Catching things up from Nicole's perspective!

Nicole absent-mindedly chewed on the tip of her pen. She was on Nedley duty today, which meant that he had her listening to the radio, ears alert for any hint of anything interesting going on around town. The Sheriff seemed a little obsessed lately with dealing with odd goings on before Agent Dolls found out about them. Or maybe he was always like this, she hadn't really been around long enough to know his usual routine. He seemed like a nice enough guy to have for a boss, despite his consternation about having a rookie deputy on the force.

She still remembered his speech on her first day.

He went over all the general orientation rules and regulation, but then at the end he put his hands on her shoulders, looked her dead in the eye, and said in a very grave voice-

"Be careful out there, Haught. Lotta stuff in this town that'll get ya killed, and you know what happens if you die?"

She shook her head.

"If you die, I have to fill out a shit ton of paperwork, on top of calling your parents and letting them know that I let their little girl get killed on my watch. All that while trynna train a new rookie deputy to replace you. Now do you think that any of that sounds like it would make me a happy camper?"

"No, Sir."

"Now do you wanna keep me happy?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Then don't fuckin' die on me, Haught."

"I'll be sure to add 'Don't Die', to my list of things to remember, Sir."

He had stared at her for a long moment before clapping her on the back.

"I like you , Haught. I think you'll fit in just fine around here. Now, let's go out to your patrol car, regulations say I have to make sure you actually know how to drive the damn thing before I hand over the keys."

She liked the Sheriff. He was a little . . . unconventional. And she wouldn't say lazy exactly, but he was definitely just coasting through until retirement. They had driven around town, and he had pointed out various landmarks and people to watch out for.

"See that girl there?" He pointed to a beautiful girl helping a older lady cross the street. "That's Waverly Earp, one of the nicest girls in town. Her sister Wynonna, on the other hand, is a real hell raiser."

Her heart had stopped at his words, and her palms had gotten so sweaty that it was hard to hold onto the steering wheel.

The sign on the way into town had declared Purgatory 'The historical home of Wyatt Earp', but she hadn't really thought much about it

Earp.

"Waverly! Waverly Earp!"

What were the chances that the beautiful stranger at the club had given her real name?

And what were the chances that she was actually a descendent of Wyatt Earp?

Even more unlikely, what were the chances that she still lived in the town that her great great grandfather had called home.

Nedley had also told her that Waverly worked down at Shorty's - the best, (only), bar in town.

t took a few days for her to build up the courage to go into Shorty's, she wasn't exactly sure what Waverly's reaction would be to seeing her. Maybe she wouldn't even remember her.

All things considered, the meeting in the bar had went better than she expected. Waverly had looked even more gorgeous than she remembered, despite her soggy tank top, and frankly, Nicole was lucky she managed to get any coherent words out at all, the way her heart was pounding out of her chest.

She didn't get a date, but she clearly had Waverly interested, so maybe there was some hope.

Then she had run into Champ Hardy, Waverly's ex-boyfriend stalker from the club. He had asked if they were dating, and she couldn't exactly say no, because where would that leave Waverly? She couldn't exactly say yes either though, so she got out of there as quickly as possible without confirming or denying anything; not, unfortunately, before Champ called her "a dyke lesbian".

So much for progress.

She felt compelled to tell Waverly about the incident, and she was more than surprised when she suggested fake dating as a solution.

She wasn't sure how that was going to work out - fake dating the girl that she actually wanted to date - but she was willing to give it a shot. She was nothing if not charming, and she highly suspected that Waverly wasn't entirely opposed exploring their relationship.

She'd have a chance to get a better feel of things on their 'not date' tonight. She grinned thinking about it. Waverly had texted her last night and suggested they meet at the town's little Italian restaurant that tripled as a pizza parlor and sandwich shop. Nicole didn't know the town very well, but it sounded as good a place as any, so she agreed, promising to be there at 7:30 sharp. Her shift didn't end until seven, so she wouldn't have time to change out of her uniform beforehand, but she had a feeling that might work in her favor.

Her grandfather used to always talk about soulmates, and how when he had met her grandmother, he had known from the start that she was it for him.

"When you meet the one, you know, Nic, you just know. That's why I've spent the past sixty years of my life trying to make sure that your grandmother knows I love her. I knew from the moment I met her that it was meant to be. And when you meet the right girl, you'll know."

Call her crazy, hell she probably was, but there was just something about that girl. Ever since those first few moment in the club, she had felt a connection. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, it was like a weird sense of deja vu. She hadn't been around Waverly very long, but it was as if she had known her forever. Those eyes, it was like they could see straight to her soul. And that smile, god what she wouldn't do for that smile.

And that's how she found herself at the Purgatory Sheriff's department front desk, half listening the radio, half thinking about Waverly's smile.

The radio on the desk crackled to life, startling her out of her daydreams.

"We've got a report of shots fired, I repeat; shots fired, down at the surplus store on Maple Street. All available officers please respond."

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. This was her first real life call. Her first anything, really. Besides the two speeding tickets she had written yesterday, she hadn't gotten to use her badge much.

But now, there were shots fired, and she was an available officer, and . . . shit! She needed to get Nedley!

She snatched her Stetson from the desk and practically ran the ten feet to the Sheriff's office where she barely knocked before throwing open the door.

"Sheriff! A call, came over the radio, shots fired down at the surplus store on Maple."

She was shocked at how steady her voice sounded. She looked down at her hands, and the were steady too. Damn, she was made for this.

Nedley made his way around his desk, grabbing his own black Stetson off the hook by the door.

"Prolly just some crazy redneck decided he couldn't wait until he got home to shoot his new gun. Although, you never know with Wynonna back in town."

She nodded as if she knew exactly what he was talking about, although honestly, she had no idea what the eldest Earp had to do with any of this.

"You take your cruiser, follow me to the surplus store and we'll check this out." He turned to face her, finger pointed at her face. "Remember what I said? About not getting killed?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good, don't forget it. Word around town is you've started dating Waverly Earp. She may look small, but I have no doubt that she'd pull that shotgun of hers on me if I let you get killed."

Her cheeks heated at the mention of Waverly, but she kept silent.

He took a few steps forward before whirling around again.

"You got your bulletproof vest on?"

"Yes, Sir."

"See, I knew I liked you for a reason, Haught. Smart kid."

He turned back again, and she followed him to the parking lot, mentally going through the standard procedure for a shots fired situation.

Maybe Purgatory would turn out to be an interesting town after all.

As always, comments and critiques are always welcome! Come talk to me on Tumblr! - Jedifighterpilot2727