Nicole storms off on Waverly. She was irritated at their muddled communication - somehow having the same conversation but both having distinctly different views of what they were talking about. She was furious at Nedley for a lack of understanding, at this town for being so peculiar and at herself for letting it all get to her.
Determined to prove to herself, to Nedley and to previous asswipes in her past that her gut was always right, she had decided the second she walked out of the sheriff's office to check the call records. Yesterday she had overheard another officer taking a call that had sounded like it could be connected to the general weirdness. The town hide a heavy secret and she was going to find out what it was.
As long as I don't get distracted by a certain brunette...
She knew she was already smitten, that she had started down a certain path that could well end with her trampled as it had before.
I need to concentrate on the endgame.
Following up this lead might be her key to the proof she needed. She had tried to tell Nedley about all the strange things that had been happening and that they were all connected. Everything with Wynonna in the morgue, the attack on Waverly's and other more minor incidents.
His voice was almost rough when he was telling her to drop it if she wanted to keep on working in this town. His obvious disbelief that something bigger could be going on exasperated her when she knew she was right.
It reminded her of her last job where her boss had made her life pretty uncomfortable. Not right at the beginning but soon after she was regularly assigned desk duty and the unwanted assignments. Kept out of the bigger cases and had plenty of snide comments directed at her intended to keep her down. She never found out the reason for it. Complaining to the higher ups had only caused her more problems. That's why she ended up moving out here. Didn't want to continue working somewhere she had no power to build herself anything. When the opportunity arose for a transfer to Purgatory she took the chance even though it seemed like it would be a little mundane. She mistakenly thought that surely there couldn't be much crime in a town of that size.
That's why this thing with Nedley frustrated her so much. She knew he was one of the good ones, a little old fashioned but fair. She wanted to gain his trust again and she'd be happy to prove him wrong. The way he trashed her claims and had shot her down as the others did. She was more than a little annoyed that he had suggest that she should move.
And then there had been the conversation with Waverly less than twenty minutes later.
She hadn't anticipated a visit from Waverly outside the station. At first she had hesitated, blinking hard in surprise before a small grin had crept over her face. Even though she was all sorts of pissed off, it was Waverly and anytime she sees her is a good time. Her voice was much softer than what she had used in Nedley's office as she had released a half sighed, "Hey." She hadn't quite caught what Waverly had said due to the brief enthrallment that takes over her every time she sees her. She gave her a delayed verbal acknowledgment as she recognised that Waverly would be a good person to trust with her legitimate suspicions. She had gently led her away from the building, wary of others. She remembers gathering her hands back to herself before gently wringing them, as she had nervously sought the courage to ask for the truth.
Even if had meant that she sounded like a crazy superstitious fool to the one person she couldn't bear the thought of scaring away.
She had came out of that confusion none the wiser.
She's in her car driving towards the address she has scribbled on her pad. Pulling up outside a house that had seen better days, sagging in the middle like an old wasted mattress she'd seen dumped in an alley. As she gets ready to leave the car she feels somewhat apprehensive.
Should I have come here at all?
Maybe charging in with no backup is an incredibly stupid idea.
Backing down now would be a hard hit to take. If she just knocks on the door with some excuse and merely asks a few questions, it shouldn't be too dangerous.
Should it?
One quick risk to get an answer for all the weird activity that followed Wynonna Earp around and the people connected to her.
Which maybe was the part that drove her.
Leaving those thoughts firmly in the car she gets out taking care not to bang the door. Giving herself a moment to prepare, she pulls lightly on her collar and touches her gun, checking that it's secure. When she gets to the porch, she firmly raps her knuckles on the door. An uneasy dread settles over her. The door opens revealing a tall man with a trimmed beard and hair slicked back who was dressed like he belonged in another era. She barely has time to react as another man steps out from behind him and attacks her. She fights back and goes to grab her gun. Strong arms wrap around her and she struggles to escape. Pain bursts through her body like storm clouds cracking open, releasing their torrential rain which soaks through everything.
Something changes and she sees Waverly peering down, perplexed and worried at her weak thrashing. She doesn't understand the change but lets herself calm down anyway. Positioned just like last time she was awake, but the world feels softer this time and she realises she is wrapped in a thick jacket. The growl of an engine was unmistakable and its slight vibrations rumbled underneath her. Delirious, she lets out a noise that could only be described as a whine and quickly feels a comforting touch on her pale forehead.
"Oh baby you're heating up," she hears her exclaiming quietly under her breath. Waverly calls out to the front of the car. "She's got a bad fever guys we have to hurry up," as she peels back the jacket which was soaked in sweat. "Please."
She detects that tiny crease in the middle of her forehead right above her eyebrows, the one that crinkled whenever Waverly was lying or really uncomfortable. She wishes she wasn't the cause of it so she uses up some of her rapidly depleting energy to quip, "It's because I'm hot stuff. " It was the rueful shake of her head - and there was that look again - that makes it worth it. She even hears Wynonna snorting in the front seat.
"The hottest," Waverly's poor attempt to keep up the fragile pretense of everything being okay.
Nicole was already learning what Waverly's gestures meant. Her eyebrows were a gold mine of information. Every inflection, quirk or lift conveyed an emotion or a thought.
It was probably the fever but Waverly's skin was shimmering.
Her eyes become drawn to the bit of the early morning sky she could see through the window from her slanted angle. The sun was still hidden behind the mountains but the numerous clouds were already lit up and glittering colours splashed across the heavens. In her wrecked condition, it appeared to her to be another one of Waverly's demonstrations of natural raw magic. This time it seemed just for her.
"Beautiful...Dazzling... just like you" she whispers weakly. She is rewarded with a shy dip of the head, a small smile, and a slight flush on shiny cheeks which were visible even in this first light. Waverly's attention then caught by the colourful event outside the window.
If she looks back at her she doesn't know.
"Dang it Nicole stay with me." There's a hitch in her voice when she says her name.
She manages to nudge her eyelids back up a fraction. She concentrates and tries to focus on the only thing that might keep her in this world. Waverly's eyes have lost a little of that unbelievable brightness. The hollows of her cheek stand out and there is a sheen of sweat across her forehead that infers a certain level of worry. Nicole again feels guilty for the strain she's causing and allows herself to drift back to happier times when Waverly's face wasn't marred by tension.
Smiles passed back and forth like notes in class, maybe promises of things to come.
Tender touches keep her under the spell.
The sisters are talking now, speaking words she cannot decipher and she gives one last push to keep obeying Waverly's previous request.
It's not enough and convulsing once she slips into unconsciousness.
