Waverly woke up the next morning, rolled over onto her right side and gasped at the searing pain that traveled across her chest; a reminder that yesterday's events weren't a dream, she had been shot! She locked herself in the bathroom and peeled off the bandage, revealing the deep gash that Dolls had called "just a graze," and bruising that spread all the way down her right side. She bit her lip as she replaced the bandage and headed downstairs for breakfast.
She poured herself a bowl of corn flakes and sat down opposite Willa, who was daintily eating an omelet, and next to Wynonna, who was drinking from a coffee cup which, Waverly had no doubt, was spiked with whiskey. Waverly sat there scooping cereal with her spoon then letting it drop back into the bowl.
"You really should eat something, Waverly, you need to nourish your body so it can heal," Will smiled at Waverly, and looked at Wynonna.
"Yeah, Waves, eat up." Wynonna drained her coffee cup and went to the coffee pot to refill it.
"I'm not that hungry," Waverly said quietly.
"Well, you still need to eat something." Willa stood and placed her dishes in the sink.
"I think I'm gonna go back to bed." Waverly rose quickly and, not bothering to clear her place at the table, rushed up the stairs, closed her bedroom door and fell back onto her bed. Suddenly, she felt like the room was starting to spin; she placed her left forearm over her eyes and breathed as deeply as her fresh wound would permit. Why does everyone feel the need to tell me what to do? she thought. But then she remembered, there's one person who would never ask Waverly to be someone she's not: Officer Nicole Haught. Waverly shot up off her bed and got dressed quickly.
"Where the hell are you going?" she heard Wynonna call, but didn't bother to answer as she rushed to her Jeep and sped off toward downtown Purgatory.
She parked just outside the Ghost River County Municipal Offices, placed her hand on the car door handle, and froze. She realized she hadn't even thought of what she was going to say to Nicole once she found her. Just as Waverly had changed her mind and reached down to turn the key, there was a knock on her car window. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed, but then butterflies filled her stomach when she saw it was Nicole. As upset as Waverly had been up to this point, it all seemed to melt away when Nicole smiled at her, revealing perfect dimples, and somehow making her deep brown eyes even more inviting.
"Are you alright?" Nicole removed her Stetson.
Waverly realized she must have been staring into Nicole's eyes for too long. She shook her head, and stepped out of the car. "Ummm yeah, I'm fine, just came by to see if the latest history book I ordered has been delivered to my P.O. box yet.." Waverly cringed, what a lame excuse. She began to look around, to see if anyone was watching this awkward interaction, feeling the intense emotion radiating from her body.
Nicole obviously caught onto Waverly's wariness and said simply, "well, I don't want to keep you from learning all you can about things that have been. Have a nice day." She gave another smile, replaced her hat and turned to go.
"Wait!" Waverly blurted. She rushed up to Nicole, who had stopped and turned to face her. "I like dinner, it's probably my favorite meal of the day. Even though, science apparently says that breakfast is actually the most important meal of the day, I still like dinner more. Do you like dinner? You seem like the kind of person who would like dinner…"
"Yeah, dinner's my favorite, too," Nicole said, a surprised but amused look on her face.
"Really? Awesome! If you're ever hungry some time, I'll probably be hungry, too. So maybe we could be hungry together…?" Once more, Waverly cringed at the words coming from her mouth.
Nicole smiled, "Waverly Earp, are you asking me on a real date?"
Waverly let out a big sigh, "well, I was trying to, but I'm not really used to this sort of thing. But I figured we should try it out, ya know, instead of just sneaking around in Nedley's office."
Nicole let out a small laugh, "well, I think you did just fine. Did you have any details in mind, or do you want to go right now?"
Once again aware that they were standing in the middle of a public sidewalk, Waverly froze.
Quickly, Nicole added, "I hear Charlotte's Steakhouse in Starton County is delicious."
"That's two counties away!" Waverly looked at Nicole, who was simply smiling, knowingly; she understood that this was all new for Waverly, and she would never rush her. "Yeah, that sounds great," Waverly felt her face become warmer as she blushed.
"Ok, well what time should I pick you up, then?" Nicole hooked her thumbs on the front of her belt.
"Who says I shouldn't pick you up?"
"Waverly, we are not showing up at the fanciest restaurant for miles in this red Jeep!"
Waverly looked at her dirty Jeep, "oh yeah, I guess you're right. Well, how about six; Wy and Willa… uh… Wy will, uh, be going to the gun range around that time."
"Sounds good, see you then." Once again, Waverly was grateful that Nicole hadn't been offended by her clear desire for privacy.
Waverly climbed back into the Jeep, "Have a good day, Officer Haught." She pinched the air in front of her forehead and nodded her head, tipping her invisible Stetson at Nicole. As she drove off down the street, Waverly looked in her rearview mirror and watched Nicole smiling and shaking her head.
Waverly spent that afternoon going through her entire closet, looking for the perfect outfit.
"Got a hot date tonight, or something?" Wynonna asked as she walked by and saw the clothes strewn all over Waverly's room.
Waverly shot up, ran to the doorway. "Huh? What do you mean a Haught date? Can't a girl just go through her clothes every once in a while?"
"Geeze, Waves, I was just teasing. You can't be getting ready for a date; Champ's the most eligible douche in town, and you already kicked his ass to the curb." Wynonna made kicked the air as she continued past Waverly's door.
Waverly closed her door and turned to look at the mess she had made. Then she saw it, the perfect outfit: a gold knee-length, form-fitting scoop-neck dress. She ran to it, picked it up, and laid it on her bed. She then turned back to her closet and grabbed a pair of shiny black heels, and diamond stud earrings.
That night, after she saw her big sisters out, Waverly was not feeling left out, as she usually did, but felt excited and nervous: she was going on a real date with Nicole! She had never been this nervous about a date before, and it wasn't because Nicole was a girl, it was because Nicole cared about Waverly the way no one had ever cared about her before; Nicole saw her when Waverly felt invisible; Waverly had never felt this deep of a connection with anyone before.
By the time six o'clock came, Waverly had been dressed and ready for over thirty minutes; she was just sitting by the window waiting, watching for headlights in the driveway. When she finally saw them, she rushed to the bathroom for one last look and jumped when she heard a knock on the door.
When she opened the door, Waverly's breath was taken away by what she saw: one of Purgatory's finest, in a little black dress and dark red heels, with her red hair framing her face in perfect loose curls that touched her shoulders. Both women just stood there, looking at each other with smiles on their faces, for what seemed like blissful eternity.
Finally, Nicole broke the silence, "wow, Waverly, you look amazing!"
"Look at you! Officer Nicole Haught, out of uniform, in a little black dress; it's like seeing a dog walk on two legs!" Waverly instantly regretted the words that had just left her lips, "I mean…"
Nicole laughed, "it's okay, Wave, I get it."
"You're just the most beautiful woman I have ever seen!" Embarrassed by her own frankness, Waverly looked at the ground.
This time, Nicole stepped forward and hooked a finger under Waverly's chin, guiding it up so their eyes met, "clearly you've never looked in the mirror." Nicole smiled her contagious smile and looked at Waverly's lips.
Waverly felt as though their lips were magnets; the force pulling them together inescapable. When their lips touched, a warm, comforting sensation ran all the way down Waverly's body. Nicole late her hand run down Waverly's arm, causing Waverly to shiver with pleasure.
"Are you cold?" Nicole asked.
"Far from it." Waverly went in for another kiss.
When their lips parted, they stood, smiling, with their foreheads together. "We better get going, Waverly, I made a reservation for six-thirty."
"Oh, right, dinner. Yeah, of course, definitely. Let's go eat!" Waverly turned to close and lock the front door, and by the time she turned around, Nicole was already at her "civilian car," a black sedan, holding the passenger door open, smiling. Even this small gesture meant the world to Waverly; no man she'd dated in Purgatory had ever held the car door open for her. After Nicole closed the door, and made her way to the driver's side, Waverly took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. But once the car door opened, she was a bundle of nerves once more.