"What's going on with you, Waves?" Wynonna asks. They're seated together at Shorty's Bar. Wynonna is currently on her lunch break, which really means she's bored waiting for Dolls to clue her in on what's bothering him. "Don't get me wrong. I'm stoked you broke it off with the man-child, but why now? What changed?"
That is a topic Waverly doesn't want to think about. It was also the only thing she had been thinking about lately. It all stemmed from a certain redheaded police officer. Officer Haught, Waverly thought. Of course. I should've known she'd change everything.
Waverly snaps out of her thoughts when Wynonna bumps her shoulder and says, "Dude! Seriously, what's so interesting in there?" Wynonna nods to Waverly's forehead intently, as if she can physically observe the thoughts distracting her sister.
"Have you ever met someone and just known you were supposed to know them? Like they were meant to hold a place in your life?" Waverly confesses quickly.
Wynonna coughs around her coffee, clearly not expecting her sister's outburst. Waverly feels bad for a brief moment, but decides instead that she's too curious to feel bad. Waverly sets her wide, eager eyes on Wynonna and waits for a response.
"Waves…" Wynonna starts. "Please don't tell me all this is about Doc…"
Waverly keeps herself from laughing in her sister's face, but allows herself an eye-roll. "Yeah, right. Don't worry, he's all yours." She winks at Wynonna, who looks away in an attempt to hide her blush.
Once she recovers from the comment—which, Waverly notes, Wynonna does not refute—Wynonna asks who Waverly's talking about if she doesn't mean Doc.
Instead of answering right away, Waverly stands to walk behind the bar. She grabs a bottle of whiskey, stating, "I'm going to need a drink or two if we're actually going to talk about this." Wynonna doesn't comment. She smiles widely and grabs the bottle to pour an oversized shot of whiskey into her coffee.
Waverly shoots her sister a playful glare before grabbing the whiskey and taking a swig straight from the bottle. Wincing, she whispers, "Hot."
Confused, Wynonna grabs the bottle, feeling the temperature of the glass. "This bottle actually feels pretty cool, Waves. Are you sure you're okay?"
Waverly rolls her eyes again, this time allowing a groan of frustration to slip out in accompaniment. She clarifies, "Officer Haught," shooting a pointed look at Wynonna, willing her to recall the original direction of this conversation.
After a minute, the confusion on Wynonna's face melts briefly into shock before settling on amazement. She almost looks impressed when she shouts, "DUDE!" At Waverly's glare, she lowers her voice and continues, "She's hot! And pretty awesome, really. What's the problem?"
Waverly smiles slightly, noting her sister's obvious approval of her crush, before responding, "I've never felt like this before, honestly. It's scary." She pauses to collect her thoughts. "I've always been surrounded by the same small town people with the same small town ideas. They aren't exactly known for thinking about anything that goes on outside of Purgatory. But Nicole…"
"Wait, who's Nicole?" Wynonna interrupts.
Waverly just looks at her in disbelief. "Officer Haught?" she replies. "Dude, seriously? You work with her every day. You don't know her first name?"
Wynonna looks indignant. "Yeah, I do," she responds. "It's Officer."
Waverly glares at her before continuing, "Anyway… Everyone else I've dated or been involved with is the same. They don't care about connecting with me. They just care that we look good together. And that we have fun. And also fun." Waverly's eyebrows go up with the last statement, causing Wynonna to bristle.
"Move on, Waves." Wynonna interjects. She doesn't want to hear anything about sex with Champ.
"It's just…." Waverly sighs deeply. "It's just that I don't already know her, and I think we'd actually try to know each other. And what if—what if we do that and she doesn't really like who I am. I've never had to face that before." She looks down, not ready to see her sister's reaction.
Wynonna doesn't respond immediately, instead just observing her distressed sister. After a moment, she stands to walk around the bar and stops next to Waverly. Wrapping her in a comforting hug, Wynonna whispers, "Oh, but Waves… what if she learns all there is going on in that head and does like it. How much better would that be?"
Waverly tenses for a few seconds before sighing again and relaxing into the embrace. She's still not sure about the potential relationship, but she's calmer for now. At least until I actually see her again, her brain chimes in.
"Oh my God, you think it's stupid," Nicole rushes out through her blush. Waverly stood staring open-mouthed at the gift Nicole handed her. Before now, Nicole hadn't seen Waverly since she was attacked at her home four days ago. They didn't even really interact that day, but she can't stop thinking about the look Waverly sent her way. Nicole had been thinking about that day a lot. She went through a roller coaster of emotions that day, from her boredom at the station, to the fun she had with Wynonna, to the heart wrenching yearning she felt for Waverly during her discussion with Wynonna, and finally to the fear she felt when she realized she may never get the chance to properly know Waverly.
These thoughts led her to seek out a way to subtly show her affection for Waverly. That's how she ended up in the local general store two days ago, browsing the aisles in hopes that something perfect would jump out at her. She considered alcohol, jewelry, and even a pink, bedazzled cowboy hat. They were all wrong. Nothing just screamed "Waverly" or "I care about you." Nothing, that is, until she saw the very coasters Waverly now held in her hands.
In an attempt to recover from her embarrassment, Nicole continued, "I mean, I know they're nothing special and they may not even match the rest of your place. And I know you haven't even invited me to your house and it may be inappropriate because I've only been over there in an official capacity and now I feel like a total creeper. But you just seemed so excited about moving home and I wanted to show support and—" Nicole stops herself. She needs to calm down if she at all hopes to save this encounter.
After a deep breath, she continues, "I just wanted to show support, and I saw these coasters and though you'd like them. I thought, 'These will show her I care,' you know? They'll protect your tables, and I thought that was nice, but now I see how weird it is. It's fine; they're dumb. I can return them."
Before Nicole can take the coasters from Waverly's hands, Waverly jumps out of reach and smiles the biggest smile she's smiled in at least a week. In lieu of speaking, she unwraps the coasters and moves further inside, throwing Nicole a smile over her shoulder to indicate her welcome. Once in the dining room, Waverly finishes unwrapping the coasters and takes great care in placing them on the wood table. She steps back, admiring the new addition to her home.
After a couple of minutes, Waverly looks to Nicole who still looks anxious enough to cut and run at any moment. Smiling gently, Waverly walks toward the police officer, taking her hand. When they finally connect eyes, Waverly says, "Thank you , Nicole. They're perfect."
Nicole finally seems to relax, letting out an extended sigh before smiling at Waverly with her whole face. She did good.