfway, Nicole could taste the blood from her cheeks starting to run onto her tongue and was seeing black spots. She couldn’t even tell if she was breathing or not.

Finally, after 10 more seconds, her hand was open and he gently rested it against the plate, looking up at her. She assumed her face was not it's normal color judging by the look on his face.

“Are you o-”

“Go take the damn picture,” she growled through her teeth. He adjusted the camera to the correct placement and rushed behind the wall, clicking a button. The machine made a humming noise for a few seconds, then stopped. The doctor came back out and quickly walked up to her. He brought the camera closer to her hand and dashed back behind the wall, resulting in the same process.

She heard him mumble something to himself and then he came back around, lips pursed. “I . . . I need another view with your hand flipped over,” he said, clasping his hands nervously. Nicole let out a breath and slowly flipped her hand over. She noticed the intense bruising on the underside of her hand. He adjusted the camera again and took the picture. “Ok, all done!” he called from behind the wall.

She dropped her head and curled her hand back up, bringing it to her chest. “You’re knocking me out if you have to do that again,” she grumbled, standing up and placing the vest on the table, pulling her jacket back on.

“I’m sorry about that, Officer,” he apologized, opening the door for her. She groaned an ‘it’s fine’ and walked over to Waverly.

Waverly stood up and eyed her nervously. “Baby?” she whispered, grabbing her upper arms.

“Guess who had to open their fist?” she mumbled with an annoyed smile. Waverly gave her an apologetic frown.

“I’ll take you guys to your room,” Dr. Evans said, and the girls followed him to an exam room. It had a few chairs, a hospital bed, and a desk with a computer. He told them the Orthopedist would be in soon to discuss the results of the x-ray with her. They thanked him and he left, closing the door behind him. Nicole hopped up on the bed and got comfy while Waverly pulled one of the chairs up next to her and leaned on the armrest of the bed.

“Nicole!” Waverly shrieked, lifting her hand up to examine it. It had swollen profusely since the last time she had seen it.

Nicole’s eyebrows raised, but she wasn’t that surprised. “I told you he made me stretch it out,” she mumbled. “What time is it?” 

Waverly pulled out her phone. “3:30,” she answered. “Why?”

“We’ve been here for almost two hours already?”

“Yep.” Nicole groaned at that, and Waverly reached down and interlocked their fingers on her good hand, trying to calm Nicole down a little bit. “I don’t think it’ll be too much longer, Nic.”

“I’m hungry and tired and wanna go home so we can cuddle and not have to worry about anything,” she muttered lethargically.

Waverly clenched her jaw, knowing there was nothing she could do other than be there for her. “Shh, I know, Baby, I know. I don’t wanna be here either.” She rubbed her fingers down her cheek. Nicole reached up and snatched the hat off her head, tossing it onto one of the chairs across the room with a gunt before running her hand through her hair a few times. She looked over at Waverly with pain in her red eyes, and Waverly swallowed hard, climbing up into the bed next to her girlfriend. Yeah, this probably wasn’t allowed, but that was the least of her worries right now. She pulled Nicole into her arms, and Nicole scooted in between her legs, sitting sideways and laying the side of her head against her chest. Waverly whispered reassurances in her ear and rubbed her hand up and down her side until she calmed down a little bit. 

.  .  .

It had been about an hour and they were still sitting in that room. No doctors or nurses had come in the whole time. Waverly was getting antsy, and it didn’t help that she really had to pee. “Nic?”

“Hmm?”

“You want me to go get you something? Like a snack or a drink? You haven’t eaten anything today,” Waverly asked, stroking her hair.

“Coffee. And snack. I don’t care what,” she mumbled back, pushing herself off her girlfriend so she could get up.  

Waverly nodded and climbed off the bed. “I’ll be right back, ok?” she assured, tilting her chin up with her finger. Nicole nodded, and Waverly gave her a quick kiss, grabbed her purse, and left, gently closing the door behind her.

Nicole resituated herself on the bed and pulled out her phone. There was nothing in the room to keep them entertained. No TV, no nothing, so she decided Candy Crush was the best option to keep her from passing out from boredness.

She had almost finished a level when the door opened. She looked up, expecting Waverly, but the lady doctor who walked in the room was definitely not her.

“I’m so sorry for the wait, we had an emergency in the-” The doctor paused when she looked up from her tablet, meeting Nicole’s wide eyes.

___

Waverly got in the elevator at the end of the hall after she got out of the bathroom, and thanks to the helpful map on the wall, she clicked the button for the second floor to get to the cafeteria.

She stepped out after the doors reopened and followed the signs, ending up in a nicer than expected cafeteria. She walked over to the coffee stand and poured two cups of the bitter liquid, adding some cream and sugar to each. She placed a lid on them and looked around, finding a line of vending machines. There was one for chips, one for candy, and one for soda and other drinks. She smiled when she noticed that there were Cheez-Its in the chip machine, thinking back to the day it all started. After digging around in her wallet, she found a $5, slipped it into the machine, and punched in the code for them twice. Grabbing the two bags of chips that it spit out at the bottom and her change, Waverly gathered the coffees and walked back to the elevator.

She was moseying down the hall back towards their room but started walking slower when she heard yelling coming from that direction. She recognized one of the voices as Nicole’s and quickly picked up the pace. Their voices became clearer as she got closer.

“-you tell her about your PTSD, Nicole?!”

“ ‘Cause I think I love her, ok?! And I don't wanna hurt her!”

“Love!? You met her a week ago!”

“That doesn’t mean-”

Waverly swung the door open, causing both women to pause their argument. Waverly noticed Nicole was up from the bed and in the lady doctors face. “What the hell is going on in here?!” she demanded with a huff, setting the stuff down on the desk next to her.

“We’re just having a chat about how much of a dumbass Nicole is,” the doctor snarked.

“Shae!” Nicole barked.

“Ok, that doesn’t tell me who you are and why you’re fighting in a hospital!” Waverly snapped, inching closer to the duo.

“I’m her wife,” the doctor- Shae grumbled.

Waverly’s breath stalled and she looked at Nicole wide-eyed. “Ex-wife,” Nicole corrected, stepping closer to Waverly and placing her hand on her arm. “Someone just doesn’t want to sign the paperwork!”

Waverly let out the breath she had been holding and stepped away from Nicole, putting herself in between the two women. “Alright. Here’s what we’re gonna do. You are gonna go sit in that bed and act like the hurt patient you are, and you are gonna tell us what’s wrong with her as her doctor.” She gave both women a glare, and Nicole knew she meant business, so she trudged over to the bed and sat down with a cross of her arms. Waverly grabbed the coffees off the desk and shoved one at Nicole, sitting next to her on the edge of the hospital bed.

Shae went to the mobile computer station she had brought with her and clicked around on it for a few seconds, mumbling things to herself under her breath. She pulled the station with her and turned it to face them with a sigh. She pulled a pen out of her pocket and pointed it at the screen, clearing her throat. “Mk, so-”

“Oh my God,” Waverly gasped as she looked at the x-ray on the screen. Her hand moved to Nicole’s thigh with a grip.

“Yeah . . . the knuckle of your second metacarpal is basically shattered, and your first metacarpal is fractured about half an inch below the knuckle, most likely from the impact and angle of the punches,” Shae explained, pointing around on the screen as she spoke. “It almost seems like there was already swelling there or something ‘cause it usually doesn’t break like that unless it has been stressed recently.” She looked at Nicole, expecting an explanation.

“Yeah, there was . . . But, that’s none of your concern, Doctor,” Nicole snarked, eyeing her.

Waverly cleared her throat a bit. “So, what are you gonna do about it?” she asked.

“Uhm, well, right now we’re gonna put you in a cast to stabilize it . . . until you can get surgery to repair it.” Shae looked back and forth between the two of them. “We’ll probably have to put pins and wires up in there to help stabilize it so it heals properly.”

“Ok, let’s hop to it then,” Nicole sighed.

Shae pulled her cart towards the door. “What color do you want?” she asked, opening the door.

“Huh?”

“Cast. What color cast?”

Nicole looked at Waverly with a raise of her brow, knowing that she really didn’t care. “Neon green,” Waverly answered with a smirk.

“N-” She pursed her lips when Waverly gave her a look.

“Neon green it is,” Shae said with an eye roll, closing the door behind her.

Waverly got up off the bed and walked to the desk, grabbing the two bags of Cheez-Its and chucking one at Nicole, hitting her right on the side of the face. Nicole stood up and walked over to her. “Waves. I was-” She stopped when Waverly put her hand up.

“Nic, I don’t care. Yeah, it would have been really nice to know, but you chose not to tell me for a reason and I’m gonna respect that.”

“Ok . . . then . . . why are you mad at me?” she asked cautiously.

"‘Cause you decided to have a screaming war in the middle of a hospital! There are sick people everywhere, Nicole. Did either of you even think about that?”

“She started it,” Nicole mumbled, taking a sip of coffee. She looked back up at her girlfriend with puppy dog eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Waverly pursed her lips to hide a smile and shook her head with a sigh. “Go eat your snack,” she muttered, pulling her top lip in with her tongue. Nicole smirked and went back to the bed, grabbing the bag that fell on the floor. She plopped back on the bed and was mid-situating herself when Waverly jumped onto her lap and cupped her neck, pulling her into a much-needed kiss. Nicole chuckled and slipped her hand onto her waist under the jacket as Waverly started to grind her hips down into her.

Their heavy makeout session only lasted a few minutes because Nicole pulled back for air when she heard her stomach growl. “I think I need my snack now,” she mumbled, still out of breath.

“I’m a snack,” Waverly reasoned.

Nicole snorted, pushing her off her lap. “That you are,” she agreed, handing her the bag to open.

“And a funny one at that,” Waverly replied, handing it back now-opened.

“Mhm.” Nicole shoved a few crackers in her mouth and laid back on the bed, crossing her ankles out in front of her.

“I’m gonna take a guess that you didn’t know she worked here,” Waverly mumbled after a few minutes, looking over at Nicole with a raise of her brows.

“Nope. I guess she got transferred. It's been a while so . . .” She noticed Waverly was looking at her with a hint of curiosity. “You wanna hear the story, huh?”

Waverly blushed. “Maybe,” she mumbled.

“Buckle up, it's a bumpy ride,” she said with a sigh. “It all started a little over three years ago. I was in- wait for it . . . Las Vegas, Nevada.”

“Oh . . . Ooooooooooooooh.”

Nicole laughed as she watched her put it together in her head. “Yeaaaaah . . . Brittany Live and a big win at the slot machine will do that to you. She ended up coming with me back to Canada, literally dropping her whole life in the states, it was crazy, and she moved into my old apartment with me. What we had was fun, but we both knew it wouldn’t last. It wasn’t really love. She moved out after about seven months. I gave her the signed divorce papers that day, but she never ended up signing them for some reason.” She shook her head with a look of annoyance on her face.

“Well, maybe she will now,” Waverly said, patting her leg.

“I hope so,” she sighed, tilting the rest of the bag into her mouth. “That fight we had today was nothing compared to some of the other ones she’s started. It was always her way or the highway. Still is I guess.” She balled the bag up in her hand but paused and shifted a bit towards Waverly. “How- Uh, how much of that did you hear?”

Waverly’s cheeks reddened a bit. “Enough,” she mumbled with a smile, kissing her on the cheek.

Nicole almost said something else, but a knock at the door interrupted her. An older woman with a metal cart came in. “Hi there, Dear! I’m Cherry. I’ll be doin’ your cast today,” she said with a kind smile rolling the cart up to the bedside.

Nicole sat up and swung her legs off the side. “Hi."

“Lime green, aye?”

“That wasn’t my decision,” she sighed, knowing Waverly had a proud smile on her face.

“Ah, I see. Well, you, My Dear, are actually gonna help me,” she said, gesturing towards Waverly.

She got off the bed and went around to the other side. “Ok. What can I do?” 

“You get to hold her fingers out straight cause I know she won’t hit you,” she answered with a toothy grin.

The couple looked at each other wide-eyed. “Noo,” Nicole whined.

“It’s the only way I will be able to get the cast on, Hun. You'll get used to it after a while anyway, I promise.”

She let out a whined groan. “Ok, let’s get this over with.” Waverly sat on the edge of the bed and Nicole took her jacket off and propped her arm up on top of the cart.

“I’ll try to do this as fast as I can,” Cherry assured.

Nicole nodded and looked at Waverly. “You ready?” Waverly  asked.

“Nope,” she sighed.

Waverly swallowed and grabbed her fingers, slowly prying them open, wincing and cringing with apologies as she did so. It was a lot faster than Dr. Evans did it, which Nicole preferred, even though it hurt more. She could taste the blood in her mouth again by the end. “You ok, Nic?” Waverly asked as Cherry held a stockinette up to Nicole's arm for measurements.

“Never better,” she groaned with a smile. Cherry slipped a smaller stockinette over her thumb and then placed some padding between her pointer and middle and middle and ring fingers and pulled another stockinette over them. “Why that?”

“‘Cause they’re going in the cast, too. Did your doctor not mention it would be a three-finger cast?”

“My doctor was my ex-wife, Cherry, do you think she mentioned it?” Nicole asked with a glare.

“Nic, quit,” Waverly grumbled.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“It’s ok. I’m sorry ‘bout that. But leavin’ your fingers to hang out all by themselves would do you no good, don’t ya think?” Cherry asked, slipping the final stockinette up to about mid-way on her arm.

“That’s true, I guess.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Alright, so, now I’m gonna apply the padding,” Cherry said as she grabbed a white roll from one of the shelves on the cart. She rolled it up and down her arm a few times until it was an inch or so thick. She set the roll down and pulled a pair of gloves on. “The outside of your cast is gonna be fiberglass, so ya need to be careful if it starts to peel, that you don't scratch yourself or anyone else with it,” Cherry warned as she rung out a neon green roll into a bag. She rolled it on slowly, pressing it down as she went. “Can you feel it getting warm?”

“Yeah,” Nicole answered.

“Good, good.” Cherry finished up the casting job as Waverly watched her and Nicole intently. “So, don’t pick at it, don't stick anything down in there to scratch it, don’t bang it on anything, and don’t get it wet. Sound fair?” Nicole nodded. “Ok good. Dr. Pressman should be back here to discuss further information with you. Good luck!” she called as she pushed the cart out the door. 

“Thank you!” they called back in unison.

As the door closed, Nicole slumped back on the bed. “This hurts like a motherfucker!” she groaned, holding it to her chest.

“I’m sorry, Baby,” Waverly mumbled, climbing back up next to her. “Like Cherry said, you won’t even notice after a while, ok?”

A few minutes later, the door came open and Shae walked in. “Cherry forgot to give you this,” she said as she flung a sling at Nicole. “Wear it every day all day until next Sunday ‘cause that’s your surgery date. Get here at 10 am. You’re scheduled to go under at 12, so don’t drink alcohol the night before, but, uh, that might be a little hard for you.” She shot Nicole a dirty look.

“You know I'm not like that anymore, you bitch!” Nicole was off the bed and starting for her, but Waverly caught her arm.

“Sit down,” she demanded through her teeth. Nicole sighed and did so, jaw clenched sharply.

“Ooh, you have tamed her well,” Shae chuckled.

“What else do you want?” Waverly snapped, walking up to Shae with eyes filled with warning.

“I got her a present.” Waverly took the folder and pulled the papers out. They were new divorce papers that Shae had signed. There was a line for Nicole’s name and sticky notes on the other pages where she needed to fill it out.

Waverly handed it to her, and Nicole glanced down at it before looking back up at her with a huff. “Why didn’t you just sign mine?” she complained. 

“They expired,” Shae grumbled, tossing a pen at her. “I got these the other day and planned on bringing them to you, but you came here, so good timing.”

“Mmm, thanks, took you long enough.” She positioned the pen in her fingers, which was even more difficult than it was with no cast. She flipped through the papers, filling it out where need be. She slipped them back in the folder and tossed it to Shae, along with the pen. “Nice doing business with ya,” she muttered. “Can we leave now?”

“Please do,” Shae answered, slamming the door behind her as she left. Nicole let out a raspberry and stood up, slipping her jacket back on. She grabbed her hat off the chair and picked up her coffee.

It hadn’t been until then that she realized that Waverly was glaring at her with her arms crossed. “Was that necessary?” she asked when she met her eyes.

“What? I told you she’s a bitch, Waves,” Nicole mumbled, walking towards her.

Waverly rolled her eyes and let her hands fall to her girlfriend’s hips. “And you should be the bigger person by not being one back.”

“Yeah, well . . . she’s just really a bitch.”

Waverly smiled up at her and nodded her head in agreement. “C’mon. If I remember correctly, we have some Taco Bell to pick up.” Nicole’s face lit up. Waverly gathered her things and they walked out of the room hand in hand.

.  .  .

“I don't like your sister. She doesn’t like Chalupas,” Nicole grumbled, making her way up the stairs.

“I just don’t like her,” Waverly muttered as they walked into her room. “Why do you have to go to work?” she complained, flopping onto the bed.

“‘Cause I need an income,” she answered in the same whiney voice, walking over to the closet and pulling her uniform down. She tossed her snapback onto her bag on the floor and pulled her shoes off.

“But you could be snuggling here with me all night instead of sitting at a desk,” Waverly persuaded. She was laying on her stomach at the end of the bed with her feet swaying in the air.

“Though that would be amazing, I don’t think Nedley would appreciate that. I'm already gonna miss a week or so when I get surgery.” She yanked her t-shirt off and pulled her tank top on.

“What time do you have to be there tonight?”

“My shift starts at seven and ends at three, but I need to go feed CJ and stuff first.” She danced out of her pants and pulled her khakis off the hanger.

Waverly pushed herself off the bed and walked up to her, placing her hands on her waist from behind. “You’re gonna be so tired, though,” she mumbled near her ear. Nicole turned around and Waverly slid her arms around her back, clasping them as she smiled up at her.

Nicole sighed and placed the pants on her head. “Hold these,” she said with a chuckle as she grabbed her top off the final hanger. Waverly whined and tossed them on the bed. Nicole pulled her shirt on, yanking the sleeve over her cast. “Can you button me?”

Waverly rolled her eyes and stepped closer to her, bringing the bottom button and hole together. “You’re gonna leave me all alone with Willa?” she pouted before letting out a dramatic sigh.

“Wynonna and Gus are totally not here, too.” Waverly shot her a look as she finished the 3rd to last button at the top, leaving two open just how Nicole liked it. “Thank you.” She gave her a peck on the forehead and grabbed her pants off the bed. She pulled them on and got Waverly to tuck her shirt in for her.

“Ima miss you,” Waverly said softly, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes.

“I’ll miss you, too, Waves,” she mumbled back, pulling her in for a quick kiss. She walked over to her bag and threw all of her clothes in it, along with the hangers. She zipped it and pulled her boots on, successfully tying them after a few trial and errors. She stood and threw the strap of her gym bag over her shoulder, shoving her phone and wallet into her pocket before walking over to a sad Waverly. “M’kay, I’m gonna head out now.”

Waverly pulled her into a hug, gripping the back of her shirt. She held her close for a good couple of seconds. “G’bye, Nic,” she sighed into her uniform.

“Bye, Baby.” Waverly pulled back and gave her a half-hearted smile. Nicole kissed her nose and headed for the door.

She was down the first step when she heard Waverly clear her throat. “Forget something?” Nicole looked back and she saw Waverly holding the sling out in front of her. Nicole sighed in annoyance and took it. Waverly followed her to the bottom of the stairs and helped her slip it on.

“I don’t see what the point of this is,” she grumbled. “My arm’s not broken.”

“It’s to stabilize your hand,” Waverly reasoned. Nicole huffed and headed towards the living room. “I expect you to wear that during your whole shift. Don’t think I won’t get Nedley to tell me if you’re slacking off.”

“I will just for you,” Nicole sighed, dropping her hand to her hip.

“Mhm. You better,” she mumbled with a little smirk, standing up on her toes and pulling her in for a kiss.

“Blech!”

 They pulled away, rolling their eyes. “Bye, Wynonna,” Nicole sighed.

“Bye, Haught Dog,” Wynonna called back, raising a beer to her lips. “Don’t have too much fun tonight, wouldn’t want you to need a neon pink one, too!”

“Ha ha, hilarious. Ok, I’m leaving. Bye Gus, bye Willa!” Nicole pulled open the front door.

“Bye!” they said in unison.

“Please be careful,” Waverly warned as Nicole walked towards her cruiser.

She opened the door and placed her Stetson on her head. “Always am, Ma’am.” She tipped her hat with a wink and climbed in the car.