Notes: There's a breakup...a long, overdue breakup.

Shorty's

Waverly was wiping down the bar, her shift at Shorty's just starting as she let out a deep sigh. She had woken up that morning to find she was alone in her bed. Nicole had been there when she fell asleep, but when she opened her eyes, she saw that Nicole's things by the door were gone. It was as if the redhead had never even been there making Waverly wonder if it had all just been a dream. But then she had snuggled into her pillow and realized that it still smelled like Nicole. She had been there…she had told Waverly that she was pretty. In fact, she was beating herself up for noticing how pretty Waverly was while they were on top of Mr. Romaine's RV. And now Waverly couldn't stop thinking about it, or the way that Nicole's eyes had moved down to her lips the night before. It sent chills down her spine even now.

When Waverly had finally dressed for the day and ventured out to the kitchen to find some breakfast before her shift, Gus had told her that Curtis had given Nicole a ride back to the station earlier that morning. Gus also reminded Waverly of what a nice friend she was for bringing Nicole back to the house so no one around town would see the very drunk deputy. Of course, Waverly had failed to tell her that it wasn't with the purest of intentions. She had been so excited to see Nicole again, even more excited at the thought of her in her bed, and had wanted so badly to push the redhead into crossing their friend line. After all, hadn't she wanted to? She just about admitted as much the night before, but…Nicole still had a girlfriend and Waverly was still with Champ. What would that make them if they did cross that line? It was a chance Waverly was willing to take, but it also scared her to death. And maybe that's why she hadn't heard from Nicole – she may be scared to. Waverly let out a long sigh as she ate her food and stared at her phone.

"Why don't you just text her, darlin'?" Gus asked, leaning against the kitchen sink, eyeing Waverly.

"It's…complicated," Waverly replied, looking up sadly at Gus.

"Well then make it simple," Gus replied as Waverly studied her aunt. "Sometimes, you've got to take risks to get what you want…who you want. You've always been an honest kid, Waverly. Don't stop now." Gus gave the brunette's shoulder a gentle squeeze as she walked out of the kitchen leaving Waverly to her thoughts.

Waverly was thinking about Gus' advice as she flipped her phone around in her hands. She opened up her texts and typed out a message to Nicole. Her finger hit send before she could second guess it.

Purgatory Sheriff Department

Nicole rubbed her forehead. It was finally starting to feel a little better after throbbing all day. She still couldn't believe that she had allowed herself to drink so much at Marshall's and had thought she could take care of herself. She was sitting at her desk, rubbing her temples with her fingertips when her cell made a small whistling noise. She had a text. She unlocked the phone and smiled when she saw it was from Waverly.

Waverly: Hope you're feeling okay today :)

It was simple and sweet. Of course, Waverly was always sweet. She was also a faithful and loyal friend. She had looked out for Nicole without a second thought of how it was inconveniencing her. Waverly had worked a long shift at Shorty's and yet had been willing to spend even more of her night taking care of another drunkard. And for that, Nicole was very grateful. She smiled at the memory of waking up with Waverly in her arms this morning, her jasmine-smelling hair spread over the redhead's chest, a small murmur coming from her mouth as she slept. She owed Waverly an apology and a thank you. She typed her a text message.

Nicole: Right as rain. Thanks for checking on me, Waves. And for taking such good care of me last night.

Nicole smiled as she hit the send button. Waverly's reply came quickly causing another whistling noise on her cell phone. Nicole switched the phone to vibrate to keep from disturbing anyone in the police station as she read Waverly's text.

Waverly: Anything for one of Purgatory's finest. ;)

Nicole's forehead scrunched. Had Waverly only taken pity on her because of her position as a sheriff's deputy, or had the two really formed a close friendship? Friendship – is that what she could call it? She couldn't remember that last time she had shared a bed and woke up snuggling with any of her other friends. Of course, Waverly was a very affectionate person though and made everyone around her feel comfortable. Perhaps that was why Nicole was being drawn to her. Yeah, that must be it, Nicole decided as she typed a response to the brunette and hit send.

Nicole: Well this sheriff's deputy was definitely in rare form last night. You were sweet to take pity on me.

Buzzz...

Waverly: It was my pleasure. You're very cute when you're drunk, Nicole.

There was a boldness in her message that caught Nicole by surprise. And she was surprised at how her breath caught when she thought of Waverly saying her first name. Why did it cause this reaction in her?

Nicole: So I've been told…No, that wasn't what she wanted to say. The memory of her sitting on Waverly's bed, telling her that she noticed how pretty Waverly was came back to her as she stared at the brunette's message. There was something Nicole wanted to know and perhaps it was time to ask her. She typed the message and hit send.

Nicole: Only when I'm drunk? ;)

Shorty's

Waverly's breath caught as she stared at her phone, a smile crossing her face as she read Nicole's message again. She was hoping her text might elicit a certain response from the redhead and had definitely not been disappointed. She remembered Gus' advice as she typed her response and hit send.

Waverly: Definitely not just then, Officer.

She saw three little bubbles pop up as Nicole typed her response. Her phone buzzed as Nicole's text came through.

Nicole: Can we talk more about this? In person?

Waverly: Definitely. We're totally overdue. When did you have in mind?

Waverly saw the three message bubbles appear again, but had to slid the phone into the back pocket of her jeans when Shorty yelled at her that some food was waiting to be delivered. She bounced around, delivering the food and offering a friendly smile to Shorty's regulars before returning to the bar. She was about to pull out her phone when she saw she was being hailed for drinks by an eight-top across the room. Checking her phone would have to wait for now as she couldn't neglect her job any longer.

Willa's Beauty Shop

Wynonna took a step outside in front of the shop when she saw that she had a call from David.

"Hey David," Wynonna said.

"Hey babe," David said. "Is this a good time?"

"I'm just at Willa's shop. What's going on?"

"I think I found something at our apartment," David replied. "There's a loose floorboard over by the bench by the window. When I removed the board, I found a journal you had been keeping about the investigation with Willa and Steven."

"What?!" Wynonna asked eagerly. "What does it say?"

"I'm scanning the pages now and sending them to you," David replied, "but babe…the last page has me a little worried. It's dated the night before your head injury, you know that Saturday you were supposed to go into the city and try on dresses." That was the day after other-world-Wynonna had woken up next to David and couldn't remember any of this life that she had supposedly been living.

"What does it say?" Wynonna asked.

"I think Willa may be getting suspicious. I did my best to cover my tracks, write down everything that I've observed, and keep a low profile like Agent Dolls told me to do, but she keeps hovering over me which is not like her. I have a meeting at Lions Bank tomorrow since I think Willa and Steven may have a safe-deposit box that they've been renting. I'm hoping that I find those missing documents in there."

"Whoa," Wynonna exclaimed.

"This sounds really dangerous, babe," David said.

"Don't worry," Wynonna said, trying not to alarm this man that she barely knew. She looked over to see Willa walking towards. "Ooohh got to go. Thank you, David."

"Of course, babe," David replied. "I'll send the rest of the pages to you soon."

"Sounds good," Wynonna said as Willa walked out the door. "Love you too babe," she added as she hung up the phone. "David," she told Willa.

"How is he?" Willa asked.

"Working hard," Wynonna replied. "What's up?"

"I'm tired," Willa answered. "Want to close up early and go get dinner?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Wynonna exclaimed as she said she'd just grab her jacket and they could head out. Willa gave her a suspicious look, curious about what David had said during his call, but let it go as she followed Wynonna into the store.

Shorty's

It had been a busy afternoon at Shorty's for Waverly. Not long after sending the last text to Nicole, a wave of people had come in after a midday bowling league tournament. Waverly had heard for hours about the games as the winning team taunted all the others. Of course, it was all in good fun, but Waverly had to work really hard to prevent several disagreements from escalating as the crowd became more rowdy.

When Shorty had finally nudged her, insisting she take a five minute break, she disappeared out the back door of the bar to get some fresh air. She leaned against the building, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She was disappointed to see that she hadn't gotten a text back from Nicole, but the three message bubbles were still there. Perhaps Nicole had started writing her a message, but had gotten interrupted by work as well. She sighed as she realized she'd just have to wait awhile longer and put her phone back in her jean pocket before heading back into the bar.

When Waverly came back into the bar, she went to washing some glasses as she listened to Marlene and a woman named Julie gossip about some couple in town.

"I'm really surprised to hear that," Julie said.

"Oh, me too, dearie," Marlene said. "I really thought they were happy together. And to just leave town like that."

"How's the deputy holding up?" Julie asked. At the word "deputy," Waverly perked up, wondering who at the police station that they were talking about. She was really hoping that it wasn't Paul. Yeah, he and his wife had had their disagreements and Paul could be a bit stern, but Waverly knew how much he cared for her, always doting on her whenever they were in public.

"She's holed up at the station," Marlene replied. "No one has seen her come out yet since Amy left." Waverly's eyes got wide.

"Sorry, ladies, but…what's going on?" Waverly quickly asked, standing in front of the two women behind the bar.

"Well didn't you hear, honey? There was a big fall out in the street today between Deputy Haught and that Amy Riesman today," Marlene said. "Such a shame too."

"What?" Waverly asked, her voice straining. "Do you know what happened?"

"Well," Julie started, leaning a bit closer to Waverly, obviously excited to share the gossip. "Apparently, Amy got some job in the city, pulled up outside the police station with her car packed, and told the deputy they were over. Then she drove right out of town."

"According to Ilene, Haught took it pretty hard," Marlene said. "She was crying in the street as Amy drove away."

"Oh, Nicole," Waverly said, her heart sinking for the redhead. While a small part of her was very excited to hear Nicole was now single, she also couldn't help but feel sad for her friend and feel a little guilty about the flirty text messages they had shared. She knew Nicole probably really needed a friend right now, but she also wasn't sure if the redhead had any interest in seeing her. And now she knew why she hadn't heard back from Nicole.

If she had known what had really happened during Nicole and Amy's breakup outside the police station earlier that day and how guilty Nicole was feeling, she probably would've felt even worst about herself.

Earlier that day…

Nicole studied Waverly's text message asking when the redhead wanted to meet. "Now" is what she wanted to say, but she was working and figured Waverly was as well. Besides, she needed some time to process exactly what she wanted to talk with the brunette about. Was this a discussion about their mutual interest in one another? Or a talk where they discussed the boundaries of their friendship? At the moment, Nicole wasn't sure which conversation that they were going to have or even which she wanted to have, but was excited to see Waverly again. She had really missed their interactions after their blowout on Thursday night. She went to type a response message when she got an incoming call from Amy.

"Hey babe, everything okay?" Nicole asked. It was rare for Amy to call her while she was on duty, knowing that Nicole tried not to answer personal calls unless it was an emergency.

"Nicole, we need to talk," she heard Amy's tired voice say over the line.

"Are you okay?" Nicole asked in a serious tone, a little scared that perhaps Amy was hurt or in a dangerous situation.

"Can you come outside?"

"Outside the station?" She heard Amy say yes. "Of course. I'll be right out." Nicole grabbed her jacket and rushed out the door. She spotted Amy leaning against her car and rushed over to her. Her face was full on confusion as she noticed Amy's car was packed full. "Amy, are you okay? What's going on?"

"I'm leaving Purgatory," Amy replied. All of the air left Nicole's body as she stared back at the woman. She listened as Amy told her that she had electronically signed the lease that apartment in the city and was headed there now.

"How could you make this decision without me?" Nicole asked, confused at what all of this meant.

"Nicole, I've had my stuff packed for two days and you haven't even noticed because you haven't been home," Amy replied. "I didn't make this decision. You did." Nicole's shoulders slumped and she was surprised at the tears that fell from her eyes. She quickly wiped them away as she noticed the people looking at them. She suddenly felt very exposed, not liking that the entire town was seeing this happening.

"Please don't do this," Nicole said, her hands in Amy's. "Don't leave. Not like this."

"Honestly, you probably won't even notice I'm gone, sweetheart," Amy said quietly, kissing Nicole's fingertips. "I've thought a lot about this over the past two weeks, and I think we both know that this relationship isn't working." Nicole went to protest when Amy's hand covered her mouth. Amy brought both of her hands up to Nicole's face, running her thumb over Nicole's cheeks as the redhead, looking guilty, stared back at her.

"You're an amazing woman, Nicole. And such a good deputy. You're going to make a great sheriff one day, but I think we both know that if I was the one for you, you wouldn't need to find an excuse to come home every night. You would just be there." Nicole looked defeated as more tears fell from her eyes due to the guilt she was feeling. While Amy had been making this big decision, packing her car, Nicole had been sleeping in Waverly's bed and sharing flirty text messages with the brunette. Her heart felt heavy and a wave of nausea washed over her.

"I'm so sorry, Amy," Nicole said, hanging her head. She was right. She had been finding more and more excuses to be at the station later and later, almost dreading going home. She figured it was just because she was invested in her job, but the truth was, she had been avoiding Amy and any talks about their future.

"I know," Amy said. She placed a chaste kiss on Nicole's lips.

"You're going to do so great in your new job," Nicole said, smiling at her through her tears. Amy left out a soft chuckled.

"I think so too," Amy quietly replied. "It'll be nice to get out of this town for awhile. I never pictured myself staying here permanently." Nicole gave the woman a small smile and nodded before she pulled Amy into an embrace. The two women just held each other, silently saying their goodbyes as several people in town observed them. With one final kiss, Amy got into the car and pulled away, leaving a defeated looking Nicole behind in the street. Nicole stared at her car until it disappeared out of sight. She took a deep breath and slowly walked back into the police station, her head hanging and her shoulders slouched.

Purgatory Sheriff Department

By the time Waverly got off work, it was late. Probably too late for Nicole to be at the station, but she knew she needed to check before she went home. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say, but she knew Nicole may need a friend and had convinced herself that she should check on the redhead before driving back home. She also figured she shouldn't go to the station empty handed, so she placed a few of the homemade chocolate chip cookies that one of the local women had brought in into a small container and walked down to the police station.

She walked in, noting the quietness of the station as she looked over at Nicole's desk. Nicole wasn't there, but Paul was.

"Hey, Paul. Have you seen Nicole?" Waverly asked in a soft tone. She didn't worry this time whether she used Nicole's name or not. She was hoping Paul knew that they had become friends.

"Hey Waverly. She's out on a call," Paul replied. "Just between us, poor thing took quite a beating today."

"I heard," Waverly replied quietly. "I thought I'd check on her and bring something that might cheer her up."

"She's probably not going to be back for awhile," Paul replied. "I tried to get her to go home, but she insisted on working another shift."

"Sounds like her," Waverly said as Paul nodded. "Well, mind if I just leave her a note and these cookies on her desk?"

"Not at all," Paul said. "Help yourself." Waverly took one cookie out and handed it to Paul, winking before she closed the container again and moved through the swinging door over to Nicole's desk. She saw a stack of post-it notes next to a pen and scribbled down a note for Nicole.

'I'm so sorry, Nicole. I hope you're holding up okay.' – Waves

Yeah, it was a bit generic, but she wasn't sure what else to say to the redhead. She put the post-it note on top of the small container and left them on Nicole's desk. She sighed as she told Paul goodnight and headed out of the station, hoping Nicole was okay.