Chapter Text
Searing pain shoots through her shoulder, lighting her nerves up with a fire she’s felt once before.
Waverly cries out and collapses, pressing her face into the cool dirt as Nicole’s cry of anguish sounds out from somewhere to her left, but she ignores it in favor of trying to breathe and stay conscious at the same time.
There’s more shocked shouting, a slight scuffle, the clink of metal, repeated apologies, and then finally Nicole’s warm, soothing, comforting hands on her forehead and hip.
Waverly’s eyes flutter open and she stares up at the other woman.
Nicole’s hair is a blur of fire around her head, flowing in gentle waves down to her shoulders. Her simple blouse is unbuttoned just enough to show a glimpse of her bra, shining nearly sapphire in the fading sunlight, and Waverly wants to smile.
And she wants to cry.
It was date night.
Date night .
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
They’d actually driven a ways out of town, still in the Triangle of course but far enough outside of town that they could relax a little more than they would normally.
It was date night.
They’d gone to a little pod of food carts that had both of their favorite options and just barely settled in with their food. Waverly’s eyes had dropped enough to find the open flap of Nicole’s shirt revealing that little slip of blue alluding to exactly where Nicole thought this night was going. She was just leaning in with a smirk to give her a taste of what was to come when it happened.
And it happened fast.
A group of four skinny men wearing black masks had run in, separating to charge each of the carts waving guns and demanding all of the cash in their registers.
Waverly and Nicole had stood abruptly together, reacting before they could think, and Nicole’s hand had gone to her hip on reflex, despite it being naked of her usual gun.
It was date night.
It didn’t matter, though, that’s all the men had seen. One had panicked and fired, but luckily and unluckily he was a terrible shot. He’d missed Nicole completely, only to graze through the side of Waverly’s shoulder instead. It was deeper than the last time she’d been hit, but at least she could tell it was just a graze.
Still hurt like hell.
Waverly had gone down.
Nicole had taken the men down.
Fucking date night.
Waverly manages to reach her free hand up to slide along the fingers on her hip, hoping to convey even a fraction of the comfort Nicole’s touch brings her, when she passes out.
The next few hours are blurry.
Waverly wakes briefly in the ambulance, Nicole’s pale but loving face still hovering by her side.
She wakes again in the hospital, shoulder searing even hotter as a young nurse carefully stitches the skin closed. She turns her head to the side to find Nicole hunched in a chair by the bed, clutching her freehand like it’s her last lifeline.
She wakes a final time a few hours later, shoulder still aching but not nearly as badly as before thanks to the familiar fuzzy feeling of the good medicine swirling through her brain.
Nicole’s hand is still warm and firm in her own, so she turns to look at her as soon as she has enough brainpower to have the thought.
Nicole leans forward immediately, broad grin spreading across her face. “Hey baby,” she whispers. Her free hand comes up to rub along her brow, brushing a few stray strands of hair away from her eyes.
Waverly clears her throat. “Did you get the bad guys?”
Nicole chuckles lightly. “Some bad guys they were. Kids. Teenagers with no idea what they were doing. They dropped their guns as soon as the one fired a shot. Easiest takedown ever. They’re being processed. You’ll need to give a statement in the next few days, but no need to rush. It’s a pretty open and shut case.”
Waverly frowns, thoughts swirling and fuzzy at the edges, Wynonna’s face popping in and out in a corner. “They won’t go too hard on them though, right? Kids….make…mistakes?”
Nicole’s smile manages to grow even further, crinkling playfully at the edges. “Oh my lovely Waverly. Yes, as long as this is their first offence, the charges will be fairly light and their age will be fully considered. I’m sure the judge will focus on re-education.”
Nicole’s thumb slides along Waverly’s cheek, just under her eye, and Waverly flashes her a bright smile of her own.
“Good,” Waverly whispers.
Nicole nods back and they fall into a comfortable silence for a few seconds.
“The doctor said it’s not too bad. Deeper than last time, took some muscle with it. You needed some blood. But with rest and some PT you should be back in fighting shape within a couple of months.”
Waverly nods and sighs, glancing around the room. “Ok good. When can I go home?”
Nicole squeezes her hand and leans forward to press a warm, gentle kiss on her cheek. “They said once you woke up, as long as everything looked good. Let me go get a nurse, we can get this going.”
Waverly nods again and sighs as Nicole rushes out of the room.
And then the stress hits.
Her mind spins and spins for every second Nicole is gone.
It doesn’t stop when she comes back with a nurse in tow, either.
Waverly’s mind spins and spins and spins through the entire discharge process, barely focusing enough to listen to the care instructions for her shoulder and commit them to memory.
When Nicole finally loads her into the car with soft hands and even softer assurances that she’ll take care of her, Waverly is about ready to cry.
She has no idea how she’ll get through these next few months.
How she’ll keep Nicole while she does.
___________________
About a year after they graduated high school, Waverly broke her wrist falling off a horse Champ insisted she ride.
It had been a bad break. Bone out and everything.
Champ had barely stopped laughing enough to drive her to the nearest hospital. She’d needed surgery and pins and high dose painkillers and an incredibly long healing timeline.
Champ had started complaining about her ‘lack of attention’ to him on the second night, when she’d asked for his help getting her shirt off for her shower and he’d assumed such efforts were worthy of a true reward.
It didn’t matter when she told him she was in so much pain her head felt swimmy, even with the painkillers.
He said it’d make her feel better.
It didn't matter when she said she was also nauseous and tired from the medicine.
He said he’d make it quick.
Still, she shut him down cold that night and he’d stormed out in a huff, leaving her to navigate the shower, re-dressing, and food all on her own.
She’d sobbed into her pillow, cold and hollow.
She’d been so happy to see him when he got back that she could almost ignore the faint scent of daisies sitting on his collar, below the stink of cheap whiskey and cigarettes.
Almost.
She gave in the next night, sure that the quick discomfort would be worth having a warm chest to snuggle into after instead.
And it almost was.
Almost.
But she still smelled daisies on his skin.
And the renewed aching in her wrist kept her up far longer than the cold from the night before.
The next night she just didn’t invite him over, and the bed that was never going to have another occupant in it was somehow far warmer than when it had one.
For the rest of her recovery and whenever she got hurt or sick after, she was careful not to ask Champ for any kind of help, or even invite him over, unless she was feeling at least well enough to deal with the consequences.
____________________
Waverly is quiet on the way home. Nicole shoots her quick glances every few minutes, just to make sure she’s still awake and ok (just to reassure herself) as she drives back to the homestead.
The sight of Waverly’s blood splashing through the air, of Waverly falling in front of her, flashes bright through her mind.
Nicole takes long, slow breaths, pacing herself.
She glances at Waverly again.
Whole.
Ok.
As they drive, she makes a few small comments here and there which get a hum or a nod out of Waverly, but nothing more than that. No words.
She tries not to let it bother her, more than aware of the day the other woman’s just had, but something in the air bites at her.
Something’s been off with Waverly ever since Nicole came back into the hospital room with the nurse. More than just the pain and fogginess, something fundamental had shifted in Waverly’s eyes and breathing while she was out of the room. She just has no idea what.
When they finally find themselves parking in front of the homestead, Nicole is horrified as Waverly starts unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car without help.
“Waves, wait!” Nicole yelps. She fumbles out of her own seat and rushes around the nose of the car just in time to gently catch Waverly’s elbow as she spins to slam the door shut.
“Please let me help, you lost a lot of blood,” Nicole whispers. She steps closer, reaching a hand out to take the bag of medicine and care instructions out of Waverly’s hand.
Waverly’s eyes flicker up to Nicole’s, growing somehow darker as they do, and she studies her for a long beat. Eventually, she nods once, slowly, and releases her hold on the bag while leaning a bit more into Nicole’s touch.
Nicole exhales quietly and spins around to hook an arm behind Waverly’s back and guide her up to the house. When they reach the bottom of the stairs, she leans over to place a careful kiss into the top of her hair before guiding her up.
Waverly stays quiet all the way up to her room. She lets Nicole settle her on the bed, fuss around placing pills, food, and a glass of water on the nightstand, and even change her into her comfy pajamas.
But, when Nicole turns to crawl into the bed next to her girl and give her all of the gentle cuddling she deserves, she finally speaks up.
“Wait please,” Waverly says.
Nicole freezes, one knee on the bed, and frowns. “Do you need something else?”
Waverly’s face pinches and she shakes her head. “I-I just, it’s just-” Her eyes drop down to Nicole’s shirt, clearly stressed, and Nicole glances down to follow her.
Her blood runs cold. Stone.
Her heart drops.
There’s a faint spray of blood along her right shoulder. It’s not much, just barely enough to show in the low glow of the room, but enough.
She scrambles back off of the bed. “Oh shit, shit, shitshitshit.” Her hands fly up and start unbuttoning it as fast as she can go, fingers slipping and fumbling in her rush.
“Sorry, baby, of course. Just give me a minute to clean up and I’ll be right back, ok? Give me just a minute, shout if you need me.” She turns to rush toward the bathroom, the offending shirt already halfway off her shoulders, when Waverly’s voice stops her dead again.
“No, Nicole, wait. It’s not that.”
Nicole turns back to face the other woman, face open and questioning. “Oh, ok. Still, I’m sorry for almost coming to bed like this. I will change before I do. What do you need?”
Waverly swallows and pulls in a long, sucking breath. “That’s-that’s just it. I kind of…want to be alone right now. Could you maybe just come back in the morning instead?”
The cold returns, sharper and more biting than ever before.
For a moment she can’t even breathe.
“Wha-alone?” she gasps.
Waverly’s mouth forms a grim, straight line and she nods. “Yeah, please? I’d love it if you came back in the morning?”
Nicole’s heart starts carving itself out of her chest using nothing more than a flimsy plastic spork. Every stab and twist sinks further and further into her core, locking her in place.
Her mind flashes. Waverly’s blood, vivid and so, so much of it, pouring out between her fingers.
She doesn’t reply fast enough.
Waverly sits up on the headboard a bit, still watching her with that dark, unfamiliar look in her eyes. “Please?” she whispers.
Bit by bit, Nicole forces herself back into movement. With every ounce of willpower she has, she shoves her heart back into the cage of her chest and forces her feelings down. It doesn’t matter what she feels today. It doesn’t matter what she wants.
Waverly was shot.
Shot.
And Nicole couldn’t stop it.
Waverly, who has already been through so, so much in her life thanks to the people she loves.
Waverly.
Of course Nicole will respect it if she wants to be alone.
Of course she will.
No matter how much it cores her out, she’ll respect it.
She nods slowly. “Of course,” she whispers back. She unlocks her muscles and stumbles forward to stand by the bed again. “You’re sure?” She has to check one more time, just in case.
A streak of relief breaks across Waverly’s face and a second spork moves to join the first in Nicole’s chest.
Relief?
“I’m sure. Thanks,” Waverly says.
Nicole nods again. “Ok, of course. Want me to come back with breakfast tomorrow?”
Waverly twitches the corner of her lips up, but doesn’t quite manage a smile. “That’d be great!” she chirps.
“Ok,” Nicole breathes. She leans forward slowly, giving Waverly plenty of time to reject her, before placing a few gentle kisses along Waverly’s cheek and lips.
When she pulls back Waverly smiles at her for real. It’s just a flash, a sliver of her normal cheery self, but it’s enough. A little bit of the tension eases out of Nicole.
“You’re good on your meds and stuff for the night?” Nicole checks.
“I promise,” Waverly says.
Nicole leans back and licks her lips, nodding one more time just to stall. There’s nothing left to do. She forces herself to keep going. She takes a slow step away from the bed and uses that momentum to keep her feet moving toward the door. “I’m just a call away if you need me,” she promises.
Waverly flashes her another smile and nods. “I’ll be fine.”
Nicole swallows again.
Her shoulder smacks into the doorframe harshly when she reaches it and it jolts her enough to finally turn. When she does eventually close the door and walk down the stairs, all she can see is Waverly’s blood.
Bright red.
Hot.
Seeping, unendingly, through her fingers.
She feels it hot and thick on her fingers all night long, mind constantly bouncing back and forth between the events of the day and ceaseless, torturing thoughts about what Nicole did to make Waverly want a night alone from her after the day they just had.
She has no idea what it was, but vows to herself in that darkness that she’ll do whatever it takes to fix it before Waverly has to spend another night hurting and alone.
Whatever it takes.