Nicole laid in bed until her alarm went off. She groaned as she rolled onto her back to stare blankly at the ceiling. How on earth was she going to make it through her day? She knew that her dream would be playing on repeat all day, just like it had been for the last 2 hours. She dragged herself out of bed, showered, and headed out the door for work.
As she parked outside of the department, Nicole noticed Waverly's Jeep in the lot. "Crap," she said as she hit the steering wheel of her cruiser. Maybe she could just go patrol somewhere, avoid Waverly entirely like she had been doing to her. That wouldn't work. She had to clock in still! She hit the steering wheel once more before climbing out, the vision of Waverly leaning up to kiss her flashing through her mind's eye. She groaned before sulking through the front door.
"Good morning, Officer Haught!" Nedley greeted her from his office like he did every morning, except today he was more enthusiastic than usual. She couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance at his cheerfulness. "Morning," she groaned out as she punched in then sat at her desk. Her eyes wandered to the closed door that served as Agent Dolls' office, knowing Waverly was just on the other side working on their most recent case. She sighed deeply, remembering every second of the dream and how real it seemed. She was so sucked into the memory that she didn't hear Nedley walk up behind her.
"Wake up, Haught," he said as he tossed her an energy drink and laid a few thick files on her desk. "I need this paperwork separated and filed by the end of the day. Preferably by lunch time." He gave her a concerned look before walking back to his office. Nicole sighed deeply. It was going to be a really long day. But at least she hasn't had to face Waverly. Yet.
She stared at the paperwork before her, though that's not what she saw. She replayed the dream in her head, focusing on each part and smiling. Then she started thinking about the day she ruined it all, still unable to pinpoint where she went wrong. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack at this point. Nicole heard Dolls' door open and her head shot up and she held her breath, her stomach in knots. Wynonna walked out first, saying something over her shoulder to Dolls. "I think we should start at Shorty's, see if we can get anything at all from Bobo," she heard her say. Wynonna then turned to face her. "Hey, Officer Haught! How's it going?" she asked as she leaned on her desk.
Nicole just shrugged. "Same old, same old! I swear, sometimes I think you're already drunk with how chipper you are every morning," she said, smirking at her own joke. Wynonna smiled back and stuck her tongue out at her before following Dolls through the front door. Where was Waverly? She didn't see her follow them out. Nicole leaned back to try to see into the office. The next thing she knew, the chair was falling backwards and it was hopeless to try to stop it. She hit the floor with a thud. Waverly came running out of the other room, gasping as she saw Nicole laying on the floor.
"Officer Haught! Are you okay?!" Waverly knelt down next to Nicole, her hand resting on her shoulder. Electricity shot through Nicole like fire and she couldn't get any words out at first. She slowly started to lean up, her ego bruised.
"I…I'm…I'm ok-k-kay, I th-th-think," she stuttered. She'd never felt more embarrassed in her life. She felt her face burning, unsure if it was because she had just fallen out of her chair or because it was Waverly who heard it and found her. She saw Nedley walk in to see what was going on. "I just leaned too far back in my chair is all." There. Real words that time. Waverly's hand was still on her shoulder and Nicole glanced down at it, then up at Waverly. She smiled, her dimples immediately showing. She saw Waverly blush and glance away, but smiling, too. She felt her heart flutter with hope that maybe it would work out like her dream. Her dream. It flashed through her mind again, instantly making her wish Nedley wasn't there and making her wish Waverly would just kiss her like she did a few hours ago.
Waverly abruptly stood as Nicole got back to her feet and picked up her chair. "Thanks, Waverly," she said. She kept seeing Waverly glance up at her, an adorable shyness in her eyes as she kept looking back at the floor. She wanted nothing more than to lift her chin up to look into her eyes so she could show her how much she adored her and wanted to learn more about her. She wanted to give her everything in the universe. Waverly nodded at her. "You're welcome," she responded, almost inaudibly. Nicole watched her take the same path as Wynonna, away from her. She just sighed again as she sat down to finish her work.
Later that evening, Nicole received a call from Wynonna asking her to come to the homestead to discuss the most recent case information. As she arrived, she immediately looked for Waverly's Jeep. She wasn't home. She felt her heart sink in her chest as she got out. She sat at the kitchen table going over the data laid out before her, listening to Dolls explain everything. She felt a strange sense that someone was watching her and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Waverly standing in the doorway staring at her. She glanced over as she walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, Waves," Wynonna said as Waverly stood beside her, across from Nicole. Nicole and Waverly shared a smile before they each dropped their eyes in shyness. Dolls finished explaining the new information to her and headed back to his office in town. She stayed for a little longer, talking to Wynonna about a few things. Waverly was still in the same room and Nicole fought her nerves so she could hold a steady conversation. They finished talking and wished each other goodnight before Nicole headed for her cruiser.
Nicole heard the front door slam as she reached her car. "Nicole, wait!" Waverly came bounding down the steps towards her. As Waverly reached her, she pushed Nicole against the cruiser and kissed her. Nicole wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her closer as Waverly's arms snaked around her neck. Nicole's heart pounded in her chest, her gut giddy with happiness. She felt herself smile into the kiss, which caused Waverly to pull back, breathing hard.
"What's so funny?" Waverly asked, shyness returning to her voice. Nicole just smiled at her, holding her close and looking down into her eyes. She placed a hand on Waverly's cheek, gently stroking it with her thumb. "Nothing," Nicole finally whispered. "I'm just happy." She leaned down and kissed Waverly again. This was so much better than her dream and it was actually happening in real life! After a few minutes, their foreheads rested together, both women slightly out of breath.
"I'm really sorry I left the other day," Waverly started. "I just got really nervous and really scared because it's like you read my mind or something. I was going to tell you that I liked you and despite being scared of this new feeling, I wanted to be with you. You just caught me off guard when you kissed me and I freaked out. I'm so sorry, Nicole. I was just a jerk and I avoided you and that as a terrible thing for me to do."
Nicole placed a hand on either side of Waverly's face, looking deep into her eyes. "It's okay. I promise. I had hope that you'd come around, even if it meant not being with you. But knowing that you want me as much as I want you makes the whole thing worth it." She smiled as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, burying her face into her hair and breathing in deeply and absorbing the scent of her. She felt Waverly hold her tighter and her heart soared. Nicole released her hold and rested her hands on Waverly's shoulders.
"We will take everything slow for you. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do, Waves," she said as she gazed into her eyes in the porchlight. Waverly smiled up at her, a hint of mischievousness glinting in her eyes mixed with a little bit of shy.
Waverly moved her hands to grip the collar of Nicole's jacket, pushing her backwards into the cruiser again. Nicole's hands fell to rest on her hips. Waverly leaned in closely, pressing her body hard into Nicole and she kissed her deeply. She pulled back and whispered, "What I want to do can't be done here because of Wynonna. I will meet you at your place in 30 minutes." Nicole's breath caught at the words, then Waverly took the rest of it with a final passionate kiss.
Nicole stood by her cruiser, breathing heavily, the feel of her lips lingering as she watched Waverly walk back into the house. She climbed into the driver's seat, heart pounding and her gut twisting with anticipation. In her rearview mirror, she saw Waverly pull out behind her. She smiled as she felt desire take over. She would make sure this night was unforgettable. She raced home, her speed matching that of her heart.