Disclaimer: Don't own.
Author's Note: ANGST! DEATH! WISECRACKS! And a Nicole backstory. Takes place at the finale.
Doc Holliday was, and remains, the fastest draw in the West. Waverly crumpled to the ground (before Wynonna even processed the fact that her sister aimed a gun at her), an inky black goo leaked out of her stomach like a punctured oil tank.
Maybe it was all too much for Wynonna's brain because she was staring at her sister and it wasn't until Doc shook her and yelled her name that she realized that she wasn't in a nightmare.
"We need to get Waverly some help. She is surely possessed by some vile creature."
Despondent and dazed, the heir moved her head around listlessly. Her mind was reeling; Willa, Waverly, Nicole, Willa, Dolls, Doc, Waverly. The sound of the patrol car didn't even register in her mind.
Doc spun to catch the officer before she reached her fallen girlfriend.
"Officer. I need you now because Wynonna is not her right mind. Now, young Waverly has been shot but has been possessed as well. We can't touch the blood lest we become possessed ourselves."
Without a word, Nicole darted back into her car and emerged, tearing at some packaging. Doc allowed the officer to pass this time. Dumping the contents of the package onto the wound, Waverly's eye shot open as she cried out in pain before passing out shortly thereafter.
"Wynonna!" the red head snapped as she lifted the small women into her arms, "Listen, I know some shit has gone down today but Waverly needs you. Take me to a witch."
Wynonna's brain finally kicked into gear causing her to turn on her heel and jump into the driver's seat. "Constance. Mount up Doc!"
Doc's moustache twitched at the name of the witch as he scrambled around the vehicle into the passenger's seat. Nicole placed Waverly in the back seat and slid in the other side, cradling the girl's head in her lap, not caring whether the girl was currently more demon than not. Speeding down the road, Doc turned in his seat to look at the couple, casting a queer eye at the red head.
"It is of interest to me, Officer, how you stopped that gun wound from bleeding. I ain't never seen such a power from demon nor witch."
Nicole noticed Wynonna's eyes flicking between the road and the rear view mirror.
"It was a hemostatic agent."
"A…what?" Doc replied.
"It creates an exothermic reaction which causes wounds to rapidly clot. Downside, it burns." The officer offered her blistered hand from where the powder had drifted onto when she rapidly poured the powder onto her girlfriend. "At least she won't bleed out. Now she just has to worry about a bullet rolling around in her stomach or demonic possession. So normal day in Purgatory."
Nicole has always best dealt with her emotions through joke. Even under the most stressful situations (like getting shot by your girlfriend's former assumed dead, but totally alive and evil oldest sister), Nicole attempted humor.
"And where did you learn of such a substance?" Doc continued to query.
"Used it in Afghanistan. Worked well, decided to get some and leave it in the car just in case."
Before anyone replied, Waverly's eyes shot open again. But rather than their sweet hazel, they were an endless abyss of black. There was malevolence in Waverly's eyes and Nicole reacted. Placing her girlfriend in a choke hold, she held it until the younger girl went limp.
"Shit Nicole. Did you just chock out my sister?!" Wynonna exclaimed.
"You do realize I am not having a good day?" Nicole responded. "Just get us to the witch. I don't want to do that again."
Delicately, the red haired women ran her fingers across the bruising already appearing on Waverly's throat, tears welling up in her eyes. She felt the car accelerate as a silence fell throughout the vehicle.
"So…you going to make me ask?" Wynonna said after a moment.
"I was hoping we could just leave it." Nicole said, absentmindedly rubbing her blistered hands.
"Yeah, that's so not happening. You choke out my baby sister then say you've been to a combat zone…I need to know you're not going to snap."
"First you think I'm a Revenant. Even with me getting fucking shot by your sister. Now you think I'm a messed up, PTSD vet. Any other suspicions while we're at it Wynonna? Spreading the gay agenda? Or A.I.D.S.?" Nicole's anger started flaring up.
"God no to those last two things. Demon-hell spawn I'm ok with. But I'd never suggest the other two, Jesus." Wynonna looked shocked at the implication.
"Sorry, I'm just…I've been fucking shot then came to help my girlfriend and her awesome sister, and ended up seeing said girlfriend bleeding out while possessed by god knows what and needing to…" Nicole gazed down at the unconscious younger girl. "Anyway, there's not really much of a story to be heard."
"Well, I for one am looking forward to hearing about this 'Afghanistan' place. It seems quite intriguing." Doc remarked.
Nicole sighed. "Listen. I went to Afghanistan. 99% of the time nothing happened. It was boring, it was hot, it was also really cold. The chow was decent. Spent a lot of time, in a lot of gear, staring out over flat desert. Saw some mountains leaving through Kandahar, which is a shit show by the way."
"What about the other 1%?" Wynonna asked.
"That was the IED. It wasn't too dissimilar to getting shot a few hours back I guess. The feeling of disorientation and like you've been struck by an object that jars you at the very center of your being. Anyway, I got concussed and when I came too, there were injured Marines everywhere, yelling and screaming. All I could do was help, they were my brothers. The Sergeant was already securing a LZ for medivac. The first guy I got to had a broken leg. Splinted it the best I could and just tried to keep him calm. Behind us, the ammo we were towing started to catch on fire and were cooking off in the back of the truck. Our translator, she was moving between the injured guys, just talking to them, trying to keep them calm. And Cardoza kept running injured Marines to and from the helo; I even saw him stop to puke he was running so much, then continue ferrying Marines. Another guy had a head wound, had to tend to that…long story short, one eventful day." She was still rubbing at her blistered hands.
"Never even fired my weapon in combat...Anyway, did my four years, got out. Was over hiding under Don't Ask Don't Tell, pain in my ass. Moved to Chicago with my girlfriend. It ended, went back home, joined the force. When I graduated, figured I needed to go to where I could do the most good, so I requested the place with the highest rate of unsolved crime in the state. And that's how…" Nicole gestured to the open fields, "I found myself in Purgatory."
"Welcome to the trip sister." Wynonna commented. "And story time ended right in time."
The patrol car sped up right next to the Constance's head, bobbing above the salt flats. Wynonna and Doc jumped out of the vehicle while Nicole gingerly pulled Waverly from the back seat. Constance was hysterical.
"And here I was thinking you couldn't get any nuttier than you already were." Wynonna quipped.
Waverly's eyes fluttered open. It was as though she had been underwater too long. Her head felt fuzzy and her throat burned as if she had swallowed salt water.
"Wave!" Wynonna yelled as Doc spun on his heel.
"Wa…" Waverly coughed. She had no idea where she was nor why her throat burned. Why, actually, her whole body tingled painfully. She attempted to speak again but didn't do much better.
"Don't try and speak baby girl." Wynonna whispered as she pushed back some strands of matted and sodden hair. Waverly coughed again, pain radiating from every exhalation of air. "What…what do you remember?"
Waverly just shook her head.
"Right." Doc said, "Well my dear Waverly. It appears I shall have to relay the events of this past fortnight." Waverly attempted to focus on the old gambler.
"After you touched the foul discharge of the demon, you become possessed and attempted to shoot Wynonna. Instead, I shot you and for that, I apologize."
Waverly felt Wynonna's hand tighten around her own as she suddenly became conscious of another pain radiating from her abdomen.
"Shortly following that the young officer arrived and was able to stop your bleeding with some powdered substance I don't fully comprehend and attribute to some sort of hudoo/voodoo. Suggesting we find a witch (Doc's mustache twitched involuntarily) and seeing as how Wynonna and I happened to know where to locate such a creature, we departed on the officer's horse. During the travel, you awoke still possessed requiring the officer to, incapacitate you; the reason your throat is a bit sore. The witch was uncooperative which led to a tussle and to end it all, the demon was excised and here you are, on the mend."
Waverly blinked a few times. The feeling of being underwater was still present and wondered if it was her vision that made her unable to see her girlfriend. Clearing her throat, Waverly rasped, "Everyone is ok though? I didn't hurt anyone?"
"Well…" Doc started.
"You didn't hurt anyone baby girl." Wynonna interjected. Her sister's tone confused her. It implied that, although she, Waverly, did not physically hurt anyone, things were far from ok. Through her blurry vision she began to see the scratches on her sister's face, the busted lip, the blackening eye, and what appeared to be a slightly off-centered nose.
Waverly reached for her sister's face, briefly catching her nose. Wynonna winced and jerked away, "Sorry. Still hurts."
Nicole pulled Doc aside. "If we excise the demon, it'll still go somewhere will it not?"
"That does seem like a logical outcome to this situation." Doc replied, quizzically looking at the cop.
"And a hell-spawn demon kraken thing isn't just going to leave peacefully is it?"
Doc's mustache twitched, "Conceivably."
"Listen, the demon can't have either Earp. If it comes to it, I need you to kill that demon."
"What are you asking me to do Miss. Haught?"
Nicole glanced over to Wynonna roughing up the witch. "Whatever it takes."
Without another word, she strode over to Wynonna, grabbing the older sister before she kicked the witch.
Constance let out another cackle. "Always letting emotion take over Earp. You'll never save baby sister that way."
Nicole released the heir and gathered up the witch. "Tell me how to help Waverly or so help me god, I will end you, painfully." She growled. The cackling continued.
"Silly girl. You think that all you see in movies are what is to pass? That magic is simply used to bend to ones will. No, it requires sacrifice."
Nicole shook the front of Constance's collar. "No shit Sherlock. Just save her."
A smirk crossed Constance's face. "Very well." Her eyes rolled back and the Latin came out in a trance.
"What do you think you're doing Nicole?" Wynonna asked.
"Whatever it takes." Reeling back, Nicole punched Wynonna as hard as she could. The feeling of the shifting cartilage confirmed the nose she just broke. "Sorry top shelf. The world needs the Earps."
A black mist escaped Waverly's lips. It curled and snaked its tendrils towards Nicole, standing tall near her girlfriend.
"Seriously," Wynonna said staggering to her feet, hand to her nose, blood dripping down her hand. "This déjà vu sacrifice shit needs to stop." Breaking into a run, Wynonna tackled Nicole from behind.
With the officer no longer in its sights, the black tentacles wound their way to the witch. Overtaken with the demon, the screams of the witch filled the air. Doc, a smile spreading across his face, took aim.
"Oh my, this is a delightful little surprise."
"Where's…" Waverly rasped.
A sad smile crossed Wynonna's face. "Wave…"
Worry welled up in the younger sister. Tears streamed down Waverly's face without her knowing why. Fighting through her pain, she asked again, "Where's Nicole?"
Wynonna remained silent, the events of the past few days finally catching up and draining her of her energy. Dolls gone, Willa gone, Waverly injured, Nicole…
"Without Bobo to focus the Revenants frustrations towards escaping the Triangle, they decided to make a run at killing the heir." Doc started. "We got off a few shots as the officer got you back in the patrol car. When we were all loading up when one of the Revenants caught the good officer in the leg."
Nicole placed Waverly into the back of the patrol car, rounds whizzing and pinging off the bullet proof vehicle. She felt a jerk as the red head was pulled from the vehicle.
"Nicole!" Wynonna yelled, aiming Peacemaker through the small open divider between the front and rear of the vehicle.
The round skittered across the ground near Nicole's head. "Shit Wynonna, I thought you were supposed to be some hot shot!"
She let a round go right into the chest of the Revenant whose dead weight landed on top of her. Grunting as she pushed the mass off, she felt a sting in her leg followed by a fountain of blood. Slapping her hand down on to her leg, she hoisted herself into the back.
"You ok Haught?"
"Fine!" Nicole yelled, switching her Glock from her left to her right and aiming out the window. "Just fucking drive."
The patrol car peeled out of salt flats, kicking up debris and obscuring the Revenants from view.
Doc turned in his seat as he rolled up the window. "Officer you do not appear to be just fine as you previously indicated."
Wynonna checked the rear view mirror, swore, and turned in her seat. "You're bleeding!"
"Obviously." Nicole said through gritted teeth. "Check to see if I have any more of that combat gauze in my glove compartment."
Doc rummaged through the compartment but came up empty handed. Muttering to herself, Nicole began availing herself of her belt. Tightening the belt until she could no longer feel her leg, then giving it one more tug for good measure, Nicole secured the belt. "Just get us to a hospital quick."
"You learn that as well in Afghanistan?" Doc asked.
"Girl Scouts." Nicole replied.
Wynonna just laughed as Nicole laid down on the back seat, pulling Waverly close, her tears absorbed in the long brown hair.
"Officer Haught managed to take a fair few down but…" Doc trailed off. He hadn't expected it to be so difficult to talk about it. And it was not easy with Waverly sobbing.
"…but she bled out in the car."
Wynonna was crying silently as she climbed up into her sister's hospital bed, pulling her close, allowing Waverly to sob into her chest. There was nothing she could say, just hold her little sister and hope they all would get through this, one day.