Chapter Text
Walking into Shorty’s Nicole felt more at home and alive, than she had done for the longest period.
She couldn’t explain it…the dusky atmosphere, the smell of stall beer, the cheesy music and the western looking appearance…she just took it all in, all the senses everything…and it wasn’t because Nicole was used to be in a bar…just the opposite…in fact she had only been to bars and clubs due to her work of duty…in her 26 years she had been drunk twice…and it had been fun…but it was not something that was normal in her family…in fact it was more of a sin than anything else…well that and then being a homosexual and she thanked the god above or whatever she was praying to, that she wasn’t one…because the treatment her church had giving the non-heterosexual, was in fact disgusting as hell…sending their children away to conversion therapy camp's to get the gay tendencies knocked out of them…like they actual had a choice!!…
Nicole had been raised in the church all her life…and had been to almost every service…and had been a strong character in the community…always helping out…always making sure that everyone was included…helping teach in church school at Saturdays when her work schedule allowed it...together with her ‘boyfriend’ Samuel.
But the fact that Nicole didn’t believe in god...or in anything other than the universe was not something she said out loud…she just kept it inside and swallowed whatever she would believe in and hide it away…
She had been living in Toronto all her life and the last couple of years she had been living together with her ‘boyfriend’ it was a paring that the church had made and Nicole and Sam had followed their orders…they lived together under the same roof but had separate rooms….they acted like a couple in every aspect of life…and they were a great couple to…beautiful on the inside and out, really complimenting each other….and everyone who was near them would actual believed that they were in love, that they were the perfect couple, the perfect match….but the truth was different…the fact that Nicole was not ready to bond herself for life with Sam, was something they hid away from the church. from their families…he was a good man no doubt about it…Christian in every aspect…and noble to... only reason that Nicole have had sex before marriage was due to way too much alcohol, together with Sam, once! Honestly it had been a bad experience and she was not in the place where she said…YES I wanna do this again…so she didn’t….
All the high members of the church had begun to push to her, make comments about her ‘single status’ and not being a real woman due to lack of her marriage with Sam…
But Sam was a patient man…even when Nicole had with open heart told him that she was not sure if they were meant to be… even when she had pointed out the fact that she was missing something in her life…and even when she had told him she needed to try her skills as a police officer elsewhere, he had stood by her decisions and guided her along the way…knowing that that Church had paired them for a reason and she would come back the moment the pressure from the real world laid too heavily on her shoulders…so Nicole had done something, no one had believed she would do…never had questioned the fact, if Nicole was happy in her life, with her life, with the chosen partner…with the control that laid in this giving life she had.
Nicole wasn’t happy, she was missing out on whatever she couldn’t pin point. Something stood out to her…and a gaping emptiness of something she could not make out, it was shadowing her in her life…she felt off, she felt insecure...even though she was one heck of a police enforcer…and was loved and liked by everyone in the community…she was tall and had the most stunning red hair, she was beautiful, so beautiful, but she couldn’t see it….something was lacking...and before she pushed herself down the aisle to make a commitment for life…she wanted to figure out what was missing.
So the mail that had been hide away for some time now, had been responded and Nicole had been offered at replacement in a small town called Purgatory…when she had seen the name of the town it had just been so fitting…and appealed to her …Purgatory…she had chewed on the name for a bit...and found herself confident that this was where she needed to be.. so after a long conversation with Sam she had taken the position and with a promise to come home after a year…she had giving this a year, and Sam had willingly said that it was a great choice but she had to come home at least once every other month for start…till the end of the year were she then should come back home and they could settle down and be married and start their family.
He was confident that this was how it would be and Nicole should have the opportunity to see some part of the world before they committed themselves truly to the church… Nicole had felt that she was choking by his words…but had agreed to this...she knew that otherwise, she was not able to leave Toronto.
And now…she walked into the bar…Shorty’s… with a clean sheet…or at least none of them, knew who she was, where she was from, what she had been back home…the only thing people knew about the mystery Nicole Haught was that she was the sheriffs new employee and she apparently should be one heck of an officer…with an aim to die for…so to speak….
The brunette behind the bar seemed cocky as hell, confident, fun and fucking out of control in a very positive way….the vibes that came from her just hit Nicole strait away...she placed herself at the bar and the brunette greeted her.
“Officer, what ya having?” she asked with a cocky smile and Nicole answered.
“Just a coke please.”
“You are new …right?” the brunette asked again and threw her hand toward her and Nicole took it and shook it.
“Yes…yes I’m new…Officer Nicole Haught” she said and smiled with confident in her voice.
“Uhh Miss Haughty…welcome to Purgatory… I’m Wynonna” she placed her drink before Nicole and started again.
“So what brings a lovely gal like you around the edges of hell?” Stating the obvious of her hometown of Purgatory.
“Well work obviously…I got an offer I could resist…so here I am.” Nicole said with a hand gesture
“Yes here you are…and what a joy to actual see some female action in that police department…I’m sure Waverly must be truly exited…”
“Waverly?...uhm is that someone I should know of? “ Nicole asked a bit off, but she was curios.
“Uhm, probably not yet…yet. She is working on different cases as a researcher for Nedley…so you will probably see her occasionally…but it’s only part time.
I believe she would think that it is good with some other females around the cop shop, other than just her that is…uh excuse me a moment” Wynonna said walked out of the back door, to what Nicole would believe was the kitchen.
She nursed her coke a bit and took in every felling of this place, she felt free.
“Fuck me, this day have been a waaay to long.” She heard a voice sigh next to her, so Nicole turned and she saw a tiny brunette reach over the bar and grapped a bottle of whiskey and before Nicole could act upon what she just have witnessed, the tiny brunette had downed the first shot and was pouring the second already.
“Sorry pretty lady, do you want one?” she offered Nicole and all she could do was shake her head it was weird, she had lost her way to use her language...this women next to her did something to Nicole and she had never even seen her before.
She cleared her throat.
“Hmm. Sorry miss, and no thank you…but aren’t that stealing” the woman took in Nicole’s appearances
“Oh shit I sat next to a narc… god dammit…uhmmm sorry…you’re new right?” she pointed with her glass toward Nicole, who just glared at her….she downed her second shot.
“Uhm okay, Hi, should have introduced myself here…I’m Waverly” she said with a chipper voice and gave her, her hand and Nicole took it and some weird connection sparked between them…Nicole pulled her hand back as if she had been burned…
“Hi, I’m Nicole, Nicole Haught…the new officer of PPD”
“Uhhh nice…then were going to work together at some point…I am doing consulting jobs at the cop shop…well that’s when I don’t teach the suckers in high school about Latin and ancient stuff...that is.”
She waved her hand in front of her took the bottle and poured another shot and downed it before Nicole could do or say anything…so when shot number four was lined up, Nicole placed her hand on Waverly forearm.
“Are you okay” she asked quietly…she had never seen this kind of behavior before and the way Waverly was downing those shot’s just gave Nicole a weird sense of something was wrong, other than the statement that Waverly had said when she sat down next to Nicole.
Waverly glanced at her…
“Hmm….Yes thank's” she said not knowing if she should say anything further.
“It’s just that…stealing whiskey and downing 4 shot’s within...” Nicole looked at her watch
“3 minutes and 43 second”
Waverly downed her fifth shot and slammed the glass onto the counter.
“Number five in 3 minutes and 56 seconds…not a record…but not bad either….I’m not stealing…I know that’s what its look like…but I own the bar…partly anyways…” and before she could say anything further Wynonna walked out from the back
“WAVES!!... I was just talking about you, to out new red Haught pepper here, she just your type…”
“Excuse me, what type…I’m…” Nicole said with a flat expression to her face...
“Yes you’re a cop…right…I mean…that’s the thing that Waverly do to…being part of the force” Wynonna said with a shrug and Nicole seemed to relax.
Waverly bumped her shoulder into Nicole… and winked at her.
“Relax Haughty… and take this shot I believe you gonna need it…are you still on duty?” Waverly asked with a cocky smile and knew she would get the new officer wasted and Nedley would be proud of Waverly to get her to loosen up…
And if anyone could make someone welcoming to town it was the fucking Earp sisters…one more wild than the other…never go drinking with an Earp except you agreed to get the worst hangover in history, because the gene pole of the Earp’s…hangovers was not something that came easily…and thank you for that.
“So pretty lady…are you or are you not on duty?” Waverly asked her again and Nicole could not get why she felt so intrigued by the beautiful brunette with hair for days and strong muscular toned arms, smooth skin and her pretty smiles…god she is beautiful…how would it feel to run my hands through her hair….touch her skin, Nicole shoke her head in disbelieve of herself …what the fuck is wrong with you…
“I’m… off…. duty….pretty lady yourself….” She smirked back, but not with confidence as she would have liked.
“Awesome “Waverly said and gave her a shot.
“Cheers welcome to Purgatory” she smiled and they downed the shot…Nicole seemed to be caught on fire and her face all twisted.
“Ughh how can you drink this...shit it’s strong” Nicole got out and both Wynonna and Waverly laughed…
“Yeah but it works” Wynonna said a poured their glasses once again, knowing her sister she would get the redhead drunk in a haze.