"What the hell happened this time?" Wynonna was on her feet, glaring down at Waverly.
"Wynonna. Take it easy." Dolls had come to Waverly's defence, pulling Wynonna away and sitting her on the couch.
Waverly watched, her body feeling slow and tight.
"Nicole, you okay?" Jeremy was crouched next to Nicole. The officer was white as a sheet, puddles of sweat had stained the carpet around her like some form of a chalk outline. Nicole didn't respond to Jeremy's voice, she was staring at the ceiling, eyelids half closed, breathing shallow. Jeremy placed his hand on Nicole's shoulder and gave her a slight shake. The officer didn't respond, instead her body started to violently shake as a seizure gripped her.
"Nicole!" Waverly's strength returned and she was down next to her partner in a flash. Pushing Jeremy out of the way the younger woman pulled a cushion off of the couch and forced it under Nicole's head before turning her body so it was lying on its side. "You're okay." She kept repeating as she waited for the seizure to wain. Holding Nicole on her side but not restricting her movements.
No one in the room said anything until Nicole settled, which seemed to take an eternity. Eventually her seizing stopped and her breath steadied. It was then that Waverly laid her partner back on her back. Dolls pulled a blanket from the couch and laid it over her. Waverly lifted Nicole's head onto her lap and gently began to comb her hair back out of her face. "I'm sorry baby." She said planting a kiss on the redhead's forehead. "I'm so sorry."
"What happened that time?" Doc said after several silent minutes. "Did the chloroform not succeed in knocking Rosita out?"
"No it did." Waverly said not looking up, the memory of the events returning. "I tripped…"
No one said anything.
"I tripped before I could stop Wynonna from shooting." Waverly could feel their eyes side glancing at one another, in disappointment. Disappointment directed at her.
Wynonna sat herself down in a huff, clearly holding back an aggressive comment towards her sister.
"Well, we will just have to try again." Jeremy said, clearly disheartened. "We've still got one more crystal."
"We can't Jeremy" Dolls said, directing the younger man's eyes to Nicole who was barely starting to stir.
"We've got to." Jeremy's response was empathetic but didn't lack the determination. "We are running out of time and besides." He looked down at Nicole. "I know this must suck for her, but its not like it'll kill her. She already dead."
"Watch it." Wynonna snarled from her chair.
"It's not going to work Jeremy." Waverly spoke up.
"What do you mean?" Jeremy sounded almost insulted at her statement.
The younger woman sighed. "I've been worried about it ever since we first went back this morning. Something always seems to go wrong, no matter how many steps we think ahead, Nicole always ends up dead or shot."
Wynonna bowed her head, acknowledging her sister's point.
"Even when there seems to be nothing that can stop us." Waverly said, looking down at Nicole's shut eyes. "When it seems like Nicole is going to be fine something happens." She looked around at them all, everyone avoiding her eyes. "I tripped... On nothing, because we'd found solutions to all other ways fate could be spun."
Jeremy's shoulders were dropping. He knew she was right. "I'm sure if we use that last crystal I will just trip again, or maybe I get Wynonna to fire at the wall and the bullet ricochets and hits Nicole anyway. Who knows?"
"Waverly…" Jeremy began. "Come on."
"Maybe this is another rule of time travel." Nicole's voice was weak but coherent. "If someone is meant to die, even fake die, they need to die." Waverly looked down to see Nicole's half opened eyes staring back at her. "Fate needed me to die." Her partner said. "And it's really punishing me for trying to change that fact."
"But…But." Jeremy blustered staring at his board or equations. "It all worked out, mathematically it should work."
Waverly signed sympathetically. "Maybe time travel doesn't listen to math."
Jeremy didn't hear or her, or if he did he chose to ignore her. His eyes were raking across his many equations combing for an error. "It should work." He said hopelessly.
"I'm sorry Jeremy." Dolls said handing his fellow a dry eraser. "Time Travel is an asshole."
With a grimace Jeremy took the eraser and began to erase his beloved board.
"Waves." Nicole said from the brunette's lap. "Can you help sit me up on the couch, I don't want to be on this floor any more."
"Sure baby." Waverly scooted out from under Nicole's head and with Doc's help Nicole was lifted from the ground and gently deposited on the couch. She still looked grey but was much more alert.
"Thanks." She said shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. "That really sucked."
"What you only got shot like 3 times today. Walk it off Rev Head." Wynonna quipped with a smirk that didn't hide the concern for her sister's girlfriend.
Nicole managed a chuckle. "I know it hasn't been easy for any of us." She added. "Wynonna I know getting your head and reality pulled back and forth sucks, so kudos to you for handling it so well."
Wynonna brushed off Nicole's comment. "It's no big deal, I'm used to waking up and on vaguely remembering what just happened. Who know it would come in handy?"
Nicole managed a smile and shut her eyes for a moment before opening them again to address the room. "Thanks guys, all of you."
Everyone turned to look at the officer. "I know this hasn't been the best." She continued. "And there were much faster easier solutions to this mess."
"Haught no." Wynonna began but Nicole raised a weak hand slightly to ask for silence.
"So thank you for working so hard to help me fix this. I couldn't do it all without you." Nicole finished by looking each member of the group in the eye and giving them a nod of gratitude.
"Why its no problem at all" Doc said, taking one of Nicole's hand and giving it a shake. "You are well worth it Ms. Haught." He smiled under his bushy moustache.
Dolls nodded wordlessly. Even Jeremy who was still mourning his math gave a little. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
Waverly sat herself on the couch and nuzzled herself next to Nicole. Needing to feel her breathing and living self. She'd seen her love die too many times for one day. "You are worth everything." She said quietly so only Nicole could hear.
"What are we going to do now?" Wynonna said, still plopped in her chair
"Back to the books I guess." Jeremy plopped himself next to her.
"Back to the books." Dolls agreed, doing his best to add optimism to the room. "We will find a solution sooner or later."
"If anyone can fix this it's all of us." Nicole said, choosing to follow Doll's lead in lightening the mood of the room. Then surprisingly she was struck with an idea. "But not tonight. We won't be doing any more work or research tonight."
A few around the room started to speak up in protest. Waverly included.
Nicole took a breath and stood herself up. Swayed slightly, taking Waverly's hand to steady herself. "Tonight." She addressed the room. "I think we could all use a night at Shorty's." The tall woman looked around the room of melancholy faces. "Come on Earp." She said to Wynonna whose frustration and guilt was starting to make an appearance on her face. "I'm buying."
"Well who could say no to free booze?" The heir replied, before standing and stretching her arms up. Clearly ready to head out at that exact moment.
Waverly smiled. Thinking back to the time Nicole said she and Wynonna would find common ground even if it killed her. Little did she know that was exactly what would bring them together.
"All right then." Dolls said, throwing an arm over a glum Jeremy's shoulder. "Shorty's it is."
Waverly nodded, eyes on Nicole. Glad to see her holding on to good feelings despite experiencing her own demise several times in the last day. Then a thought struck her.
"But what about you Nicole?" She said, trying not to crush her partner's plans. "You're supposed to be dead."
Nicole shrugged. Clearly she had been avoiding the flaw in her plan.
"Come on Waves." Wynonna threw an arm over her sister's shoulder. "It's Purgatory." She said with a laugh. "We will tell them she's a twin or something. People here have seriously seen weirder than someone coming back from the dead. Trust me. It'll be fine."
Nicole's eyebrows raised in surprise. Not expecting such support from Wynonna. She turned to look at Waverly hopefully.
"Fine." The younger Earp conceded. "One night. Then we need to get back on this."
"One night." The group echoed.
Nicole bent down and gave Waverly a tender kiss that was of course interrupted by a Wynonna gagging sound and swiftly followed by a pillow being launched in their direction.