This wasn't Nicole's first experience with sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair while waiting for one of the doctors to give her an update on the reason she was there. There were many times when she was younger where Nicole had to wait in the hospital because one of her siblings got hurt doing something stupid. Or even when Nicole was the one being looked at because her siblings persuaded her to join their acts of ignorance. But sitting in the hospital, waiting for the news on whether you successfully saved the love of your life is different than waiting to hear the doctor say your siblings are Dare-Devils.

Holding her head low in her hands, staring off into the distance of the floor, Nicole tried to focus on something in order to keep all her thoughts from racing around her head. When they arrived at the hospital, only seconds behind the ambulance, a few different nurses offered to help Wynonna and Nicole clean the blood off their bodies. Up until that point, Nicole hadn't noticed the red stains which were starting to turn brown. She had been so worried about Waverly to the point Nicole didn't bother worrying about herself.

"Come on Nicole, we need to clean ourselves up. This is not what Waverly would want to see when she wakes up," Wynonna pleaded with the Officer. But Nicole just glared down at her hands, taking in the sight of Waverly's blood coating her fingers. The feeling of Waverly's ribs cracking under the pressure of her hands started replaying in her mind as Nicole began trying to furiously scratch the blood off herself.

"It won't come off... No no no no it won't come off!" Nicole started yelling as she backed into a wall, still scratching away at her hands. Barely able to make out the sound of the nurse calling for help, Nicole put her hands over her ears as she slid down the wall to a seated position. Wynonna quickly knelt down next to her, afraid to make a wrong move and cause the panic attack to get worse.

"Nicole, please just breathe. We will get the blood off but I need you to focus on me and calm down," Wynonna spoke softly as her hands gently held Nicole's cheeks in order to get the Officer to look at her. Although they weren't the same hazel eyes Nicole wished she could be looking into, the sight of Wynonna and knowing she cared did help Nicole calm down a little bit. She closed her eyes tight before taking a few deep breaths, attempting to stand up.

One of the nurses brought over a wheelchair, to which Nicole protested using until Wynonna forced the Officer to sit down. Nicole felt herself being moved to a different room in the hospital, but her head and heart remained on the Homestead. She wanted to go back, to see Waverly smiling at her before she went off on patrol. Nicole wanted to watch as Waverly's eyes lit up when Nicole interrupted a Black Badge meeting because of something unusual coming across the wire. Nicole just wanted-

"Waverly Earp?" Nicole's head shot up at the mention of the youngest Earp, before looking over at Wynonna. Wynonna's eyes held the same fear and hope, as in Nicole's eyes, about what the doctor would tell them. Hours passed in the hospital waiting room filled with a deafening silence and the cries of other families. Those cries sometimes being filled with relief, knowing their loved one would make it through the night, while others were filled with regret, knowing this would be their last chance to say goodbye.

Both women quickly stood up, grabbing each other's hand for a small sense of stability, as their hearts began racing within their chests. Once they reached the doctor, he looked down at his clipboard, flipping through a couple of papers to search for the correct information.

"So, Waverly is currently awake, but in critical condition. She suffered first degree burns on her entire body, due to the hot water. But with some special lotion and care, her skin should heal in no time," the doctor began explaining. However, the only part Nicole could focus on was Waverly had been in critical condition. "The cuts on her arms were not as severe as we expected. But I believe that is because Waverly already started feeling the effects of the pills she ingested and couldn't cut her arms the way she wanted. Which leads me to the part I am worried about. With all the pills Waverly ingested and everything we had to pump out, her stomach is extremely scratched up and is going to scar. This is the critical condition part."

"What will it do to Waverly? Is she going to make it through the night? Can we go back to see her yet?" Nicole started asking these questions as tears cascaded her face. Wynonna gently squeezed Nicole's hand, a gentle reassurance she was not alone and neither was Waverly.

"She won't be able to eat for a while. So all her nutrients for about a week or two are going to have to be given by I.V. Our only concern is if her stomach doesn't heal properly, Waverly will never be able to eat again," the doctor finished explaining. Both women just nodded their heads, wanting to get back to Waverly as soon as possible. Following closely behind the doctor, Nicole and Wynonna didn't let go of each other's hands in fear of falling over from all the news.

The walk back to Waverly's room was quiet, but Nicole's mind had been running a mile-a-minute trying to figure out what she would even say to Waverly. Of course Nicole was upset with Waverly about the whole situation, because of obvious reasons. However, Nicole knew she couldn't be upset with Waverly in fear of making the situation worse and in fear of losing her forever. Nicole had already almost lost the youngest Earp once in the past twelve hours, she wasn't going to risk it almost happening again.

"Unfortunately I can only allow one person to go in the room at a time. So I will let you two talk about that," the doctor said before heading in a different direction down the hallway. Neither Nicole nor Wynonna had to talk about who was going in first. So Nicole sat down in the chair outside the door and watched hopelessly as Wynonna slowly opened the door to Waverly's room with tears in her eyes. She listened carefully, hoping to hear the sound of Waverly's voice before the door closed behind Wynonna, but that voice never filled her ears.

However, once Nicole heard the door close, exhaustion filled her entire body without hesitation. Already feeling tired towards the end of her shift at the station, then dealing with the loss of adrenaline from trying to save Waverly, Nicole was ready to close her eyes for hours. She tried fighting the weight pulling at her eye lids, not wanting to miss when Wynonna came back out of the room. But after seconds turned to minutes, and those minutes turned into an hour, Nicole forfeited the fight and closed her eyes.

All Nicole could see was utter darkness. No dreams or horrifying nightmares invaded her mind as she slept in the hospital chair. It had been comforting being able to sleep without a reminder of her day, but that didn't stop Nicole from worrying. She still felt her heart race in her chest, her lungs taking in short, quickened breaths, and her hands clenching shut.

"Nicole... Hey, wake up," Wynonna said while tapping Nicole on her shoulder. Nicole slowly moved her head up, groaning from the pain forming in her neck. Once she caught sight of who had woke her up, Nicole felt her eyes go wide and started opening her mouth to ask several questions about Waverly. "She is going to be okay Nicole... but she doesn't quite look like our Waverly with the burns on her skin, or the bandages on her arms. I talked to her about everything and she is going to be fine."

"I am so sorry I didn't get to the Homestead faster Wynonna. Maybe if I did Waverly wouldn't have to be here. Maybe I could have-"

"Don't you dare say sorry Haught. Just be glad we were able to bring her back to us," Wynonna replied with a small smile on her lips. Nicole nodded her head as she used her sleeve to wipe away the tears in her eyes. "I am going to get some coffee. Waverly wants to see you."

Author's Note: We have reached the end of another chapter to this story. I am going to do one more chapter for this thing because it needs a little closer between Waverly and Nicole. Don't worry though, I promise it will be well worth the wait. I hope you all have enjoyed this story as it takes on a new perspective of Waverly dealing with everything. Until next time, enjoy a cup of coffee, tea, or whatever your preferred drink is.