40. To Infinity And Beyond

       Waverly gasped, eyes popping out of her head from shock, wrapping both of her hands around the arm gripping her neck. Nicole was now just as horrified as she was. She quickly let her go, shoving the gun back into her holster. 

       “OhmyGodWave,” She breathed, eyes still bulging. She pulled her earbuds out and began to back away from her. “I-I-I didn’t-” The brunette launched herself at her, squeezing her arms around her middle, letting the sobs break free. The Officer slowly brought herself back to reality, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl tightly and tilting her head, resting her good cheek on her shoulder. She began to cry just as much, if not harder than Waverly. 

       “I’m so sorry,” the brunette bawled. 

       “I’m sorry-er,” Nicole croaked.

       Waverly pulled away, meeting her eyes. It was only now that she took in the damage on her face. “Oh my God!” She cried, cupping the bottom of her jaw. “I’m going to rip her eyes out, see how she likes it.”

       Nicole swallowed, shaking her head. “No . . . I deserved it.” 

       “Why in the world would you deserve this?” She asked softly. 

       “Cause I hurt you,” she mumbled. The look of shame on her face made Waverly cry harder. 

       “Yea, well, I shouldn’t have been a bitch in the first place. I had no right to try and tell you what to do.”

       “That doesn’t matter. I should have never yelled at you like that no matter what you said . . . an-and I-I’m so s-sorry. I don’t know wh-what I was thinking.” She covered her face with her hands. “I made you c-cry and then I just l-left.” She dropped her arms back to her sides. “Who does that?!”

       Waverly grabbed her hands, pulling her to sit down on the couch. They sat criss-cross in front of one another. “I’m not mad anymore, ok?” The redhead furrowed her brows. “I’m the one who screwed up. You had every right to get pissed at me. It’s your life, your job. It doesn’t matter what I think. I’m not the boss of you, and I’m sorry I try to be sometimes. I’m still getting used to being with somebody who doesn’t have the mentality of a 14-year-old. But that’s no excuse for me trying to tell you what you can and cannot do cause . . . that- that’s not right. I’m just . . . really, really sorry. I promise I’ll never do it again.”

       Nicole smiled, squeezing her hands. “I forgive you. But . . . I thought you were pissed at me? Like, really pissed.”

       Waverly laughed a little. “I was, trust me.” She pulled the card out of her pocket. “But then I found this, and I realized it was stupid because life’s too short and I love you too much.”

       Nicole took the card, looking down at it with a smile. “Do you know how nervous I was when we first met?” She asked, tapping the card on her hand. 

       “You were nervous?!” She gasped, leaning forward onto her palms with a wide smile, resting her elbows on the sides of her knees. “You seemed so confident!”

       She snorted. “Yea, no, not at all. I remember . . .”

-  -  -

       Officer Haught was sitting in a parking lot radaring cars. She had been there watching them drive passed for about 2 hours and was about to call it a day and head up to Shorty’s. Her boss had recommended earlier that she go get a feel for the bar because she would surely be making quite a few visits there in the future. She shifted the car out of park and began to pull closer to the exit, noticing that the red Jeep that stopped at a stop sign about 20 yards up the road had a tail light out. She smirked, pulling out in its direction. Why not go bother someone about a little offense? She had nothing better to do, after all. Nicole pressed on the gas a little bit to catch up to the car and once she reached a reasonable distance behind it, she flicked her lights on. The car immediately slowed down, pulling off to the side of the road. She climbed out of her cruiser, removing her Stetson, and smoothed back her hair as she walked up to the car. The window rolled down and a pair of scared hazel eyes met her’s. The woman’s voice trembled as she greeted her. She wasn’t sure if she was scared of her or if she was scared because she was hiding something. 

       “Hello, Ma’am. It's a nice evening isn’t it?” She hoped that when she looked away, the brunette hadn’t caught her swallowing the nerves in her throat. She had seen her fair share of beautiful women, but this girl. This girl was a whole new kind of beautiful. She looked back to the woman, heart thumping in her throat as she subliminally traced her eyes over every aspect of her face. The brunette began to try and explain herself, sputtering 10 words a second. Nicole furrowed her brow at her, now feeling like the biggest asshole on the planet. It’s always a great first impression to make the girl cry. She placed her hand on top of her’s in hopes to calm her down, but a spark flew through her as the girl looked down at their hands, mouth slowly falling open. Officer Haught informed her in a soft voice the real reason of why she had pulled her over, instantly watching her body relax. She didn’t want to be a weirdo, so she pulled her hand away, tucking her thumbs in her belt, a habit she had picked up when she joined the force. Before she could realize it, she had a killer smile plastered across her face. But she went with it. If she was reading her right, she seemed to be the slightest bit interested in her. And she didn’t like to be a humblebrag, but her Gaydar was usually at least 98% accurate. “I’ll still need to see your license and registration, though. It's protocol.”

       The brunette fumbled around with her things, obviously at a loss for words for a few seconds. “Oh, right. I, uh, I didn’t realize that it burned out. Sorry I went on a tangent. It's usually my sister having to deal with the police. I just got scared there for a second.” The giggle that escaped her lips made Nicole’s heart flutter.

       She took her cards and tipped her hat, walking back to her cruiser, totally not swaggering her walk even the slightest bit. “HolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshitHolyshit,” she sputtered quietly the whole way back. She sat down in her seat and took a look at her driver’s license.

       Her heart plummeted. 

       Waverly Earp. 

       She’d heard the name quite a few times. Mostly hearing how nice she was to everyone, even winning some type of an award for it or something. She slumped down in her seat. Maybe she was just being nice. Well, there was no better way to find out than to push it a little bit. 

       After clearing everything, she walked back to the car, instantly reminded of just how gorgeous this girl was. “Well, everything checks out,” she reported with another deadly smile, handing her back her cards. She leaned slightly sideways against the door, crossing her ankles. “I didn’t realize I was speaking to an Earp. It's my pleasure.” She tipped her hat, knowing damn well that she was using her southern drawl to an advantage here.

       A blush covered the brunette’s cheeks above a happy smile. “Oh, Officer, I’m not royalty . I’m just Waverly . . . I don't think I caught your name, you seem to be new around here.”

        Shit. Of course she hadn’t introduced herself. She rambled slightly about how she was new but stopped herself before she could get any farther. She knew she was new already. Get it together, Haught.  

       “I’m Officer Haught. Nicole Haught.” She offered up a handshake. She had to hold a sigh in as she watched her bite her bottom lip ever so slightly as she shook her hand. She knew if she stood here for much longer she would end up saying something really embarrassing, so she stood back up straight, informing her she had to head to Shorty’s. 

       “I’ll see you around, Officer Haught.”

       Nicole gulped. If this girl was straight, she was being very, very mean. Shoot your fricking shot. “See you later, Waverly. Maybe I'll see you at Shorty’s soon and you can buy me a drink.” She gave Waverly a wink and a smile, handing her one of her police contact cards. She watched the girl’s pupils dilate after the wink. She swaggered away again, this time with a smirk on her face, and climbed in her car, waiting until the Jeep pulled away to have a mini-celebration. 

-  -  -

       “You’re such a dork,” Waverly sighed. 

       “Hey! It worked, didn’t it?” She laughed, looking down, seeing that both of their hands had connected sometime throughout the story. Waverly flipped her right hand over, seeing that there were no stitches and that there were bandaids over the two places where the pins came out. Nicole squeezed her hand, Waverly looking back up at her with a confused face. “Shae found me and Nedley in the waiting room, so she’s the one who stitched my face up. Said it was healed all the way, so I got the stitches and pins taken out. I start physical therapy next week.”

       Waverly smiled widely, still not used to being able to hold both of her hands. “That’s great, Nic!” She giggled with a nod, tugging on her hands and laying back, pulling her to lay on top of her. Waverly sighed against her neck. “I missed you,” she mumbled, rubbing her thumb on her upper arm as she curled them around her. 

       “I missed you, too,” she agreed, taking in the calming scent of her hair. 

       “How about we never do that again?” 

       “Yep. I 11 out of 10 did not enjoy that,” she answered quickly. 

       “From now on, when we have problems or we disagree about something, we’re going to talk it out, key-word talk.” 

       “I’m sorry,” the redhead mumbled in a whisper, hugging her arms around her like she was going to float away.

       “Quit apologizing, it’s ok,” Waverly soothed.  

       “It’s really not, though.” 

       “You’re acting like I didn’t yell at you first, Baby. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

       Nicole swallowed. “I left you when you started crying. I was an asshole.”

       The brunette groaned. “Ok, fine. Maybe we both were in the wrong at some points.” 

       The Officer laughed a little. “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” she sighed. 

       “Sleep? What’s that?”

       Nicole sat up a bit, Waverly moving her head to make eye contact. The redhead saw the heavy bags under her eyes and the way her eyelids were drooping down. “When’s the last time you slept, Love?” She asked softly, pushing her hand through her hair.

       “Here,” she mumbled.

       Nicole realized she was talking about the party. “Wave . . .”

       She tipped her head. “You don’t look so hot yourself. When did you sleep last?” 

       She looked away, laying back down. “Also here,” she mumbled. “I’ve had eight Monsters in the past two days.”

       The shorter girl tutted. “You realize how horrible those things are for you, right?” 

       “Yea, yea.” She kissed the top of her head. “How about we go to the Homestead and sleep?” 

       “Wynonna’s there."

       “And?” 

       “And I’ve been ignoring her since I found out she hurt you.”

       “Why?” 

       “Because! She had no right to do that!”

       The Officer sat them up, pushing the younger girl’s legs behind her. “How about this . . .” She gave her an idea of what they should do to get her back. 

       “I like the sound of that,” she smirked. Nicole nodded with an evil grin. Waverly’s smirk faded as she glanced from her eyes to her lips. She looked back to her eyes, seeing the same sense of hunger. Nicole brought her hands to her cheeks, bringing their lips together for a long, heartfelt kiss. The brunette wrapped her arms around her neck, leaning backward, the redhead going down with her. She hooked her legs tighter around her back, pulling her body closer. Time slowed down as they found themselves within each other again. All the pain and heartache from the past two days disappeared. They each felt whole again. 

       The kisses slowed down after a few minutes, both of their bodies heaving in and out. Nicole pulled away, ending it with a short, chaste kiss. “I love you, Waverly Earp.” 

       “To infinity and beyond,” she smiled. 

.  .  .

Babygirl: Come down here

Nonna: Y

Babygirl: I want to talk to u

Nonna: U mean scream at me?

Babygirl: Wynonna

Babygirl: Just come down here

       Waverly was sitting on one end of the couch. She looked behind her, hearing feet coming down the stairs. Wynonna stopped at the bottom, looking at her with sorry eyes. “Come here,” she complained. The older girl slowly walked over, stopping about 4 feet behind her. “Would you sit down, Jesus Christ!” She sulked over, sitting on the opposite side, pulling her feet in so she was as far away from her as possible. They stared at each other for a few seconds. “You’ve wanted to talk to me. So do it. What do you want to say?”

       Wynonna picked at her fingers, now not making eye contact with her. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

       Waverly raised her eyebrows. “For what? You’ve done a lot of things.” 

       “For punching Nicole.” 

       “Ok. And?”

       “For giving her a concussion.”

       “And?”

       “For threatening her.” 

       “And?”

       “For pointing Peacemaker at her.” 

       “You’re missing the big one, Sis,” Waverly sighed. Wynonna looked up at her, not really sure of what else she had done. “It’s something you’ve done before. Something you always do.” 

       “I . . . I dunno, shoving her up against the wall?”

       Waverly threw her a glare. “No.” 

       “I don’t know, Waves! What!?”  

       “Every single time you hear about something that has to do with me, you involve yourself. You and Nicole have gotten into three fights because you don’t know how to let me fight my own damn battles !”

       “Four actually . . .” Wynonna corrected quietly. 

       “What?” She asked, going off-script. 

       “When I caught you two being gross in Nedley’s office, that time in her office, the other day . . . and when you passed out at Shorty’s, she went a little coo-coo on me.”

       The shorter girl sighed deeply. “Ok. So, three out of the four fights you have been in, you have started. Is that better?” Wynonna nodded shyly. “Do you know how annoying that is, Wynonna!? Do you know how helpless that makes me feel!? I mean, why should I try to fix our problems at all? You’re just going to jump in and try and do it for me! I am 20 years old, Wynonna. Let me handle myself. My whole life I’ve been treated like a baby and I’m sick and tired of it. If I want you to get involved, I’ll ask you, but from now on, stay out of Nicole and I’s business. Can you handle that?”

       Wynonna swallowed a lump in her throat. “Yea,” she answered softly. 

       “Good. Cause you know what’s going to happen next time you try and poke your nose in?” Waverly asked, raising her eyebrows at her. 

       Little did Wynonna know, Nicole had been sitting on the floor behind the arm of the couch she was leaning against the whole time. And she had just heard her cue. She jumped up and yanked her head back by her hair, hovering her face above her’s. Wynonna let out a high-pitched scream. “I’m gonna give you a taste of your own medicine,” she growled with a devilish smirk on her face. The look of terror on the older Earp’s face was priceless. The Officer let out a snort, letting go of her hair and looking up to her girlfriend, who was already laughing her ass off. 

       “WHAT THE HELL?!?!?” Wynonna demanded, darting her eyes between them as she stood up off the couch.

       Nicole fell backward onto it, her head landing near Waverly’s feet as she clutched her stomach, loud belly laughs escaping from both of their mouths. “You’re face!” She wailed. 

       “YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME!”

       Waverly rolled to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’ve never heard you scream like that!”

       Wynonna crossed her arms with a pout. “You two are shitheads,” she mumbled.

       “No . . . we are hilarious.” Nicole rolled to the floor and rested her head on Waverly’s stomach. 

       "And you deserved it," the smaller girl added.

       “If you tell anyone about this, you’re dead,” Wynonna warned, pointing at both of them. 

       “Were you not listening? You’re not allowed to threaten me anymore, Earp,” Nicole said with a sad puppy face.

       Wynonna rolled her eyes, mimicking the look. “I’m glad you two are done fighting,” she grumbled, leaving to go back upstairs.

       Nicole chuckled, standing up. “Beautiful work, Ba- Shit.” She stumbled back, falling onto the couch, pressing her hand to the side of her head. 

       The brunette sat up, pulling herself onto the couch next to her. “Hey, what was that all about?” She asked, curling her fingers around her elbow. 

       “I get dizzy when I stand sometimes now,” she mumbled, turning her body slowly and laying back, propping a throw pillow behind her head. “Side effect or whatever.”  

       “Do you need anything?” She asked, rubbing her hand on her knee. 

       “Sleep,” she muttered.

       The brunette laughed a little, a yawn creeping up on her. “Great idea,” she said through it, setting an alarm for work and scooting up, resting her head on the redhead’s chest. 

       “Mm.” She wrapped her arms around her tightly, kissing the top of her head. Within 3 minutes, they were both out cold. 

       Gus returned home from grocery shopping a few hours later, lugging an armful of bags through the door. She stopped midway to the kitchen, looking down at the two girls. Nicole was still hugging Waverly tight and the brunette had the top of her uniform balled up in her hand. She set the bags down, walking back over to them with a smile on her face. She covered them up with a blanket, wiping a happy tear from her face. It felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. Seeing Waverly so upset recently took a toll on her and she knew now she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. 

.  .  .

       2 days later was their one month anniversary. Waverly woke up, knowing Nicole had already left for work earlier in the morning. She stretched, feeling around on the nightstand for her phone. When she opened it, she saw an email in her notifications. 

.  .  .

       Nicole pushed her hand through her hair, clicking around on her computer. She heard a knock on her open door. She looked up, seeing her girlfriend with a huge smile on her face leaning against the door frame. “Well, good morning, My Love,” she smiled, leaning back in her chair and clasping her hands in front of her. The brunette bounced into the room and hopped up onto the corner of her desk. She slid a sheet of paper in front of her. Nicole cocked an eyebrow, picking it up and turning it over, reading the front. She snapped her head up with a wide smile. “You got in!?” 

       “I got in!!” She exclaimed.

       Nicole jumped up from her chair, pulling her off the desk into a hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning around. “AHHHHHHH, MY BABY’S GONNA BE A TEACHER!!!”