Waverly covered the child's and her head and ducked down at the blinding flash and sound of the explosion. As debris rained down around her everything seemed to be in slow motion. Her ears were ringing. She turned and saw Dolls pulling himself to his feet and running towards the house.
For a moment she felt like her heart had stopped. She'd lost them both. Wynonna and Nicole. The two people in the world who loved her the most. She saw the battered woman trying to get up into a sitting position. She helped her and quickly handed her the boy. Finally free of those responsibilities she turned slowly and steeled herself for the moment she'd see them both dead. Like her father...
Her hearing can back and she heard yelling.
"Waverly!" Her breath caught in throat.
It was Wynonna. She was alive! She rushed around to the front of the SUV and saw Wynonna walking to her supported by Dolls. The older Earp enveloped her in a big hug. Waverly squeezed her big sister then pushed her. She slapped the arm of Wynonna's leather jacket with her hand. The leather was torn and singed.
"You idiot!" Waverly yelled at her. Wynonna had run into that building without a thought and inadvertently dragged Nicole with her.
"Nicole?" Waverly asked as she now grasped the lapels of the burned coat.
"I'm sorry." Wynonna said As Waverly pushed past her.
A broken sob tore through Waverly's lips as she saw the scene in front of her.
Nicole was alive and desperately doing CPR on Grace.
Waverly was frozen in place as she watched the beautiful officer push on the child's chest as she counted out loud.
"7,8,9,10..." Nicole said. "Where the hell is the medic?" She shouted at no one in particular.
Another officer dropped to his knees next to Nicole and opened a medical bag searching for anything that would help. His hands were shaking.
Nicole leaned down and blew air into the tiny girls lungs. Then she began pushing again.
Waverly shook her head and snapped out of the daze she'd been in. She heard the wail of sirens coming down the roadway. She remembered taking a CPR class in high school. Champ had teased her about mouth to mouth as she tried to pay attention.
The training flooded back into her brain and she ran over skidding to a stop next to Nicole. She kneeled in the dirt and gently grabbed Nicole's arms halting her motion. She immediately began pushing, careful to not press too deep but firm enough to get the desired effect. Nicole slid forward and continued giving life sustaining breaths to Grace.
Wynonna along with everyone else had gathered near them. They all were silent. The only sounds were Grace's mothers' cries for the child to breathe, sirens getting closer, Waverly's quiet counts and Nicole breathing air into the child's lungs.
Sheriff Nedley placed his hands on Grace's mother's shoulders as she cried and clutched the baby to her chest.
"Come on. Breathe. " he prayed.
Nicole blew in two quick breaths when Grace began to cough. Her eyes opened and she struggled to breathe, but she was alive.
Nicole quickly turned the child onto her side into the recovery position just as paramedics arrived on scene.
The fire department arrived moments later and a flurry of activity broke out at they tried to contain the flames.
Waverly stood and was pulled into and embrace by Wynonna. Her sister draped an arm around her shoulder. And leaned her cheek against Waverly's head.
The Sheriff guided the mother towards the ambulance.
Waverly took stock of Nicole as the officer related information to the medics and pushed the gurney.
She looked at her sister too. It was only then she saw the rip on Wynonnas pants that was bleeding, and saw the red angry skin that peeked out from under her coat.
Nicole too appeared covered in soot and the sleeve of her uniform was burned.
"Hospital. Now." Waverly ordered her sister.
Wynonna opened her mouth to protest, but the no nonsense look
on Waverly's face made her hesitate.
"So I guess some kind of a joke about Officer Haught being on fire...would be..." She trailed off as she saw the scowl appear on Waverly's face.
"Yeah completely inappropriate and too soon..." She finished quickly. "Come on Dolls why are you stalling? Take me to the hospital already." She said as she turned towards the SUV making a twisted face. Waverly faintly heard her asking the Deputy Marshall about a "bad ass bonus" or even workmans comp.
She walked towards Nicole who was closing the rear door of the ambulance.
The officer began to cough loudly. Sheriff Nedley put a hand on his officer's back as she coughed violently and spit out what looked like black water.
Nicole stood and took a deep breath coughing again.
"Shit." She said as she put her hands on her head trying any trick she could to open her airway. She hadn't felt this out of breath since running suicide sprints on the basketball court in college.
"Hospital Officer. Now." The sheriff ordered.
Waverly was worried as Nicole nodded and did not protest.
Nedley saw Waverly approaching.
"My hands are gonna be completely full holding this scene and waiting for the Arson squad and crime scene techs to get here. And I need to get my other officers back in service. Can you take my officer to the hospital?" He asked.
She nodded and grabbed Nicole's hand.
"I'll take care of her." Waverly said.
The SUV pulled to a stop next to them. Waverly gently pulled Nicole's hand and led her to the back seat. She slid inside. Waverly walked over with the Sheriff to retrieve Nicole's backpack from her bullet riddled patrol car. She grabbed the bag and threw it in the rear of the SUV and climbed inside.
Wynonna turned and looked at the redhead and smiled.
"Thanks for saving my ass." She said.
Nicole chuckled lightly remembering her words in the fire. "Sure thing." Nicole responded. The two fist bumped and then Nicole settled into the leather of the seats. Leaning her head on Waverly's shoulder.
"My top shelf ass." Wynonna said with enthusiasm.
Her sister and the officer began to laugh. She shook her head not knowing the inside joke. The continued laughing heartily and she couldn't help but smile. It must have been a stress reaction to almost dying. Again. They were crazy. She looked back and forth
between the two and shook her head.
"You're both nuts." She scolded them.
She wrapped her arm around Nicole's shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. Still shaking her head at their laughter. Their voices were both raspy and they coughed intermittently.
Their laughter trailed off and the rest of the trip was made in silence.
Dolls navigated the winding roads until the pulled up to the small hospital. Staff was waiting at the ER doors for them. The Sheriff must have called ahead. Waverly was flanked by Wynonna and Nicole as they approached the two gurneys outside.
Dolls trailed ever so slightly behind them, talking into his cell phone in a clipped tone.
Waverly grabbed their hands in hers and led them toward. Both Wynonna and Nicole were both physically taller than Waverly and older, but in this moment there was no doubt who was in charge.
The women sat on their respective gurneys and both removed their gun belts handing them off to Dolls.
The hospital staff wheeled them both towards the back. Someone tried to prevent Waverly from entering the treatment area.
"They're my family." She protested. As she pushed past. Refusing to stop despite the shouts coming from the orderly.
Dolls badged the staff member and tried to smooth over Waverly's behavior.
She looked back and forth towards the beds which were side by side. A team surrounded each woman. She heard Wynonna threaten to cut off someone's balls if they cut off her boots or jacket.
Nicole remained quiet except for coughing as she disrobed and got into the gown they provided. Leads were attached to their chests. Tests were run. X-rays shot.
Waverly looked at Nicole and their eyes met. For a moment everything else in the room seemed to stop. Waverly smiled at Nicole and fought back tears. In the last two days she felt like she'd almost lost her twice. Waverly Earp was a planner. She always had been. But nothing prepared her for the overwhelming feelings that hit her every time she was around the Officer. She was falling in love.
Wynonna pushed the doctor's hand out of the was as he tried to look up her nose for singed hair or soot. She saw the connection between Waverly and Nicole. She smiled. "Good choice baby girl." She thought to herself.
Wynonna winced as an ointment was applied to her burned leg. If hurt,but no more than a wicked sunburn she got in Cabo after day drinking tequila during festival.
A nurse approached Waverly with two large plastic bags filled with Nicole's and Wynonnas things.
"We need to run a few more tests. I can come get you and give you their room numbers..." The nurse said. But was interrupted by Wynonna.
"Same room Nurse Jackie." She said sternly. The nurse turned and looked at the patient.
"Wynonna Earp..." The nurse began to argue.
"Same room Linda." Wynonna said with a smirk. "Or I go live on Facebook about your favorite pastime."
Linda, the nurse, gasped and her eyes went wide.
"You wouldn't!" She said.
Wynonna leaned back on the gurney. "Well okay then, I guess I'll have to figure out with of these guys in scrubs is Doctor "Do Me"with the big black..."
Waverly pursed her lips together and put her hand to her mouth. The nurse turned bright red.
"Same rooms!" The nurse yelled before Wynonna could finish her sentence as she turned on her heel and fled the treatment area.
"For the record I was gonna say stethoscope." Wynonna said to Waverly.
"I'm sure." Waverly said.
Two techs began to wheel Nicole out of the room. "She needs another chest X-ray" one said.
"I'm ok Wave." Nicole said her voice still hoarse and raw.
Nicole grabbed the rail of the bed and stopped it. She looked over at Wynonna. This was not how she planned any of this. She had it all laid out as to how she would tell Wynonna about her feelings for Nicole. But plans be damned. Gus was right. You couldn't plan on everything. Sometimes the best things were surprises.
She touched Nicole's cheek and pressed a kiss to her lips.
"Stop scaring me." She whispered with a smile. Nicole smiled back.
"I promise." Nicole said back to her.