I sat down in the chair next to Willa's hospital bed, watching her sleep. She was asleep when I got there, so I figured I'd just let her sleep. I sighed, leaning back in the chair and ran a hand through my hair. I pulled out my phone and went on it, pulling up Nicole's contact. I stared at it for a bit, contemplating whether or not I should text her. Wynonna walked into the room and I took a deep breath, sitting up and locking my phone.

Wynonna looked at me. "Was she sleeping when you got here?" She asked me quietly.
I nodded. "I didn't wanna wake her," I responded with a shrug.
She nodded a bit, looking over at Willa. She sighed and looked back at me. "Why don't you go get something to eat? I'll sit here with her until she wakes up," she told me.
"Okay," I muttered. I stood up and walked towards the door. She stopped me and kissed my cheek. I flashed a smile and walked out of the hospital room.

I looked around at all the people in the hospital. Some people were in wheelchairs, others were in their hospital gowns with IVs attached to their arms, some people were sitting in chairs. They all just seemed so sad. I shook my head and left the hospital. I didn't know where I was going exactly, but being in the hospital made me feel sick to my stomach. I wanted to get as far away from it as possible. I kept walking until I found myself going in the direction of the Homestead. I sighed as I wrapped my jacket around myself tighter, shivering from the cold.

I walked up to the house and up the steps onto the porch. I opened the front door and walked into wrecked living room. I picked up a chair and set it upright before sitting down.

"Nicole!" Sheriff Nedley called.
I stood up, files in my hand, and walked into his office. "Yeah?" I responded.
Nedley looked at me and held his hand out. "Give me those files and get outta here. You've done enough for today," he told me.
I nodded and handed the files to him. "You sure? I can help out some more if you need it," I offered. I guess I sounded desperate because Nedley looked at me with concern.
"Close the door and have a seat," he said.
I sighed and did what he said, closing the door and sitting down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"What's going on?" Nedley asked me, leaning back in his chair, his hands folded over his stomach.
I swallowed and shook my head. "It's nothing, really. Just some personal issues," I said simply. I didn't want to tell him what it was about. I was really just trying to avoid Waverly.
"That's fine. But whatever it is, don't avoid it. You'll never resolve any problems by avoiding them. Burying yourself in work is only gonna stress you out. Believe me, I know." His expression was soft and caring. He didn't ask me what the issue was. He didn't pry.
I nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Sheriff."
Nedley shrugged. "Sure. Now get outta here."

I nodded and stood up, turning towards the door. I opened it, about to walk out.

"Nicole," Nedley said.
I turned around. "Yes, sir?" I asked.
"You're gonna make a fine cop," he spoke softly.
I smiled. "Thank you, Sheriff."

Nedley nodded and I left his office, closing the door behind me. I left the station and got into my car. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket when I sat down and pulled it out. I had text messages and missed calls. All from Wynonna and Gus.

"What?" I whispered to myself.

Wyn: have you seen waverly?
Wyn: nicole?
Wyn: hello?

I didn't even look at the rest of the messages. I panicked and unlocked my phone, opening Wynonna's contact and pressing "call".

"Finally! Where the hell have you been?" Wynonna practically yelled at me when she answered.
"I was at the Sheriff's Department filing papers for Nedley. What's going on?" I responded. I was beyond worried and panicking.
"Waverly's missing!"
"Yeah, I got that, but what the hell happened?"
"I don't know. I took her to the hospital to see Willa, but she was sleeping. I sent Waverly to get herself some food. She's been gone for hours, she's not even at the hospital anymore!"
"Have you tried calling her?" I asked.
"What am I, stupid? Of course I tried calling her! She's not answering!"
"Okay, God! Calm down, just- let me try, alright?"
"You really think she'll answer for you? She hasn't answered for me or Gus."
"I don't know, Wynonna! But I have to try. I'll drive around and see if I can find her."
"Alright, whatever, just please let me know if you do find her."
"You know I will."

Wynonna hung up and I started the car, pulling out of my parking space. I started driving around town slowly, looking around for Waverly. I glanced at my phone, opening Waverly's contact and calling her. The phone rang a few times before going to voicemail.

"Hi! This is Waverly! Leave a message!" Her voice spoke sweetly.

There was a beep and then I froze.

"Uh- um. Wave, it's Nicole. Wynonna and Gus are looking for you. They're worried sick. Just- Call me back, alright, baby?" I hung up and then waited a few minutes before pulling over and texting her a few times.

NH: Waverly?
NH: Baby?
NH: Please tell me you're okay
NH: Wynonna and Gus are worried about you.
NH: Waves, where are you?

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I decided to try calling her again.

The phone rang a few more times before stopping. I waited for the recording of Waverly's voice, but it didn't play.

"Hello?" Waverly answered. Her voice was soft and sad.
"Baby? Hey! Hey, are you okay? Where are you?" I asked her.
"Is Wynonna with you?" She asked, avoiding my questions.
"No. No, she's not. Where are you?"
"The Homestead."
"I'm coming, okay? I'm coming to get you. Just stay there."
"Don't bring Wynonna, please."
"Okay. Whatever you want, baby. I'll see you in a little while, alright?"
"Alright."

I hung up and called Wynonna almost immediately, putting my phone on speaker before starting to drive.

"Hey, did you find her? Is she okay?" Wynonna asked as soon as she answered.
"Yeah, I did. She's fine," I responded. I began driving in the direction of the Homestead.
"Well, where is she?"
"The Homestead. I'm going to get her right now."
"I'm coming too."
"No, no. She wants me to go by myself."
"Oh. Okay, well, make sure you get her home safe."
"I will."
"I mean, Haught. If she gets hurt, I'll hurt you."
"I got it, Wynonna. You don't have to worry about it."
"Let's hope that's true."

She hung up and I rolled my eyes. I hope Wynonna doesn't blame me for this. I had no idea that Waverly was going to run away... I tried hold keep myself together as I got closer to the Homestead. I hope it's not because of me. When I pulled up to the house, I saw Waverly standing in the doorway. She had my jacket on, wrapped around herself tightly, her arms folded across her chest. She looked cold. I turned the engine off and got out of the car, rushing over to her.

"Waverly... Are you alright?" I asked.
Waverly shook her head. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were red and puffy. "I'm sorry, Nicole. I'm so sorry I was rude to you. You were just trying to help-"
I pulled her into me, wrapping my arms around her tightly. "Oh, baby, please don't tell me that that's why you ran off... It's okay, really. Don't worry about it."
She sobbed into my shoulder, wrapping her arms around me in response. She gripped my sweater, holding me close. "I'm sorry," she apologized again.
I pulled back and held her face in my hands, gently caressing her cheek with my thumb. "Hey... You don't have to apologize."
"I do. I was so mean to you."
"I can handle it," I promised her. I leaned forward and tilted her face up before pressing my lips against hers.

Waverly kissed back immediately, pulling me closer. She pulled away and looked at me.

"Come inside. You've never been in here," she told me.
I nodded and followed her inside the house. I looked around and frowned. "Um... What happened?" I asked her.
"Oh, I don't know... My guess is someone came in after Ward left and trashed the place," she answered with a shrug.
I looked at her. Ward? She'd never called her dad by his name the whole time I'd known her... It was strange. Like she was changing. "Oh," was all I responded with.

Waverly shut the front door and took my hand. She pulled me toward the stairs and I flashed a smile at her. She smiled back and led me up the stairs. We walked over to the first door at the top of the stairs and she opened it, pulling me into the room. She released my hand and I walked further into the room as she closed the door behind us. I looked around the room. It was mostly empty but still had a bed. The bed was made neatly even though the room itself looked like it wasn't being used by anyone.

"This was my room. Before I went to live with Gus and Uncle Curtis," Waverly spoke behind me.
I turned around and looked at her. "It's empty," I told her.
She nodded. "Yeah. I took some of my stuff with me, but I think Ward put the rest of it in the barn or something." She sounded not sad but kind of numb about the situation. To be quite honest, I was pretty worried about her.
"Hey, are you okay? You seem a little off," I said. I figured I would bring it up, just in case something was wrong. She was acting a bit strange.
Waverly shrugged and flashed a small smile. "I-I'm fine, I guess. I just missed you." She said, stepping closer to me and slipping her hands into mine, interlocking our fingers.
I smiled back at her. "I missed you too. I see that you're wearing my jacket," I pointed out.
She nodded a bit. "Yeah. It smells like you."

I smiled a bit, flattered that she was wearing my coat because it smelled like me. I squeezed her hands gently before leaning down and kissing her nose. She let out a soft chuckle and leaned up, catching my lips with hers, kissing me. I kissed back, rubbing the back of Waverly's hand with my thumb. Eventually, she let go of my hands and cupped my face with her hands. My hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer to me. Her hands moved from my cheeks, down to my body. She slipped them into my jacket and gripped my shirt. She began to push me backwards a bit, probably towards the bed.

My knees hit the bed and I fell onto my back, Waverly falling with me. We pulled away from the kiss and looked at each other. She smiled her sweet, gorgeous smile and I couldn't help but smile back. I loved everything about her, but her smile was my favorite. Just the way she smiled lit up her entire face and you could tell that she was happy. I loved seeing her happy.

"I love you," I whispered. My eyes scanned her face. By this point, I'd practically memorized every tiny little detail of her features. She was absolutely perfect. I watched as her eyes lit up even more and her smile got a bit softer.
"I love you too," she replied.

Our lips touched again and Waverly's hands went to push my jacket off of my shoulders. She pulled away and sat next to me on the bed, allowing me to take the jacket off completely. When it was off, I dropped it to the floor and adjusted myself on the bed so that my back was against the headboard of the bed. This bed was somewhat smaller than the bed Waverly had at Gus's place. Waverly took off the jacket she was wearing and climbed back onto the bed, straddling me and sitting on my lap.

"I never got to return the favor last night," she told me. She spoke softly, her voice sounding sweet and innocent.
I blushed. "Oh," I responded. I remembered that she didn't... But I wasn't so sure I wanted to do it here. "You wanna do it here?" I asked, making sure this is what she wanted.
"Why not? I mean, no one's gonna bother us," she said with a shrug.
"True... But I mean-" I paused, not sure where I was going with that exactly.
Waverly frowned. "Do you not want to?" She questioned.
I shook my head immediately. "Oh, no, I- I want to. I really want to. I'm just- I'm not sure if we should do it here."
"It's fine, baby. Just relax... I mean, the house is empty... We can be as loud as we want, and no one's gonna hear us or barge in on us." She kissed my cheek before gently brushing her nose against my jawline. She trailed kisses along my jaw and then trailed down to my neck. She kissed my neck with parted lips and bit down softly.
I closed my eyes, leaning my head back to give her some more room. "I guess... we could do it here," I gave in.
Waverly chuckled, pulling away from my neck and looking at me. "We absolutely can."

Waverly kissed me passionately, her hands tangled up in my hair as mine were running up and down her back. The kisses got increasingly desperate and before I knew it, Waverly was pulling my shirt off of me. She dropped it onto the floor and then got off of me.

"Lay on your back," Waverly told me.
I nodded and did as she said, laying on my back. "What are you-" I was cut off by Waverly kissing me again. She was rough, yet gentle and I'm not gonna lie, it was sexy.

I tried to put my hands on her waist, but she grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head. Waverly caught my lower lip between her teeth and bit down slightly, pulling back before releasing it. I let out a quiet moan as Waverly began to grind her body against mine very slowly. Our lips reconnected and Waverly kept my arms pinned down.

She pulled away and leaned down, kissing my neck. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax as Waverly continued to kiss my neck, slowly making her way down. Her hands released my arms and she started to run them over my body, touching and feeling me. She sat up and I lifted my head, opening my eyes to look at her. I watched as she unbuttoned my jeans before leaning down to kiss my stomach. She trailed kisses up my body until she was kissing my chest, running her hands up and down my sides slowly. My breathing was heavy and my body was heating up with every touch of her hands and lips.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of Waverly touching and kissing me. She made it back up to my neck and placed open-mouthed kisses just under my jawline. I felt her hand slip into my jeans and she started rubbing me through my underwear. My breath hitched and my body tensed up slightly. Waverly chuckled, her breath tickling me, and I laughed quietly in response. She opened her mouth and grazed her teeth against my skin, then kissed the same spot before pulling away from my neck and looking at me. She kissed me once, then pulled away again and looked at me as she slipped her hand into my underwear. I gasped at the direct contact her fingers were now making with my clit.

"Oh, wow," I breathed.

Waverly kissed me passionately and I moaned against her mouth as she started playing with me, faster and faster. She slowed down a bit and pulled away, looking at me. I whined, wanting her to go fast again.

"Faster," I told her. "Please?"
Waverly looked at me, a very obvious glint of lust in her eyes. "You want me to go faster?" She asked innocently.
I nodded. "Please," I begged her. My hands were in her hair now, pulling her into a kiss.

She kissed me while she rubbed up and down my pussy. After a few seconds, she stopped on my clit and began to rub in circles again. Slow circles at first with a little bit of pressure. I loved it. I rocked my hips against her hand, still kissing her. I opened my mouth and pulled away from the kiss, leaning my head back and letting out a loud moan.

"Ohh, my god. You're amazing," I breathed.

Waverly kissed my neck, her hand never stopping its movements. I closed my eyes and buried my face in Waverly's shoulder. The pleasure was building up, and I could feel myself getting closer.

"I'm close, Wave- fuck," I let out. In response, Waverly leaned her head up slightly and started to suck on the soft spot on my neck that she knew drove me crazy. "Oh, fuck me. Oh, my god- Waverly," I moaned. I threw my head back and let out a loud, final moan as I came.

Waverly let out a soft laugh as my body trembled from the pleasure. She removed her hand from my pants and pulled away from me. I let out a sigh, opening my eyes as I relaxed. I looked at her and smiled. She smiled back as she licked one of her fingers.

"What-" I laughed.
Waverly chuckled. "What? You taste good," she told me.
I blushed. "Do I?" I asked.
She nodded. "You do. Sooo... How was it?"
I shook my head, smiling at her. "It was amazing. As always."
"Good." She sat up and looked at me seriously. "I have something to talk to you about."

The look she gave me was really worrying...

I sat up and nodded. "Okay... What's going on, baby?"
Waverly's smile faded and she let out a small sigh. "Tucker Gardner asked me to prom," she spoke quietly.
I froze, staring at her. I shrugged. "Okay? And?" I asked her.
She looked guilty. "I... was thinking about saying yes," she answered.
I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. Why the hell would she ever consider this? "Didn't you say that he makes you uncomfortable?" I asked her, not meaning to sound angry. It just... came out that way.
"I- well, yeah, but-"
"No! No, "but", Waverly. You don't go to prom with creepy guys who have crushes on you. Why would you even consider that?" I snapped at her.
Tears welled up in Waverly's eyes. "Because, Nicole! It's the least I could do after my sister killed his parents!" She cried. My heart broke seeing her like this. She was so upset about this. I could tell it was practically tearing her up inside.
I cupped Waverly's face in my hands and looked at her. "Waverly Earp, you listen to me," I said. My voice was stern, but I was so sad to see her upset. "This is not your issue. It's not your fault. You do not have to fix this. I will not allow you to submit to Tucker just because you feel guilty about what Willa did."

Waverly sighed, shaking her head. She looked down and shrugged. "I know... I know, I'm sorry. It- I just... I felt bad... And I mean, I didn't think we'd be able to go together," she muttered.
I frowned. "Well, why not?" I asked her.
She shrugged. "People would say things... I don't really wanna be judged during something like prom."
I sighed. "Yeah... I guess you're right... But I don't want you going with Tucker," I told her.
"Alright."

I opened my mouth to say something else, but was cut off by my phone ringing. Waverly picked it up and sighed.

"It's Wynonna," she told me.
"Answer it. She's looking for you, anyways."

I answered it, pressing the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Waves! Oh, thank God! Where are you two?" Wynonna asked, sounding relieved.
"At the Homestead. I needed to talk to Nicole alone..." I responded.
Wynonna snorted a bit. "Yeah, okay. "Talk"... How was that talk? Did you two have a good time?" She asked teasingly.
I broke out into a smile. "It was just a conversation, Wyn. Trust me."
"Just a conversation... Sure. Look, why don't you two come back to Gus's place? We'll all sit down and have some dinner. Yeah?"
"Yeah. We'll be right there."
"Alright, baby girl. See you when you get here."
"See ya."

I hung up and looked at Nicole. "Let's go, baby."
She smiled and nodded. "Alright," she said.

We got up and Nicole put her shirt back on, buttoning her pants. I pulled my jacket on and handed Nicole hers. The whole way home, I thought about what Nicole had said. I couldn't fix what Willa did... No one could. What's done is done, and giving in to Tucker certainly wasn't going to make up for anything.

I just wish there were an easy way to tell him.

A/N: So sorry for the wait! Hope it was worth it... Also I apologize for the sudden point of view changes in the chapter, I wanted to try something different since Waverly was having a bit of a moment. I hope you guys enjoyed it though, maybe it was nice getting Nicole's view for once? Anyways, I will try harder to update more often. I'm so sorry you had to wait!