Nicole woke up with a start, a blue blanket sliding onto her lap as she sat up and took in her surroundings. She was sitting on a old couch with thick if slightly lumpy cushions. A stone fireplace topped by a thick wooden mantel was across from her, and the walls and ceiling were painted wood. She heard a snuffled grunt nearby and bent to see Rowdy fast asleep on a folded woolen blanket. She had only blurred recollections of the sisters bringing her back to their home, her devastated emotional state not letting her observe much at the time.

"Good morning," murmured a voice behind her.

She turned and saw Wynonna's sister standing behind her and Nicole struggled to recall her name. She wore an enormous black sweatshirt over gray yoga pants, and held out a cup of coffee with a hopeful expression.

"Thought you might like some of this."

Nicole blinked, then reached out and accepted the cup with a nod. "I— thank you." She stared down at her hands for a moment. "Sorry to put you through any trouble." Her voice trembled a little; the emotion of the night before still felt raw.

"Please, it was no trouble at all," the woman replied, her face earnest.

At the sound of their voices, Rowdy stirred, looking around sleepily. With a stretch and yawn he rose to his feet and to Nicole's complete shock padded over and rubbed his head against the other woman's knee. She wobbled at his insistent pushing and half fell onto a nearby chair with a laugh.

"Aren't you a pretty boy," she cooed. "Let's see if Auntie Waverly can rustle you up something to eat, shall we?"

Waverly, thought Nicole with relief, but then her eyes widened in surprise when Rowdy barked happily and padded into the kitchen. She looked at Waverly in astonishment. "What did you do to my dog?"

Waverly stood up, glancing uncertainly between Rowdy and Nicole. "I'm sorry, I should have asked you what he eats."

Nicole waved her hand dismissively. "No, it's fine. He's got the stomach of a goat. I'm just surprised he responded to you so easily."

"Oh," Waverly blushed. "Well, he and I spent a lot of time together last night."

Nicole cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Rowdy, getting impatient in the kitchen, bounded back into the living room, this time taking the time to half jump onto Nicole's lap in greeting before returning to Waverly and bumping her with his big head.

"Um," Waverly looked desperately around the room in embarrassment, before sitting back down in the chair. "You were having a lot of trouble sleeping, nightmares maybe, so I…" she trailed off uncertainly, her cheeks reddening. Finally she stammered. "I didn't want to leave you alone, so I helped your dog keep you company." She rubbed his ears. "Anyway, we had some leftovers, and I thought he might be hungry, so he got some steak and potatoes." She grinned sheepishly. "Guess you could say I bribed him for his friendship."

Nicole took in the slightly glazed look to her eyes and realization flooded her. "You stayed up all night."

Waverly shrugged as she ducked her head back down. "I slept a little."

Nicole swallowed hard. "Thank you," she mumbled after a moment.

They sat quietly for a few minutes then Waverly pushed herself up, eager to dispel the awkward silence. "Are you hungry? Because I make some mean pancakes!" She bounced lightly on her feet as she walked to the kitchen. "I add bananas and chocolate chips to 'em. And we've got thick cut bacon!"

Nicole found herself smiling in response. "That sounds really good, actually."

Halfway through her second plate of pancakes (and Rowdy's third) she accepted the offer of a coffee refill and sat back with a groan of satisfaction. "You weren't lying about those pancakes."

Waverly blushed again but merely nodded. She had chatted lightly over breakfast about the history of the Earp homestead, her interests at school, how Wynonna had basically raised her after their parents passed, gently keeping the awkward silences at bay. She didn't mention working at Shorty's, though whether it was because she herself was uncomfortable with it or she wanted to spare Nicole a reminder of the previous day, Nicole wasn't sure.

Nicole poked a lingering piece of bacon with her folk, fully aware of Rowdy's hopeful gaze. With a sigh she tossed it into the bowl Waverly had found for him to use. It was gone as soon as it hit.

"Waverly," she began, then paused when Waverly turned to give her full attention. "I wanted to apologize. For yesterday." She waved her hand again when Waverly shifted to deflect her. "I just— I hope I didn't hurt you in anyway, pushing you. And— it wasn't you, okay? I just wanted you to know it wasn't — it wasn't anything you or your sister did." She dropped her hands to her lap and worried at the seam of her jeans. "It was just me being stupid," she finally muttered.

She jumped slightly as she felt a tentative touch on her shoulder. She looked up to see the concern and compassion on Waverly's face.

"We all have our demons and ghosts that haunt us, Wynonna would say," Waverly said, her voice soft. "There was a time Wynonna couldn't sleep without drinking enough whiskey to knock her out every night. She had a look in her eye just like the one I saw in you." She shook her head and her hand gripped Nicole's shoulder more firmly. "Sometimes I've had that look myself." She paused, staring out the window, then shrugged. "We know a few things about that sort of thing out here." She paused again, then took a breath. "You don't have to talk about it but— I could listen. If you wanted— if you needed somebody to listen."

Nicole felt tears sting her eyes and she squeezed them shut and covered Waverly's hand with her own, giving it a thankful squeeze. Mercifully, Waverly merely smiled and stepped away. A muffled thump sounded overhead, so she pulled a third mug out of the cupboard and filled it half full of steaming hot coffee and half full of cream. She finished it with a hefty spoon full of sugar.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "Wynonna drinks her coffee like that?"

"Awful isn't it?" Waverly laughed as more thumps sounded from the staircase.

The object of their conversation shuffled sleepily into the kitchen and made a beeline for Waverly and the mug. "The only thing I like neat is my whiskey," she said hoarsely, taking the mug and a long gulp. "Thanks Waves, that's perfect." She looked over at Nicole and Rowdy and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did you two eat all my pancakes?"

Waverly swatted the back of her head. "They're guests, Nona, and I made plenty of food."

"Ow! Fine, but their better be some left." Wynonna ducked as Waverly went for her head again. "Geez, Waves, I was kidding." She took another long swallow of coffee and regarded Nicole over the rim of her mug. She then set it down with a sigh. "So. Haught-head."

Nicole rolled her eyes.

"What brings you out this way, anyway?" Wynonna popped half a pancake into her mouth with obvious enthusiasm. "It's not like Purgatory is on anybody's can't-miss list."

"Funny you should mention that," Nicole remarked, watching as Rowdy started to inch slowly towards Wynonna's plate full of bacon. "Met this bartender at a roadhouse on the interstate. She said it was pretty nice out here."

Wynonna guffawed. "You mean old Phylis at the truck stop?"

Waverly rejoined them at the table. "Big woman, covered in tattoos, only one to ever beat you at a drinking contest?"

"That's the one," Wynonna burped and thumped her chest with her fist. "Hate to tell you this, Deputy, but that woman's definition of 'pretty nice' is different than most folks."

"She's an old friend of Shorty's, comes by the bar a couple of times a year," Waverly put in. "She's big into fishing and hunting."

"Guess we do have that here," Wynonna mused. "Ever go hunting, Haught-rod?"

"Only humans," Nicole dead-panned.

Wynonna perked up at this. "You should come with us on some of our takedowns! I bet it's more fun when we do it. Don't have to stuff all official-like. We certainly have lots of characters about that make things lively."

Nicole caught Waverly's look of horror and coughed back a laugh. "Thanks Wynonna, but I probably don't have the right… instincts for bounty hunting. I'm probably a little too by the book."

Wynonna shrugged and stuffed another whole pancake into her mouth. Her eyes rolled back with a look of bliss followed by a guttural moan.

"Dear lord, Nona, you want some alone time with your plate?" Waverly demanded in exasperation before turning to Nicole. "Please excuse my sister, she was raised by wolves."

Rowdy decided that was the moment to snag what bacon he could from Wynonna's plate, and in an instant three pieces were swept away by his eager jaws.

"Your damn dog stole my bacon!" Wynonna hollered and with a war cry she sprinted after him. In the subsequent mayhem, chairs overturned and the sofa upended. Rowdy's barks and Wynonna's threats of retribution circled the house before a chuckling Waverly wisely opened the back door for the big pit bull to beat a retreat. She turned to see Nicole collapsed on the floor against the cupboards, absolutely breathless with laughter, then winced at a particularly loud yell from outside.

"You damn dog, give me back my bacon!"

Waverly shook her head. "You'd think she realize she really doesn't want to back."

Nicole's eyes grew wide and she laughed even harder. Waverly couldn't help but join her and the kitchen echoed with their guffaws.

"Oh my God," Nicole eventually managed. "Phylis was right. Purgatory is a great place for me to be for a while." She rubbed her stomach ruefully, her diaphragm sore from all of her gasping. "Is there a hotel or anything around?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm not sending you there, it's a shit hole," said Waverly firmly. "Only biker gangs and hookers use it. You're gonna stay here with us."

"Oh gosh, I couldn't impose," Nicole protested. "You were kind enough to put me up for a night…"

Wynonna reappeared, a scrap of bacon in one hand and a sheepish Rowdy at her heels. She wiped the bacon off absently on a towel and shoved it in her mouth, glaring at the dog the whole while.

"Did you pull that out of his mouth?" Nicole asked in astonishment.

"Of course," Wynonna shrugged, giving Rowdy another hard look. "It was the principal of the thing."

Waverly pinched the bridge of her nose. "For fuck's sake, Nona."

"What? I'm not gonna let a damn dog take my bacon without a fight!"

Nicole breathed a sigh of relief when Wynonna swung her truck into the secured parking lot behind the bail bond's office. Parked near the door, beyond a collection of cars and storage bins that presumably represented bond collateral, sat her bike, safe and sound.

"Dolls brought it over here for ya," Wynonna explained. "Some drunk asshole might have fallen asleep in it, or worse, if we left it at Shorty's. Hope that's okay?"

Nicole shook her head. "Are you kidding? Thanks for not leaving it there."

Wynonna shrugged, "Dolls is a softy."

Waverly snorted from the back seat. "Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, Nona."

Nicole looked over her shoulder to see the younger woman smirk, her hands idly stroking Rowdy as he lay sprawled across her lap. "I know who the biggest softy is in that relationship."

"Shut up."

The back door opened and Dolls stuck his head out, waving them in urgently.

"We've got a problem," he said without preamble.

It was immediately clear what the problem was.

At the front door a slouched figure pounded feebly at the glass door, crying and shouting. "Waves! Come on, Waves, I know you're in there, baby! I miss you, Waverly!"

"Oh geez, it's Loser. Would you please let me shoot him?" Wynonna asked in exasperation.

Dolls shook head head as he rolled his eyes. "Nedley doesn't appreciate random bodies."

"I'm pretty sure I could make the body disappear," Wynonna retorted.

To Nicole's surprise Dolls nodded agreement, his hand resting on his holstered gun. "That's true, but nevertheless…"

Waverly made an exasperated sound and tossed her brown hair over her shoulder. "Nobody is shooting anybody," she declared. "I will go talk to him and get him to go home and sleep it off. You're both right here if I need you." She looked fiercely at her sister. "Wynonna! Sit! Stay!"

Behind her Rowdy promptly sat down and Nicole choked back a laugh. Dolls coughed, his eyes twinkling.

"Nice to see you again, Deputy," he said with a faint smile. "You have a very nice motorcycle. It was pleasure riding it over here."

"Brunhilde is a fine gal," Nicole agreed. "Thanks for taking care of her for me."

Wynonna scoffed. "You named your ride Brunhilde?"

Nicole slumped down onto the couch at Dolls' waved invitation. "You got a problem with that?"

"Hell, Dolls named his truck Mama for reasons I still don't understand, so I get people naming their rides, but why Brunhilde?"

Their idle banter was interrupted by a shout from the front. Nicole leapt to her feet as he saw Waverly struggle with the man at the door. Rowdy leaped forward with an angry growl with Nicole, Wynonna and Dolls hot on his heels.

"Champ, let go of me!" Waverly yelled, trying to extricate herself from his desperate grip.

He shook her as he gripped even more tightly. "Baby, you gotta listen to me! I said I was sorry so you gotta take me back, right?" His voice was pleading but his face showed anger. "You can't just walk away from me!"

Barking furiously Rowdy threw himself at the door and it swung open under his weight. An instant later the big pit had the man on the ground, a truly scary snarl rasping as he dripped saliva .

"Don't move," Nicole advised, her voice low with anger. "If you move he'll go for your throat." She glanced at Waverly, still standing nearby. Her face was pale and her arms were wrapped around herself. "Are you okay?"

Waverly looked up at Nicole's soft question. She nodded jerkily.

"And you know this man?" Gentle, but insistent. She felt herself slip comfortably into work mode for the first time in months.

"This is her loser of an ex-boyfriend, Champ Hardy," Wynonna snapped. "He likes to get drunk and turn into Captain Asshole."

Nicole noted Waverly starting to rub her arms where Champ's hands had likely left bruises. "Mr. Dolls, may I borrow your handcuffs?"

Dolls handed them over wordlessly.

"Rowdy, stand down." The big dog reluctantly stepped out of the way, then turned with a huff and trotted over to Waverly, rubbing himself happily against her legs. Nicole's hand shook as she saw this, but she gritted her teeth and expertly had Champ on his stomach and cuffed. "I'm placing you under arrest, Mr. Hardy," she informed him, then looked over at where Dolls and Wynonna were standing with their arms around Waverly. "Anybody call the locals?"

Dolls nodded with a small wave of his hand holding his cell phone.

"You fucking bitch, you can't do this!" Champ yelled. "Shitty bounty hunter bullshit!"

"She's a cop, you idiot," Wynonna informed him as she stepped away from Waverly and landed a booted foot hard against his back. "And you're lucky she is or I'd have shot your ass."

"Fuck you, Earp!" He was spitting now, his face red. "Fuck all of you! You will pay for this. Especially you, Waverly, you traitorous bitch!"

A patrol car pulled up and two uniforms stepped out. One shook his head as he approached. "You've been out of jail for what, twelve hours, Champ?"

"Not gonna learn, is he?" replied his partner.

"Fuck you pigs!" Champ yelled as they lifted him up. "You can't keep me locked up! I got fucking rights! And I'm gonna come back and give you what's coming to you Waver—"

The back door of the cruiser slammed shut, cutting him off.

"Please tell me he's not going to get out on bail so fast this time," Wynonna pleaded.

"No promises," said the first cop ruefully. "Judge Stillwell was awfully good friends with Champ's granddaddy."

"But he wasn't supposed to go off and get drunk, and there are lots of witnesses for his making threats this time," his partner shrugged. "So that could help." He looked over at Nicole. "Weren't you at the station earlier?"

Nicole held out her hand. "Nicole Haught. I'm a deputy for Washow County, though I and my partner on leave right now."

"And you hooked up with this crew," he said, shaking his head with a grin. "Well, hope you weren't looking forward to any relaxation."

"Shut it, Jonesy," Wynonna growled playfully. "We're taking good care of her."

He tipped his hat at Rowdy. "Keep an eye out, Officer," he said good-naturedly. "Trouble seems to follow this crowd around."

Rowdy barked and they all laughed.

Nicole caught Waverly watching her, a look of speculation on her face. She dropped her head and fought back the desire to grab Rowdy and get the hell out of town. Avoiding Waverly's gaze she re-entered the office, heading straight for the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face, then rubbed more on the back of her neck. Looking up, she caught a reflection of herself in the mirror. Her eyes were a little bloodshot, and her cheeks still showed the gauntness of several months of little appetite.

You're a mess, Cole, said Beth's voice.

"Yeah, well, you're not here to keep in me in line anymore."

You shouldn't need me, honey. You know what you need to do.

"I don't," cried Nicole, unable to stop the tears that slid down her cheeks.

Sure you do. You need to live. You have so much to live for, honey.

"I have nothing without you," Nicole sobbed.

Oh, honey, Beth's voice caressed her. You have everything.

[AN] Anyone interested, I found a great pic of what Rowdy would look like with Brunhilde. You can find it on my tumblr: oldvelvet95