Violent fear invades her. Not the kind of fear she felt as a teenager when she got caught borrowing the car without permission. Not the sort of fear that nearly took her over when she barely stopped a gun fight , alone and new on the force. It was an icy bitter dread that made her stomach drop from the intensity of it. She knew then that she was not escaping easily, if at all.
Instincts kicked in as the door was opening and she pushes the terror down as well as she can, wiping her face of emotion. She focuses on the figure striding towards her, a large bearded, unkempt man. He quickly closes the gap between them and grabs her collar, angrily reefing her up into the air like she weighs nothing. Her back is painfully pressed against the pillar, the tips of her boots dragging on the floor. He leans in unpleasantly close.
"So Officer Haught..." his voice rumbled along. "You've had some time to reflect...I hope for your sake that you feel like talking now."
She stifles a minute tremor that threatens to give her away. His first question blows her away.
"What do you know about those Earp bitches?"
It was like a curse broke, reversed by the right magic word. Earp a type of Finite Incantatem. Her mental barriers collapse allowing her memories to tumble back in. Before she can recover, she is backhanded fiercely by her captor. He's probably irritated by her muteness. Unsteady but now aware of who she was and how she got there, she sucked in a much-needed breath cursing inwardly at the new pain. As her cognitive skills improve, she starts to feel overwhelmed. Before she only had to deal with the problems in front of her but now the distressing reality of her situation was made clear and it had allowed dark thoughts to start creeping in. Maybe she would have been better off without her past. But there was one bright spot amongst the galling reanimation of her memories.
Waverly. Kind, bouncy, bright as a button, quietly brave Waverly.
Why is he asking about her?
Lights up the world, shiny, sincere, Waverly.
There's no way she'd be mixed up in this kind of shit.
Wynonna sure, that woman attracted trouble like no other.
Another hit, lower, more pain. Dizziness.
Damn she had to stop zoning out.
He leaned in again, rotten breath surrounding her."Wrong answer officer."
She didn't trust her voice to not waver so she glared at him hoping to convey a sense of defiance. Turning her head just enough to miss hitting the man demon, she forcefully spat a wad of blood out and then returned her formidable gaze to his face. When she first woke up in this nightmare, she had figured that it was better to act tough, look brazen. That skill had been learnt when she was much younger, ascertain events facilitated a need to perform a fearless show when she was all sorts of terrified on the inside.
Her grandfather used to say she was tough as old boots. He had called her stubborn too on more than one occasion.
If she was going to die she sure as hell wasn't going out like a coward.
"You weren't so bold brave earlier when I was pulling out your teeth. Let's see how you do this time. "
Despite pretending like she was not frightened, she flinches, making the monster laugh. He dumps her unceremoniously on the ground and the impact makes her groan. He enjoys this and bends down, roughly grabbing her chin thus forcing her to look up towards him at an uncomfortable angle. She was near enough that she could feel the bristles of his beard.
She wonders if she'll ever see Waverly again. She didn't want their last interaction to be a confusing conversation that finished with her walking away.
Dirty fingers force her mouth open as he shoves a cold rusty pliers in. Latches on to a tooth while she chokes out thick breaths, eyes wild.
And of course Wynonna Earp comes crashing in, bold as you like, swaggering with her gun ablaze and wise cracking at the colossal brute's expense. That is until she notices her slumped battered body and her face turns serious. That's how she knows looks bad. That and the speed in which she dispatches her former captor. The demon just disappears into the floor after being speedily shot and set on fire.
So I guess they are real.
Wynonna's face is close to Nichole's asking if she's alright, urgency in her voice. Mumbling an incoherent response, barely enough strength to lift her eyes to meet hers. Wynonnas ever present swagger is gone and concern fills her voice.
Not her favourite Earp but still better than no Earp.
Wynnona promises to free her and dispatch the rest of the "filthy revenants" while encouraging her with "Hang in there Haught" and the like. Figures appear in the background and she struggles feebly to alarm the woman. Instead of listening to her garbled warnings Wynonna stands up and steps around her. Nicole gives up.
Maybe Wav will visit me in the hospital...
And as if her thoughts were magic, Waverly appeared in front of her.
Waverly staggers a half of a step backwards, mouth hanging slightly open.
Nicole is a bit skeptical that she's genuinely here. Her minds not been right since she had arrived in this awful place. She doesn't dare move in case it's all an illusion. Feeling completely drained, she watches as tight brown eyes scan erratically over her until they still at her gaze. She almost loses herself in her tempestuous stare.
Still not speaking Waverly gets down onto her knees. As she descends Nicole is suddenly overpowered by her situation and the woman in front of her. Closing her eyes she inhales a combination of a fruity shampoo and something she can't describe. Hears a distressed murmur as attentive hands dance lightly over her. She allows herself a sneaky glance at Waverly who is intent on assessing her patients injuries. Seeing her pale complexion and her normally cheerful demeanor lacking, she makes a weak effort to smile at her. This ends up having the opposite effect as she winces in pain and sees tears threatening to escape the edges of Waverly's eyes.
A hard lump forms in the back of her throat and she struggles to swallow it. Waverly sees this and mistakes it for another sign of the agony that she was in and rushes to comfort her. "Hey, hey you're safe now. We're going to get you to hospital, we're going to look after you. Nicole I..."
When Wynonna cuts through the restraints they shift, rubbing along her wounds causing her to gasp. Immediately Waverly's hands reach for her. Finally free of the ropes she falls limply forward into her arms with a quiet whimper. The smaller woman cradles her, softly brushing the hair off her forehead. Even with all the pain she feels, a bubble of contentment washes over her as she relaxes into her.
"Waverly Earp. My hero." she manages to rasp out. Waverly gives her a mesmerising look that makes her feel like the only person in the world, a look that's all kinds of adorable, slightly astonished and completely divine. Spellbound she watches her, feeling hands move to carefully caress the less injured side of her face. She savours it letting it heal her soul a little, her skin almost humming where it was touched. The universe seems less disturbed in Waverly Earp's arms.
"Always the charmer." her savoir replies as the corners of her mouth twitch upwards. In contrast tears are tracking shiny paths down her face. Wynonna stood behind her, back turned arguing with Dolls, who was on his phone.
"You scared me Nicole. I didn't know what to do. We talked and then you disappeared and I..." she trails off, her delicate fingers clenching into tight fists which leaves Nicole's skin alone and cold.
"Wav..."
She falters as a immobilising pain hits her chest restricting her from doing anything except curling inwards. Hands gently land on her shoulder and cheek.
" What's the matter honey? Nicole?"
The spots creep in again, her eyelids grow heavy, and Waverly's voice gets fainter and fainter until the darkness takes over.
