Waverly walked into Shorty's with a grin on her face as she read her text message to Nicole. They had been married for nearly a year (their anniversary in just 2 short days) and their lives had been everything they had dreamed of. Wynonna and Doc were still in Montana, leaving Waverly, Nicole, and Rachel alone enjoying the homestead. They made sure to FaceTime with them constantly. Yes, they had a bratty teenage living with them, but that teenager had kept Nicole sane when Waverly could not. Nicole was excelling at being the sheriff and the Angel's Shield, maintaining both civilians and demons alike. And Waverly was still helping Black Badge, specifically Jeremy, with her research. Everything had been going so smoothly.

Rachel stood behind the bar at happy hour helping serve Purgatory's thirstiest crowd. Waverly made it a habit to check in on her having worked this crowd herself not too long ago. They could get rowdy now that Nedley didn't come here all the time and Nicole was busy defending the town from the stray demons that showed from time to time. She also felt a connection to this place obviously, having first met her wife behind that vey bar. Nostalgia coming at her while still trying to figure out what to get Nicole for their anniversary.

"Hey Waves," Rachel said from behind the bar. "I should be done soon."

Waverly nodded with another smile as she took a seat at the bar. "So what do you think Nicole would like for our anniversary?" she asked the young girl.

"Alone time?" Rachel responded with a smirk and a wink. "I know you guys don't get a lot of that and the house does have very thin walls."

"Wynonna always said the same thing," Waverly responded snidely.

"Since when do you not have something planned?"

Waverly truly didn't know. She wanted to get something perfect for her wife, something that showcased how wonderful this past year had been. It was the year that they had all dreamed of: incident free. No demons. No hospital stays. No near death experiences. Nothing out of the ordinary (for them at least). Both her and Nicole still dealt with demons regularly but each time had been very controlled thanks to Jermey and Black Badge as well as Nicoles skills at diffusing situations. Somehow she had managed to talk down most demons from doing something they would regret. But Waverly knew that as the Angel's Shield Nicole had no choice otherwise the Guardian would have to step in and neither of them wanted Dark Angel Waverly back in control.

"You know I was thinking..." Waverly started but was stopped immediately by the doors to Shorty's being slammed open and two masked gunmen walked through the doors spraying bullets freely. She dove over the bar and tackled Rachel to the ground. She could hear glass breaking and screams from the patrons as the bullets continued to rain down. It seemed like forever before the barrage stopped and Waverly opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything above the bar but noticed blood on her arms. She noticed a pain coming from her arm.

Great I've been shot again she thought to herself as she assessed the situation from her vantage point. Near her shoulder there was a bullet wound. She noticed the blood and the pain, only coming from one side meaning that there was no exit wound. It hurt like hell but when she looked over at Rachel she forgot all about it. There was a bullet wound in her chest and she was gasping for air.

"No, no, no, hold on," Waverly whispered as she tried covering Rachel's wound. Quickly she learned that putting pressure on the injury was not helping. Blood started seeping out the corners of her mouth.

"Purgatorians," shouted one of the gunmen, "it has been a hot minute since anything exciting happened in this town, don't you think?"

Waverly ignored them and focused all her energy on Rachel. She placed her hands over her wound and looked her in the eyes.

"You're going to be just fine," Waverly whispered as a light shined from her hands. She was still an angel after all. She had been practicing some of her powers on the down low. She wanted to be able to protect those around her if she needed to. This was the time.

Rachels wound healed and the blood staining her clothes seemingly disappeared. Rachel sat up with a start as Waverly placed a hand to her mouth and a finger to her own, signaling her to be quiet. Rachel also noticed Waverly's eyes growing heavier and the blood coming out of her own wound to be coming more profusely. She quickly grabbed a towel and pressed it against it.

"You see we are only here for one thing and I think that one thing is here," the gunman continued. "You see we are looking for an angel."

xxxxx

"Shots fired at Shorty's" came over the radio as Nicole sat in her office at the sheriff's office. "Hostage situation."

Her face blanched. She knew Rachel was there and that hurt enough. But she recalled the last text she received from her wife.

Stopping in Short's now. See you soon my beautiful wife.

Nicole had never moved so fast in her life.

xxxxx

Short beginning to test the waters. Let me know!