Notes: And it was both amazing and the worst, all at the same time. Wynonna sees a familiar face and Wayhaught goes on a stakeout!
Waverly's Bedroom
Waverly winced at the light against her face as she slowly opened her eyes. A small trickle of sunlight was peeking through her curtains and had cast scattered light across her face. Waverly groaned and couldn't realize why she had woken up so early after working the late shift at Shorty's until she heard the buzzing from her phone. She picked up her cell to see that she had three text messages and a missed called from Wynonna. She shot up in bed, hoping nothing was wrong when her phone buzzed again with an incoming call from Wynonna.
"Wynonna, what's wrong?" Waverly asked frantically, sitting up as she put the phone to her ear.
"I'm bored, entertain me," Wynonna replied, her voice muffled.
"Where are you?" Waverly asked. Wynonna sounded as though she were driving through a tunnel.
"I'm in my car on the way to the city. This Bluetooth stuff is the shit." She was referring to being able to make a call through her car stereo using Bluetooth which is a feature Gus' old truck definitely lacked.
"Isn't that why you bought that mommy car?"
"Whoa. One, other-life-Wynonna here so I don't remember buying the car. Two, do not accuse my black beauty of being a mommy car. This thing's got balls. I topped her out at 130 just a bit ago."
"Wynonna!"
"Alright it was only 110, but still impressive." Waverly couldn't tell if her sister was joking but she chuckled softly.
"Why are you headed to the city so early?"
"I got a lead," Wynonna replied, enthusiastically. "The tow truck idiots finally got back to me and told me where they picked me up. It's an unmarked office building home to Shapiro Investigations."
"Investigations?"
"Yeah, a P.I. office. And get this, it's someone I know from our other life. Of course, in that world she kind of, sort of…died but still. I'm heading there now to figure out why I met with her."
"Wait, you're not going to work today? What about Willa?"
"I convinced her that I was going to browse wedding dresses. I even made a new appointment at that dress shop she's been raving about. And she surprisingly said yes as long as I make it back in time for bingo night, and I don't actually buy a dress until she's with me and can see how it fits."
"Brilliant."
"Always the tone of surprise, baby girl. This is not my first rodeo." Waverly chuckled again. "When are you meeting Haught-stuff for the stakeout?"
"Not sure, I need to text her."
"Ooohh, since when are you two texting?"
"She…gave me her cell number yesterday. To coordinate for the stakeout."
"Mmm hhmmm," Wynonna said.
"She looked pretty cozy with her girlfriend last night at Shorty's, Wynonna," Waverly said. "Sorry to say, I think that's one part of our other life that is not going to happen in this one." Waverly felt her shoulders slouch as she thought of the possibility of her and Nicole never being anything more than friends. Of course, she hadn't really told anyone the extent of her crush on the redhead and Wynonna had been the only one that had noticed.
"We'll see," Wynonna replied. "Well good luck tonight. Let me know what you find out."
"Same to you. And Wynonna…stay safe, okay?" Waverly couldn't help but worry a little as Wynonna was going to a P.I.'s office and her former self had insisted she take a car no one would recognize for reasons they still hadn't figured out.
"Always," Wynonna replied, ending the call. Waverly let out a big yawn as she stretched her arms over her head. She felt her phone vibrate on her lap. Figuring it was Wynonna again, she looked down to see she had a message from Nicole.
Nicole: Hey Waves. Hope I'm not waking you up. Is meeting at the station at 6 good for you?
Not wanting to seem too eager to respond, Waverly studied the message for a minute. She smiled, thinking of how sweet Nicole was hoping that she hadn't woken her up knowing that she had worked late at Shorty's. She pushed her fingers to the keyboard, and sent her a text back.
Waverly: Not at all, Officer. 6 would be great! :)
Waverly's heart jumped as she saw the three little bubbles on her screen. Nicole was writing her a message back. Buzzzz….
Nicole: Great! I have a surprise for you. ;)
A surprise? For her? Waverly's mind raced in a million different directions thinking of what it could be.
Waverly: For me? What is it?!
Nicole: It's called a surprise for a reason, Wave.
Waverly: You're no fun.
Nicole: I can be fun…
Waverly's eyebrows arched. Was that text meant to sound flirty? It was so hard to tell what was wishful thinking and what was just friendship. Nicole was the only person around that had this effect on her. And it was both amazing and the worst, all at the same time. How was that even possible? Before she could reply, she got another message from Nicole.
Nicole: Duty calls. See you tonight.
Waverly: Righty-O, Officer.
Waverly hit send before she realized how ridiculous her text sounded. "Ugh" she said aloud as she brought her hands to her head and fell back onto the bed. She was looking forward to tonight so much that now she just had to figure out what to do to entertain herself on her day off. A knock on the door startled her.
"Waves, you got a visitor," she heard Gus' voice say from outside her door. Waverly jumped up, threw on her robe, and opened the door to see Gus' face staring back at her.
"Morning, Gus," Waverly said with a smile.
"Morning to you too, darlin'," Gus replied. "He's out on the porch." She grumbled a little meaning Waverly knew exactly who it was. She walked to the front door and opened the screen to see Champ. His hair was a little wet and combed over the way he always did when he was trying to impress her and he held a small bouquet of red flowers. She let out a sigh as she leaned against the doorframe and stared back at the boy, wondering if she should take pity on him yet again…
Ridgefield: Unmarked office building
Wynonna pulled up outside of the building and walked to the door with a big 210 overhead. The building looked plain from the outside, no markings to indicate what it was for. Just the numbers over the door. Surprised to find the door unlocked, Wynonna walked in and found a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was another door. This one was locked with a big sign that said, "Ring once for service." She hit the button on the wall, hearing a loud buzzing. A woman's voice came from a speaker on the wall.
"How can I help you today?" the woman asked, sounding mildly annoyed.
"Uh, I'm here to see Eliza Shapiro."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No, but can you tell her it's Wynonna Earp?" Silence filled the corridor as Wynonna waited, hoping Eliza knew who she was since she apparently got picked up here by the tow truck company. After about 30 seconds, she started thinking this was a waste of time and huffed.
"Miss Earp, please come in," said the woman on the line as the door buzzed, unlocking. Wynonna grabbed the door and did as the woman said. She walked down another hallway and through a set of doors to a small office where the reception sat. She was assuming this was the woman on the line.
"Nice to see you again," the woman said to Wynonna. "Please have a seat. Eliza will be right out."
"Sure, thanks," Wynonna said nervously. She's been here before yet nothing looked familiar. After about five minutes of waiting and pretending to flip through the pages of a magazine, Eliza emerged from a side door.
"Wynonna," Eliza said, "Please come with me." Her blonde hair was pulled back tight against her head in a bun, and she wore a tight suit, looking just as fit and athletic as the last time Wynonna had seen her before the incident at BBD. They entered Eliza's office and Wynonna took a seat as Eliza closed the door.
"I have to say, I'm really surprised to see you here," Eliza said, taking a seat. "Especially since Xavier hasn't heard from you."
"Yeah about that, I need to…wait, Xavier as in Dolls?" Wynonna asked.
"Yeah, my husband," Eliza replied. "You met with him a few weeks ago and he hasn't heard from you since."
Wynonna took a deep breath, trying to get over the shock of Dolls being married, and then explained the memory loss to Eliza, chalking it up to an accident in the barn. She explained how she found her way back to this office, but had no recollection of any of their meetings or why she was here.
"Well that explains a lot," Eliza replied. "Xavier said he tried to track the phone he gave you, but it's been turned off for weeks."
"He gave me a cell phone?"
"Yes so you could contact us. You were worried that your sister was getting suspicious about you investigating her husband."
"Can you tell me everything about our meeting?"
"Of course, but Xavier has all of your meeting notes back at his office. He only met you here because you were worried you were being followed."
"His office as in…" Wynonna asked, not sure if BBD was a thing in this life or not.
"At DED."
"Sorry, he works for "dead"?" Wynonna asked. "Well that's ominous."
"DED, the Drug Enforcement Division, but they investigate a lot of crimes including any kind of large scale operations. Including the type you thought your brother-in-law might be involved in."
"When can we meet with Dolls?" Wynonna asked, taking a deep breath.
"Unfortunately, he's out of town for a few days, but when he comes back, we can go over everything again. I'll get in touch with him and let him know everything you've told me today."
"Okay," Wynonna said, taking a deep breath and looking around. She made arrangements to contact Eliza again in a few days to follow up. Then she went back to her SUV and looked around the office building. As she sat in the driver's seat, her stomach sank as it dawned on her that perhaps Willa keeping such close tabs on her had very little to do with her upcoming wedding. She'd have to be careful what she said around her and try to make it seem as though she was engrossed in wedding plans. The best way to do that…get across town to the wedding dress shop and find something so she could take proof back to Willa on how she had spent the day.
Purgatory Sheriff's Department
Waverly bounced into the station about 15 minutes before she was supposed to meet Nicole to see Paul working at the front desk again.
"Hi, Paul," Waverly said in a chipper tone.
"Howdy there, Miss Earp," Paul replied. "How are you doing this evening?"
"I'm great. Just meeting, Ni-Officer Haught." She corrected herself, not wanting to sound too chummy with the police.
"She's just finishing up with Nedley," Paul said, motioning over to Nedley's office where the blinds and door were closed. "Should be out shortly."
A short time later, Nicole opened the door to Nedley's office and walked out to see Waverly sitting on the front desk with her legs crossed, engrossed in a serious looking game of checkers with Paul.
"Ohhh King me," Waverly said as she moved her piece to Paul's side of the board. Paul added a piece to hers and then moved one of his pieces while surveying the board. Waverly then made a move, claiming several of his pieces and moving them off to the side of the board as Paul let out a deep groan.
"Take it you're losing, Paul?" Nicole asked, surprising both of them as she walked up behind them and smiled. Waverly turned and couldn't stop the large smile from crossing her face as she saw the redhead surveying their game.
"She's kicking my ass, Haught," Paul exclaimed. "I've already lost three times." Nicole chuckled.
"Where did you even find checkers?" she asked.
"Waverly had it," Paul replied, studying all the pieces, preparing his next move. Waverly looked over at Nicole.
"You mean you don't keep travel checkers on you at all times, Officer? Rookie mistake." Waverly said in a teasing tone, shaking her head. Nicole chuckled.
"Well sorry to interrupt, but you ready to go?" Nicole asked.
"Definitely," Waverly replied as she hopped down from the front desk in one swift motion before Nicole could even offer to help her.
"This isn't over," Paul said jokingly as he cleaned up the board, snapping it all back together, and handing it to Waverly.
"I'm up for a rematch any time, Paul," Waverly said with a smile as Nicole moved to her desk, grabbed her jacket, keys, and a large black duffle bag, and motioned for Waverly to follow her through the side doors. As they walked down the corridor, Waverly suddenly felt nervous spending the evening with Nicole. She had been so excited throughout the day, but now she realized she had to mentally tell herself not to smile at Nicole every two seconds. They were friends…just friends…just friends…she kept telling herself as they headed out a back door. Once they got outside and into a small parking lot behind the building, Nicole turned to face Waverly.
"Ready for surprise number one?" Nicole asked.
"There's more than one?" Waverly asked excitedly. Nicole let out a chuckle and turned, pointing the keys at a shiny new black Challenger as the lights lit up, unlocking the doors. "We're taking this?!" Waverly asked as she approached the car.
"Mmm hmmm," Nicole replied. "And you get to drive there since you know where we're going." She handed the smaller woman the keys as Waverly's mouth dropped. Nicole moved towards the trunk which she had already popped with the fob and slid the black duffel bag into the back.
"How did you…?" Waverly started to ask, but she in shock that not only were they taking this fancy car, but Nicole was actually going to let her drive it.
"I basically had to sell my soul to Nedley," Nicole replied, "but he figured something a little less conspicuous than the patrol car might be better considering the area of town we'll be in. So…" she took Waverly's bag and put it in the back too before closing the trunk and standing in front of the brunette, "no hot-rodding."
"Of course," Waverly said with a devious smile as she glided into the driver's seat. Nicole hopped in to the passenger's seat and smiled while Waverly gushed about the interior and giggled at the rumbling of the engine. After drooling over the car for longer than she should've, Waverly put the car into first and they headed off.
Romaine Junk Yard
"This is where we're going?" Nicole asked nervously as they pulled into the drive of the junk yard.
"Trust me," Waverly said, giving Nicole a comforting smile as she turned off the ignition and handed the car keys to Nicole. An old man came out, rifle in hand when he saw the pair emerge from the car.
"What the hell do you think you're…" he yelled at the pair, but he lowered his weapon when he saw it was Waverly. It was just in time too as Nicole already had her hand on her holster and had just about pulled her gun out too before Waverly put a reassuring hand on her arm.
"Hi, Mr. Romaine," Waverly yelled perkily, moving towards the porch.
"Waves…" Nicole said softly, a little worried. Waverly just grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the front porch.
"Waverly, good to see you," Mr. Romaine said, still shouting at the pair. "Wasn't sure if you'd make it by tonight or not."
"Thanks for letting us come onto your property," Waverly said loudly back at him. That's when Nicole realized he must be a bit hard of hearing.
"Oh, anything for you, sweetheart," Mr. Romaine replied as Waverly gave his arm a gentle squeeze. His smile faded though when he turned to Nicole. "You brought a cop?"
"This is Nicole," Waverly replied. "I'm helping her out with something."
"Right, well I don't want no trouble," Mr. Romaine said. "You keep your cop opinions to yourself while you're here, got it?" Nicole opened her mouth to say something but Waverly looked over at her with a pleading expression to please just do what he says.
"Yes, sir," Nicole replied loudly back to him. "Tonight, it's just Nicole."
"Well good," Mr. Romaine answered. "Come on, I've got a place all set up for you." He disappeared around the house, beckoning them to follow. Nicole shot Waverly a concerned look before the brunette grabbed her arm and drug her along.
The Stakeout
About a half hour later, they were all set up on top of an old RV out on a hill in Mr. Romaine's junk yard. They were surrounded by other vehicles and twisted metal which allowed them to blend in pretty easily, but could also look down and see the main warehouse of Laird Park at the base of the hill below them. Mr. Romaine had also set up a type of short blind on top of the RV where the women could lay down behind it if needed.
"Wow, Waves, you weren't lying about getting us closer," Nicole said, sitting on a cushion on the roof and leaning on the top of the blind, using a pair of binoculars to look at the RV park. Sitting up, the top half of her body could be seen over the blind, but laying down, she could easily be concealed.
"You doubted me, Officer?" Waverly asked, placing her hand dramatically over her heart, as she sank into her cushion to the right of Nicole.
"I'm learning not to," Nicole chuckling, pulling out her notebook, ready to note any observations during their surveillance. "So how do you know, Mr. Romaine? He's got a reputation around the station for being a hard ass and a shut-in with no interest in making friends."
"I saved his Chihuahua from a runaway trash can a couple winters ago outside Shorty's," Waverly replied. "That poor thing almost became roadkill." Nicole let out a laugh imagining Waverly during the dog rescue. "He's been nice to me ever since."
"And the camera?" Nicole asked pointing at the very large and very expensive camera sitting in Waverly's lap.
"A friend owed me a favor. I convinced Shorty not to ban him from the bar after he punched out his cousin and broke one of the tables," Waverly replied, rubbing her hand over the camera.
"Mr. Romaine. Paul tonight. Camera guy. Is there anyone you can't charm?" Nicole asked, a big grin on her face as she looked at Waverly. Waverly felt her face redden and her throat go a little dry as she looked at the redhead and thought, You, but said nothing. Instead she shrugged and turned her gaze away.
"I…I don't know," Waverly replied, not looking at Nicole, but instead fidgeting with the camera as she felt the redhead's eyes on her.
"Well, it's amazing," Nicole replied. "You're amazing." Waverly felt as though her heart had stopped as she looked over at Nicole. She'd rarely heard those words before except from Champ who would comment on their sex being amazing, but not on her in particular. Nicole sensed her surprise and flashed a small, dimpled smile before grabbing her duffel and rummaging through it again. Chills ran up Waverly's spine as she let out a deep breath and went back to fiddling with the camera, trying to keep her mind occupied. Nicole pulled out a small, cloth shopping bag and nudged Waverly with it.
"What's this?" Waverly asked.
"Surprise number two," Nicole replied. The brunette took the bag and her eyes lit up as she pulled out a package of Oreos.
"How did you know?"
"That they're your favorite? Please," Nicole said, shaking her off like it was common knowledge that Waverly worshipped Oreos. It was a small memento, but it meant a lot to the brunette. She opened the package and offered them to Nicole who gleefully took a couple before Waverly helped herself to some as well.
"I brought something to chase away the cold," Waverly said, pulling out a thermos. Of course with Nicole so close to her, she really didn't need anything to warm her up but she wasn't about to admit that to Nicole. She handed it to the redhead who opened the top and took a big whiff.
"Whew," Nicole said, smelling the irish whiskey blended with the coffee. "None for me, thanks."
"And I thought you said you could be fun?" Waverly teased, a smirk on her face, referencing the redhead's text earlier. Nicole looked taken aback for a moment making Waverly wonder if she had crossed a line until Nicole smiled.
"Touché, Earp," Nicole replied. "But just a little for me. That fancy car won't drive itself later." Waverly nodded and poured some of the drink into one of two small mugs she had brought along.
After a couple hours and a visit from Mr. Romaine who came to check on them before he turned in, the women sat in silence, watching the warehouse. The sun had gone down and there was a chill in the air. The stakeout hadn't been that eventful as a few cars came and left here and there. Nicole had scribbled down the makes, models, and license plates to run them through the system later, but nothing suspicious was happening.
Waverly carefully shifted on her cushion, trying to keep her legs from falling asleep. The two women and their cushions had inevitably shifted closer throughout the night, trying to keep their voices low and movement to a minimum so that they didn't draw a lot of attention to themselves. "Do you think we just picked a bad night?" Waverly asked quietly to the redhead beside her.
"I'm not sure," Nicole said, sighing.
"Did you get bored doing your stakeouts by yourself?"
"A little," Nicole replied. "The quiet was kind of nice though. The station can get pretty loud some times." Waverly nodded, not sure if she should say more or let the redhead enjoy the silence of the evening. "It's nice to have some company tonight though." Waverly glanced at her while the redhead remained fixated on the trailer park.
"You never invited Amy to come out with you?" Waverly asked cautiously. She heard Nicole let out a deep sigh and realized maybe she was crossing a line.
"No," Nicole replied quietly. "Its work, you know? Not really her thing."
"Oh," Waverly replied. "Any news about the interview?" Nicole sighed again.
"Not yet," Nicole answered sternly. She saw the redhead's shoulder relax and heard her tone change to something more friendly as she continued speaking. "But hey, thanks for acting excited for her last night." Nicole smiled at Waverly. "She really appreciated it."
"Of course," Waverly replied. "Sorry you didn't want to be there." Nicole's eyes were full of guilt as she looked at Waverly.
"Hey, about that…" Nicole started to say softly, but movement caught both women's eyes as they turned towards the trailer park. Lights from a large van moved in front of the warehouse. Nicole put on the night-vision goggles that Mr. Romaine had lent them and leaned against the blind. Nicole didn't even want to know why he had such advanced tactile gear. Nicole scribbled notes based on what she was seeing while Waverly tried to take photos, unsure if they could make out much in the dark.
The van pulled up to the warehouse doors and six men emerged, but instead of opening the back two doors, they opened the side door on the opposite side of where the girls were. The warehouse doors opened exposing a small crowd of men. Neither Waverly nor Nicole had seen the crowd of men enter the warehouse making them wonder if they knew they were being watched. Nicole continued scribbling notes as Waverly snapped as many pictures as she could.
The men started hauling boxes into the warehouse that Waverly could see said "car parts" and "toys" on them. They definitely were covering their tracks in case anyone was watching. Waverly's breath caught as she saw Steven walk out of the warehouse to the side of the van, peering out across the sky and towards the water tower in the distance where Nicole used to do her stakeouts. He motioned for a couple of men who came out with rifles in their hands. He pointed towards the tower as they surveyed the area. They shook their heads no which both Nicole and Waverly assumed meant that they couldn't spot Nicole up there.
"They were expecting you up there," Waverly whispered to Nicole. She shivered thinking about what may have happened if those men with the rifles had seen Nicole up there tonight. Nicole watched the men with rifles as Steven waved his fingers in a circular motion in the air. The men with the rifles started to survey the area around the warehouse. Nicole threw down her notepad and before Waverly had a chance to move, she felt Nicole's hands push her over and tackle her to the ground behind the blind. Waverly let out a huff as the right side of her back hit the top of the RV, the camera landing off to her side as Nicole, now directly on top of her, had her head turned towards the back of the blind, listening.
"Don't move," Nicole whispered. Nicole was pretty sure both women were concealed by the blind, but just in case even a fraction of their body was showing, she froze. Waverly and Nicole stayed frozen, listening for any yelling or movement from the trailer park. They could hear the distant sound of the van running and men's voices, but nothing to indicate that the men had seen them. As the seconds turned into minutes, Waverly looked around with only her eyes and became painfully aware of just how much Nicole was on top of her. Nicole's right leg was in between hers and her right hand was still wrapped around Waverly's wrist which she had pinned as she tackled her. Nicole's hair was so close that Waverly could faintly smell her shampoo.
Waverly's heart started racing as she tried to take a couple deep breaths to calm it, hoping Nicole wouldn't notice. She closed her eyes and let out a breath. When she opened them, she saw Nicole's head turned towards her, Nicole's brown eyes looking into hers, their faces only a few inches apart.
"Sorry," Nicole whispered shakily. Waverly's not sure if Nicole's breath was ragged because of her nervousness that the men may have spotted them or because she was laying on top of Waverly. She saw Nicole's eyebrows furrow. Then Waverly's breath caught as she saw Nicole's eyes dart down to her mouth, linger for a moment, and then move back to her eyes. She may have just gotten her answer…