A/N: Not sure how i feel about this one, but I felt like this needed to happen before we got to the more exciting parts! As always, comments and critiques are welcome!
"Wynonna? What's wrong? Have you found Dolls?"
She didn't think she'd ever been so happy to hear her friend's voice. If Waverly wouldn't kill her for it, she'd give Nicole Haught a kiss when all of this was over.
"Has anyone ever told you that your accent gets really strong when you're tired?"
"A few times." The voice on the other end of the line drawled, and Wynonna could hear papers ruffling in the background.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to figure out how to get a demon into Santa Claus."
Out of all of the weird things that Wynonna had heard in her life - and she had spent six months in a bona fide looney bin, that definitely made the list of top five.
"Riiigghhtt. How's my sister?"
"She's alive, and currently not trying to kill anyone, so that's progress. She's pretty exhausted from fighting off this demon though; I'm not sure how much longer she can keep it up."
Wynonna groaned. Great, more pressure.
"Did you find Dolls?" Nicole repeated.
"'Find' is such a specific word." She hedged, grateful when she heard the other girl chuckled. "We found the building where he's being held, and we have a plan to get in."
"Well, that's a start."
The silence stretched between them, and Wynonna searched for the way to say what she needed to say.
"Was there something else?"
She took a deep breath, rushing through her next words.
"Take care of my baby sister, Haught."
"What?"
"I haven't had the chance to give you the 'if you hurt my sister, I'll shoot you with my big ass gun speech'. And if I ever get back to Purgatory, I'll threaten you within an inch of your life. But right now, I'm not sure I'm going to make it back alive; and I need to know that you'll take care of her. Not that she needs it, normally; she's obviously done fine on her own. But I promised myself when I came back to Purgatory that for once in my life I'd be there for my sister. And now I'm asking you to take care of her if I don't make it. She needs you to find a way to get rid of this demon, she can't do it without you. Just promise me you'll be there for her."
"Wyno-"
"Promise me, Haught."
"I promise."
"Whatever it takes."
"I promise." Nicole's voice was firm, leaving no doubt to her intentions.
"And tell her . . . tell her I love her."
"I will, I promise."
"Good." She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thank you."
There was a brief silence, and she had the sinking suspicion that the conversation was about to get awkward.
"Do you have any idea how to deputize my cat as a servant of Ra?"
Leave it to Nicole to lighten the mood.
"No fricken clue, dude."
"Well, I guess I better get back to reading then."
"Yeah, I have a box to pack."
"Good luck."
"Yeah, you too."
She ended the call and took a moment to calm herself. Waverly was taken care of - at least best she could manage at the moment; and now it was time for Dolls. She was one step closer to her goal.
She straightened her gun belt and turned to see Doc staring down with disdain at his new delivery uniform.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Well, considering it's my only idea, I'm gonna say yes." Wynonna quipped, only to have Doc give her that look, the one that people usually gave her right before they told her something disappointing.
"It's the only idea that I can think of that has any chance of working."
Doc remained silent.
"It has the makings of a good idea?" She tried again.
"And you would risk your life on that?"
It was Wynonna's turn to be silent for a moment, and she took the time to think through the question.
"Waverly's all I have." She finally choked out. "And if I don't make it - " She jerked a hand across her eyes, desperate not to let the tears fall. "If I don't make it, then at least I tried. Waverly deserves that."
Doc was silent, and any other time she might have gotten a kick out of the way his mustache twitched as he thought through his reply.
"I once swore that I would follow your great-great-grandfather to the ends of the earth. I did not keep that promise, but I swear to you this day that I will do everything in my power to help your sister."
He didn't say the words, but she heard what was unspoken.
'Even if you don't make it out.'
She nodded, grateful for the sentiment.
"Alright, let's go over the plan one more time. I climb in the box, you tape the box up and cart it into the building. Once you leave, Charlie and his boys will create a diversion and get the building evacuated. I'll escape the box and go find Dolls, clearing out any leftover agents as I go. When I escape with Dolls, we'll hop on the bike planted in the garage, and meet up with you and the van at the rendevouz point outside the city."
"Are you sure it's wise for you to go in alone? I do not see any reason why I can not sneak in as well and help you find Agent Dolls."
"Because, one person-sized box is kind of suspicious. Two is a red flag. They'd see us coming a mile away."
Doc paused for a moment before he seemed to accept her reasoning, and then he extended his hand.
"I wish you the best of luck, Wynonna Earp."
She paused for a brief moment before surging forward and pressing their lips together. It was a bad idea, and she knew that it would only complicate things later- if there was a later- ; but she needed something to ground her, to help her focus. She was breathless as she pulled away, and she forced herself to turn and step into the box, kneeling down to make herself fit.
"Alright, here goes nothing."
Wynonna's phone call didn't exactly leave her with a lot of hope.
The eldest Earp was a tad dramatic at times, but she didn't seem like the type to convey last wishes unless she felt death was particularly imminent. The thought of Wynonna captured or dead in enemy territory didn't bode well with Nicole, and she tried not to dwell on it, focusing instead on the books in front of her.
She had it figured out.
She thought.
All of the pieces were there, she just had to put them all together.
Which wouldn't be an easy task, considering most of the pieces were in languages she didn't understand.
She rifled through Waverly's purse, looking for her phone, and she quickly scrolled through the contact list before selecting Gus' number.
"Waverly? Where are you? I've been trying to call Wynonna for hours."
"Gus? It's Nicole. Uh, Officer Haught. Sorry for the confusion, I just- you see there's a bit of situation. And you - I mean you just seemed like - "
"Nicole? Are the girls alright? Just slow down and tell me what's going on. I'm sure it won't be the craziest thing I've ever heard."
Nicole blew out a breath through pursed lips, trying to calm her suddenly frazzled nerves. Absolutely none of this was her fault, but she was still afraid of Gus' reaction.
"Waverly touched some black goo and was possessed by a demon. She tried to shoot Wynonna, but Doc shot her first - in the leg, mind you, she's fine; I dressed it myself. And now Wynonna and Doc are trying to rescue Agent Dolls because he's being held by the government for who knows what - treason probably, everything around this place is treason - so I'm alone with Waverly. And she's still possessed by the demon, but she's kinda in and out and I've been doing some reading, and I THINK I have an exorcism figured out but I just need an extra set of hands. I don't know who to trust and I - I just thought maybe you could help me."
Gus was silent, and Nicole worried that she had lost her last chance at help.
"I take it back. That is by far the craziest thing that anyone has ever told me."
Nicole felt the hope slowly seep out of her.
"Where are you at?" The older woman asked.
Her heart rate picked up, optimism once again fluttering its wings.
"The Sheriff's department." She breathed out gratefully.
"Give me half an hour."
"Wait, Gus - this is gonna sound . . .odd, but uh, do you have a giant wax Santa figure?"
Things start to get exciting next time! We'll find out how good Wynonna is at prison breaks and what exactly Nicole has planned for Wavelry's exorcism! Stay tuned!
