Nicole's POV

I swallow my final spoonful of stew, unable to truly enjoy it with the unrelenting scrutiny I have been subjected to ever since Waverly and Wynonna left the kitchen. I lower my spoon, meeting the eyes of my two interrogatees with a raised eyebrow. "Would you two quit staring at me?"

"Sure, but first you have to tell us." Jeremy says with his hands clasped together, giving me his best attempt at puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, tell us EVERYTHING." Chrissy echoes in a much less subtle manner, standing with her hands placed flat on the table as if she were an impatient attorney and I was the witness who held the key to finally breaking a case she had been trying to crack for months.

With a playful roll of my eyes, I shift my chair back and pick up my plate. I feel the gaze of both Jeremy and Chrissy following my every move as I walk over to the sink and start the process of cleaning my cutlery.

I barely manage to open the tap before they pounce, Chrissy taking my left side and Jeremy my right side. I have a vivid recounting of the NatGeo Wild episode on the African Savannah that had me and Nedley so enraptured that one Sunday afternoon, finally understanding what a gazelle feels like when it gets cornered by two hyenas. No bloody mercy given. I practically hear David Attenborough's commentary as Chrissy grabs hold of my arm and Jeremy grips my shoulder.

Knowing that it was futile to try and escape my two starved predators, I relent with a defeated sigh. I forego the dishwashing and turn around. "Okay fine, I'll tell you. But only if you two sit your asses down."

Chrissy and Jeremy practically fly towards their chairs, looking up at me with great expectation.

"When I was knocked out by Eos I saw these visions, visions of Waverly helping me. In my unconscious state I believed they were just part of a dream. Right before I came back to my full senses again, I had another vison in which Waverly told me that she loves me."

A high-pitched squeal interrupts me, and honestly, I couldn't tell you if it was Chrissy or Jeremy (or both of them for that matter). I have to pause for a moment to allow my ears to stop their ringing.

My two semi-siblings look like they practically want to explode with anticipation, hanging onto my every word as if it would bring them through the winter famine. With a shake of my head and a small smile playing at my lips, I continue the tale of my epic romance.

"When we were driving back from the hospital this morning, Nedley told me how Waverly had taken care of me. That is when I realized that—"

"It wasn't a dream!" Jeremy fills in for me as another high-pitched squeal echoes through the kitchen. This time I can pinpoint its origin as that of Chrissy's throat.

I nod in confirmation, my eyes dancing with amusement at their enthusiasm. My heart dances too, every beat swaying to the joy of recounting the greatest moment of my life.

"Yes. I immediately told Nedley to hit the gas and get me back here as fast as possible. When we got back I sprinted over to the house first, where Rachel told me that she saw Waverly head over to the barn. Naturally, that was where I went next. When I got there, Waverly was standing by my bed…"

Suddenly I am right in that perfect moment again, witnessing the gentle sway of honey brown locks as Waverly turns around. Her kissable mouth open in surprise as she looks at me with eyes glittering like a million tiny flecks of starlight, regarding me as if I were the first ray of sun blanketing the ocean in light after eons of a winter solstice. I am pulled to her without much effort, drawn in by her magnetic essence. My feet gravitates on their own volition into her irresistible orbit—

"Okay Emily Dickenson, but did you kiss? PLEASE tell me you bloody kissed?!" Chrissy's desperate housewife voice snaps me back to reality. Jeremy nods enthusiastically next to her, begging for confirmation.

I feel a blush creep its way up my neck as I come to the realisation that I had been speaking my thoughts out loud. I quickly shake off my embarrassment, looking back towards my audience of two, both literally at the edge of their seats.

Their reactions are like that of starved fans of a slow burn fanfic and I need to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Thank goodness Waverly and I had kissed, imagine the outrage from my two fans if this chapter of our love story was yet another tease! I decide to draw it out just a little more.

"Well, first I had to get confirmation from her that it was not a dream, that she really told me she loved me. As proof, she said those words again without hesitation. I finally got to hear her say it for real."

I feel giddiness take hold of my body as the echo of those wonderful three words falling freely from Waverly Earp's perfect mouth rings in my ears like my favourite melody. My lips start giving me away, unable to hide my joy as my mind vividly replays what happens next, the climax of weeks of yearning. "And then we—"

"THEN YOU KISSED!" Jeremy and Chrissy shout in unison, both of them out of their seats like elated fans in a sports stadium after their team had just scored the winning goal. The analogy is a very accurate recounting of how it felt to be kissed by Waverly Earp.

I nod in confirmation, smiling so wide that I may need to go visit the doctor again to have my cheeks replaced. Jeremy and Chrissy embrace each other and start hopping up and down in glee.

I barely have time to process their adorable antics when Rachel bursts into the kitchen without warning. The distraught look on her face cause Jeremy and Chrissy to immediately stop their victory dance and the smile to drop from my face. The change in the mood is tangible in its fearsome coldness.

"What's wrong?" I ask, now on full alert mode as I observe the younger girl.

With shaky hands, she lifts the screen of the burner phone to our line of sight.

6pm old mill, come alone. Be late or don't show and we kill her.

With a clench of my jaw I check the time. 4h00pm.

"Don't they usually give you 24 hours before threatening your mom's life?" I ask Rachel in confusion.

"Yeah they have always given me at least a day… but this message is different. It has never seemed so urgent. Nicole… what if they already—" The hitch in the younger girls trembling voice makes my heart clench painfully in my chest.

I grip her arms gently. "Hey, listen to me kid. You can't think like that. I believe it in my heart that your mom is fine. You have to believe it too, all right? Be strong, she needs you to be. It's going to be okay, I promise."

Rachel gives me a shaky nod, her eyes shimmering with fearful tears.

"Good. I am going to get you to the drop point on time, come hell or high water. We don't have much time. I think we have one more batch of drugs in the barn. I'll go get it, wait for me at the truck so long." I tell her firmly, my jaw set in determination.

The younger girl's eyes meet mine, trust held in them as she gives me a stiff nod.

I turn to make my way out the kitchen towards the barn when Nedley enters the room. Seeing the look on all our faces makes his cheery smile instantly change into a frown.

"What's wrong?" He asks, his eyes regarding Rachel and myself with deep concern.

"She got another message." I say simply, releasing a frustrating breath.

I watch our paternal figure's face tighten with strain and his hands automatically close into fists before he releases a slow breath and faces me. "Damnit. This has to stop. Have you managed to find anything yet?"

"We don't have much to go on, but we believe it may be Bobo del Rey who is behind all of it again. I also have a suspicion that the new flower shop on Rozon Avenue is somehow tied into their operations."

Nedley's frown lines deepen on his forehead, ageing him twenty years. "The flower shop? Why would you think it has anything to do with it?"

"Rachel and I had a look at the different drop points so far, to see if we can get a clue of where their base of operations might be. The drop points all form a triangle surrounding three primary businesses, the canning factory, fish and tackle shop and the flower shop. Mr. Marston runs a clean and profitable business so I don't believe it's the canning factory. The fish and tackle shop is much too small and transparent for a drug business."

"Which leaves the flower shop." Nedley completes as he rubs his stubbled chin in thought.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I have had a feeling in my gut ever since I drove past it the other day and saw Champ Hardy exiting the shop with two pots of flowers.

"Champ? That kid is nothing but trouble. I would not be surprised if he were involved in some unsavoury business." Nedley says, his face scrunched up with disgruntlement at the thought of the boy-man.

"I couldn't agree more, sir. Although, I didn't think much of it after I saw him that first time, figuring he was probably just trying to woo yet another one of his conquests to get her to sleep with him. But then I saw him outside the hospital today again, with one of the flower shop's delivery vans. He was collecting a vase of flowers from the hospital, delivered to him by one of the nurses."

"But why would they be carrying flowers out of a hospital? Aren't they supposed to deliver flowers to the hospital?" Chrissy asks with a confused frown marring her flawless face.

"Those were my thoughts exactly. I actually bumped into the nurse carrying the vase of flowers out the hospital. She seemed extremely jumpy and did not even acknowledge me. She seemed only focused on getting the vase to the van. My gut feel told me to follow her, so I tailed her into an alley. Champ was waiting for her with the van on the other side. They were acting very suspicious, like they did not want anyone to witness the exchange."

"Yup, all of that screams super dodgy business to me. You know, a vase has a lot of room to hide something, even with flowers in it." Jeremy comments.

"What are you getting at, Jer?" I ask him, intrigued by his train of thought. Rachel is the one who answers, however.

"He is right. A vase has a lot of room to stash something in. As a former drug smuggler, I have used my fair share of covert containers and can confirm that a vase would be a smart choice."

"Could they have been carrying drugs in the vase?" I ask, the wheels in my head starting to spin rapidly.

"Think about it, what does a hospital have a lot of besides patients?" Jeremy states with a knowing grin.

"Drugs. Of course! It makes complete sense… they must be smuggling drugs from the hospital using the flowers as a cover. I mean who would suspect a nurse of carrying flowers around in a hospital? It would be so easy for her to grab some drugs and place them in vase without raising suspicion. Damn, that's actually genius." I say, pacing up and down the kitchen floor frantically.

"All right. Hold your horses, kid. Let's say you are right. You still don't have any hard evidence to go on. The cops will think you are crazy." Nedley reasons.

"Yeah, but maybe we could at least get them to look into it? They might just find something."

"I guess it is worth a shot. A criminal will misstep eventually and they might not be ready when the cops finally come sniffing." Nedley finally agrees, his expression pensive as he considers my words.

"Yes! But we need something more to give them. Do you know anything on the flower shop that could be of use?"

Nedley scratches his chin in thought again. "I know they opened the shop about three months ago."

"That was around the same time they recruited me." Rachel says, pointing towards the burner phone.

"And it was also around then when the drug plague resurfaced in Purgatory… it can't be a coincidence!" I swiftly turn back to Nedley. "Is there anything else you know that could help?"

"Besides the fact that the shop is owned by a man named Bob Swan, unfortunately not. Sorry, kid."

I freeze, my eyes widening in recognition. I look over at Rachel to find her expression mirroring mine. "The owner is called Bob Swan?" I ask Nedley. He frowns in confusion at my question, but nods in confirmation regardless.

"Well shit. How many more clues do we need?! Svane's meaning, the origami swan we found, the tattoo… Bob Swan… Could you make it any more obvious, Bobo? We are gonna get you, you bastard. Come on, Rachel." I feel the burn from three pairs of baffled eyes staring at my back in confusion as I pull Rachel out the kitchen and head rapidly towards the barn.

"You better not do anything stupid, Nicole Haught." I hear Nedley grumble as we step out onto the porch.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Waverly POV

"I can't believe you were a stripper." I say, shaking my head in disbelief at Wynonna. She simply shrugs her shoulders shamelessly.

"It's an honest living for many women, Waves. And I only did it to get by till I could find a better source of income."

"Please tell me you found another job."

Wynonna smiles confidently, her eyes dulled by some faraway memory. "Actually, a better job found me."

"Oh?" I enquire with a smile, raising my eyebrow in a sign of intrigue.

"The stripper gig didn't really last that long for me. I got a little too… firm in my retaliation when hands would stray where they weren't being funded to go."

"Wynonna, did you beat up your clients?!" I say, horrified.

"You know I never could handle patriarchal bullshit very well. You remember B-Train back in high school?" Wynonna smirks at me with pride in her blue eyes.

I sigh, wishing I didn't still have the memory of when my sister spent a night in jail for breaking the arm of the principal's son. Granted, he was a total dick who was known for groping girls inappropriately and getting away with it. At least until he tried it with Wynonna Earp once.

"Yes, I unfortunately remember very clearly the day that I had to come bail you out with a Gus sponsorship. Wyn, you can't just beat people up anytime you don't agree with them! Even if they are worth less then garbage. You promised me after that day you wouldn't!"

"Waves relax. I only ever do it to defend myself or others. If I don't, then the bad guys win. You should know that better than anyone." She says, giving me a pointed look.

I am suddenly hit with memories of a younger version of Wynonna smiling bravely at me with her bruised face as she held up yet another plate of scavenged food. Overcome with guilt, my eyes drop to the floor.

"Yeah, I know. I just… I wish you never had to fight. It only ever ended up bad for you, Wyn. I need you to be safe too." The words come out as a pleading whisper. A finger lifts my chin gently so my eyes meet compassionate blue ones.

"You were the only one to ever really give a damn about what happened to me, Baby girl. Why do you think I fought so hard for you?" She says with a gentle smile. I cannot help but mirror it despite the tears threatening to spill at being reminded of our painful past once more.

I lift my hand to wipe one stubborn drop of water that escapes my eye, smiling at Wynonna through a sniffle. "Yeah well if something ever happened to you, who would I have left to take care of huh?"

Wynonna's eyes sparkle with mischief. "Seems to me like you do have someone else to take care of now, if those googly eyes you were giving Ginger Spice in there was anything to go by." She teases with a knowing smile. It turns into a victorious smirk as she observes my flustered reaction at the truth behind her words.

I am further denied any hope of retribution by the blush creeping up my neck as I think about Nicole and being the one to take care of her. My heart skips a beat at the thought of what that meant, of forever with her…

I shake off my thoughts for fear of getting too stuck in my fantasies lest they may never realise. At an attempt to regain my composure, I punch Wynonna on the arm.

"Can we get back to the part where you explain to me how you stopped working as a damn stripper, hmmm?" I demand.

Wynonna rolls her eyes playfully. "Sure. But don't think we are done talking about you and Red October in there. I need to know if she needs the shovel talk."

I am about to give Wynonna a piece of my mind when the barn door flies open without warning and a determined looking Nicole enters followed by a distraught looking Rachel.

I vaguely register the "Speak of the devil" whispered next to me as my eyes observe Nicole and Rachel's very tense postures.

Nicole pauses when she finally seems to register Wynonna and I's presence, her expression visibly softening when they land on me.

"Oh, sorry Waves. I didn't mean to intrude on you guys like this. It's just… we have a situation."