Bodies weren't supposed to feel like that. Especially not this body. She knew this body. She fell asleep molded into this body nearly every night and always woke up tangled with the lanky limbs that protruded from this body. She explored this body countless times; with trembling lips and sure fingers. She committed it to memory by touch, the only way she knew how; the only way she could.

She knew this body. And it didn't feel right; it was too still.

There were no goosebumps when she ghosted her fingertips over pronounced collarbones, barely hidden beneath the unbuttoned uniform shirt; she couldn't feel the heat radiating off blushed skin; there was no hitch in breath when she accidentally brushed over a bruise she knew sat just below a set of ribs from the week before, when Alice wanted her Cole to teach her how to ride her mama's horse and Whisky had other plans.

In fact, when Waverly placed a shaking hand over cold lips, there was no breath at all. And when she laid her head onto a chillingly still chest, she couldn't hear the familiar thump of her lover's heart beating out a rhythm that usually sounded a lot like her name.

The only sound in the room came from those of a heart shattering to pieces on the wood floor and the anguished cries that followed.

24 hours earlier

"Nic," she laughed. "You're going to be late." There wasn't much conviction in her voice, not when Nicole's lips were sucking bruises into her neck and long fingers were tangling into thick brunette curls at the back of her head.

"Waves, I'm the Sheriff," Nicole mumbled into pebbled skin. "I'm only late if I say I'm late."

"That's not how that works and you know it," Waverly sighed as soft lips fell to her own. She only let Nicole have her way for another moment before she pushed broad shoulders back lightly, breaking the kiss. "Besides, you promised you'd be home early." She felt a calloused hand cup her cheek and she turned into it to kiss it's palm.

"And I will be, I still have-" Waverly felt Nicole lift her left hand from her waist, presumably to check her watch. "-six minutes before I absolutely have to leave. I wouldn't miss tonight for the world, baby." Waverly bit her lip, barely containing a grin.

"Six minutes huh?"

"Six. Whole. Minutes." Nicole punctuated each word with a kiss to Waverly's nose, her cheek, and finally her lips before leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses down Waverly's naked torso, only stopping to land a heated mouth between her thighs.

It didn't take the full six minutes to get Waverly's legs shaking and thighs clenching around Nicole's ears, but that didn't mean Nicole halted her efforts. She didn't come up for a full breath of air until Waverly was dripping down her chin and the alarm on her watch was blaring to the beat of Wynonna banging on the ceiling from the kitchen with a broomstick and yelling something about soundproofing the walls.

The two didn't make it down the stairs until several minutes later; Waverly in her robe and Nicole in her uniform, top two buttons undone, and slightly wrinkled from where small fists gripped the starched fabric at her shoulders.

"I fed your dog." Wynonna called out over the top of her coffee in lieu of a good morning. Waverly rolled her eyes, following Nicole into the kitchen with a finger looped through a section of her belt.

"He has a name, you know." Waverly released Nicole's belt when her feet touched the linoleum of the kitchen floor and patted her thigh. The shepherd was at her side in an instant, nose pressed into Waverly's palm. "Isn't that right, Meatball?!" She brushed her fingers through the thick fur at the base of Meatball's neck while his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth.

"Stupid name," Wynonna mumbled.

"Your daughter named him, Wy…" Waverly laughed patting her dog on the head and making her way over to where she could hear Nicole pouring them both a cup of coffee; hers in a to-go cup, Waverly's in a mug that Alice painted with puffy paints in school.

"Yeah, she was two. Who thought that was a good idea," Wynonna tsked, slurping loudly from her mug.

"Pretty sure you encouraged it, Wynonna." Nicole turned around and took a sip of her coffee, sighing as the hot liquid burned down her throat and warmed her body.

"Didn't ask you, Red."

"You fed him dog food though, right? No bacon?" Waverly asked, snuggled into Nicole's side, her mug cupped in both hands under her nose as she breathed it in. Nicole looped her arm around Waverly's back and pulled her closer, resting her chin on Waverly's head.

"Sure," Wynonna nodded, mostly for her own benefit. Nicole rolled her eyes, a smirk playing at the edge of her mouth. Wynonna never failed to give Meatball a piece of her bacon and a pancake or two every morning, despite Waverly's protests. They all knew it was a battle she wouldn't win.

"Wynonna!" Nicole placed a gentle kiss to the crown of Waverly's head and squeezed her closer; Waverly mindlessly placed a hand to Nicole's stomach, playing with the end of the tie that rested there.

"What?! I swear!"

"Nicole, is she crossing her fingers?"

Nicole snorted, "toes." Waverly groaned and dropped her head back against Nicole's shoulder while Meatball nudged her thigh with his nose and taking a seat, leaning his weight against her leg.

"Haught! What the hell?!" Nicole shrugged, tapping Waverly's hip with her finger to let her know she needed to get going. Waverly untangled herself from Nicole's embrace and leaned her back against the cool countertop, wrapping an arm around her stomach and resting her opposite elbow on top to bring her mug to her lips.

"You know I can't lie to her, Wynonna." The smug look on Waverly's face was just barely visible behind the lip of the mug she kept to her mouth for the soul purpose of hiding it.

"She wouldn't even know! She can't see!" Waverly and Nicole simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"I am right here," Waverly butt in, just as Nicole countered, "Yeah, but she's my girlfriend. And it's her birthday."

"Is that why there's a sad excuse for a cake in the fridge?" Nicole shot daggers at the back of Wynonna's head. Wynonna knew damn well Nicole wanted to keep that a secret until she got home from work and could frost it and get the placement of the candles just right. The two of them slaved over it for hours last night after Waverly had fallen asleep. It was her favorite.

"You made me a cake?" Waverly perked up, shaking Meatball from her leg as she straightened herself up.

"Aaand that's my cue to leave," Nicole rushed out, quickly grabbing her jacket from the back of the chair Wynonna was sitting on and dislodging her completely, nearly tipping her onto the floor. "Don't touch the cake!" It was said for both their benefit, but Nicole was mostly looking to Wynonna. She trusted her not to sabotage the thing, but she wasn't sure there wouldn't be a corner piece missing by the time she got home that evening. Nicole made her way over to where Waverly was still standing at the counter and placed a gentle touch to her chin, guiding her into the kiss that followed. "Bye, baby. I'll be home at 1830, sharp." Nicole leaned in again, mumbling a soft I love you into Waverly's mouth.

"Stay safe," Waverly whispered back.

"Always," came Nicole's immediate hushed reply, only for their ears.

Waverly spent her day off sitting on the front porch with Wynonna while Alice ran around the yard with Meatball, chasing the ducks and the hens, counting down the minutes until 6:30, a smile on her face the entire time. It wasn't until 6:20 rolled around and she didn't hear tires crunching on gravel a mile down the road and there wasn't the smell of dust in the air that came with it that the smile finally fell from her face and she began to worry.

Wynonna told her the eight unanswered texts and three unanswered calls were overreacting, but the knot in Waverly's gut told her otherwise. So she continued to call. She called the station, Nicole's desk phone, her cell phone; hell, she even called Lonnie, but all went unanswered. It wasn't until Wynonna started pacing the length of the front porch at 6:40 that she finally gave in and told Wynonna to grab her keys to the truck. Nicole was never late. And she never backed out on a promise.

Wynonna drove as fast as having two of the people she loved most in the world in her passenger seats would allow and made it to the Purgatory Municipal building just after seven. She barely had the truck in park before Waverly was throwing open the passenger door and dragging Meatball with her, telling him to go forward into the building, not bothering to wait for Wynonna.

Waverly heard the sliding glass doors open in front of Meatball and slide closed once she stepped through. Meatball led her through the second set of doors just as smoothly, continuing to the front desk where Waverly expected to be greeted by Lonnie, but was met with only silence. She called out a quick hello with no response and the knot in her stomach tightened uncomfortably and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. In a shaky voice, she told Meatball to move forward into the bullpen, he whined but followed the command. Waverly reached out, placing her hand on the counter around the front desk, following the curve to the opposite side, Meatball just a step ahead of her. She had reached the end and commanded Meatball to go forward once more, knowing soon enough she would be a few steps from Nicole's office, but Meatball wouldn't move. She gently yanked the harness grasped tightly in her fist and repeated the command in a desperate plea, her voice cracking; Meatball only whimpered and sat at Waverlys feet, not moving. She tried one more time, a feeble attempt, and gave up when Meatball only barked once and laid down. Waverly huffed, releasing the harness in favor of finding the wall to her left with a shaking hand. She could feel her heart in her throat as she got closer and closer to Nicole's office door, barely managing to croak out Nicole's name before her fingers brushed the door frame and her boot nudged something on the floor.

Meatball whined again and Waverly heard the sliding glass doors open on the other side of the desk, Wynonna's boots clomping on the wood floor seconds after. She could tell by the way she was walking that Alice wasn't with her.

Waverly slid down the length of the wall to her knees, her breath caught in her throat as she reached out and was met with wet fabric. In shock, she pulled her hand back as if burned, her fingers coming away sticky and wet. It didn't register at first, her brain didn't want to believe what her nose confirmed the second she was close enough. Vanilla and copper. Gunpowder.

Tentatively, Waverly reached out again, slower. She found the holster where a gun usually sat, empty. She followed the holster up to where it was connected to the belt wrapped around a slim waist. She followed the line of the belt to a set of buttons holding together a drenched shirt, no longer tucked neatly into the waistband of well-fitting pants. The line of buttons led her to a tie, askew over the breast pocket of a uniform, and then further to a collar, wrinkled.

She stopped there, took a breath and let her chin fall to her chest.

Bodies weren't supposed to feel like that.