Chapter Text
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I journey through the desert
Of the mind with no hope
I follow
I drift along the ocean
Dead lifeboat in the sun
End come undone
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In the five years she had worked at Shorty’s, Waverly never felt so bored. She didn’t know when her life had become so tasteless. Her family was almost non-existent, her love life was a disaster, and she just completed her master’s degree with no big celebration. Gus had congratulated her, sharing a drink after opening the letter, but that was the extent of it.
Like the frog dying from an imperceptible constant rise in the temperature of the water, Waverly hadn’t realised she got bogged down in her routine. Christmas was slowly approaching, but she couldn’t get in the spirit like she normally did. Gus was distracted with her budding romance with the Sheriff, and she was happy for her, truly, but the loneliness had slowly crept up on her. Life was a succession of boredom and suffocating moments for the young Earp.
Her ex-boyfriend broke a glass near the pool table and the young graduate couldn’t even find it in herself to care about it. She dealt with it like a robot in automatic mode, not even bothering to answer the boy-man’s crude comments.
That night after work, she climbed into her Jeep and drove home. At some crossroad, she decided to change paths, not knowing where she was going. She needed out, at least for a few hours. She hadn’t ever set foot outside of the Ghost River Triangle; maybe tonight was the night to try.
Lulled by the music that was filling the space a few hours later, Waverly didn’t notice her car slowly getting off the road. Someone honked and she readjusted her trajectory quickly, her heartbeat faster than it had been in a long while. She decided that stopping at the next opportunity was probably the best idea. She exited the highway and parked her car in the first small town she found. The sunrise was still a couple of hours away and the young woman realised that everything was probably closed, considering the time of night. She sighed and let her head fall against the wheel.
A short knock startled her about a minute later. She frowned as she slowly opened her window to face a woman in a police uniform. There wasn’t much light, and maybe it was the exhaustion talking, but boy was she stunning. She seemed concerned and the brunette couldn’t help but think about how adorable it made her look.
“Excuse me, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Huh?” answered Waverly, way too tired to process any information coming out of the woman’s mouth.
“I was behind you on the highway and I saw your car drifting away so I honked, assuming you were probably falling asleep. I’m glad you decided to stop for the night, it isn’t safe driving while tired.”
Waverly blinked and shook her head, trying to think of a coherent answer.
“Yeah, I uh…I didn’t realize I’d been driving for that long.”
The officer stood there in silence, as if trying to figure out the woman in front of her.
“Are you, uh…” the barmaid started, “are you giving me a ticket?”
“No, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. Do you have a place to stay for the rest of the night?”
“Hm, not really, I’m just gonna wait here till the morning, so I can get a coffee and maybe a room somewhere to sleep for a bit before heading back.”
“My shift is over and I live near-by, I have a spare room if you want to lay down. I wouldn't want you to freeze in your car,” she added with a gentle smile.
“Oh, you’re very sweet, but I wouldn’t want to impose—”
“Nonsense, it’s my duty to make sure people are safe in my town.”
With the way she was looking at her, Waverly had no doubt this woman cared about that mission. She nodded shyly.
“Follow me, it’s just a couple blocks away,” she said with a soft smile, heading back to her car.
Waverly closed the window, unsettled by what she had done over the last couple hours and how unplanned it all was. She had no idea what she was doing, where she was and had frankly no plan at all. As scary as it felt, it was also weirdly freeing. No expectations, no schedule to follow, for at least a little while. She sent a quick text to Gus to warn her she had left because she was suffocating and would be back soon. She knew Rosita had asked for more shifts before Christmas because she needed the money so she could probably miss a shift or two. She added to the message that she would call her later that day, so she wouldn’t worry about her.
She did really need some sleep though, so she started the engine back up and followed the police car to a quiet neighbourhood, parking in the spot next to the woman, in front of a two story house. She wondered if the officer had a family that would be weirded out by a stranger sleeping in their spare room or if that was something she was used to doing. Or maybe she lived on her own.
They both exited their vehicles and the officer led them to the front door.
“I’m Nicole, by the way. Last name’s Haught.”
The brunette looked at her, confused. Was that an attempt at humour? The other woman took out her stetson, revealing ginger hair. A smile adorned by an adorable set of dimples appeared on her face as she took in her confusion. She pointed at the name tag on her uniform.
“I know, it makes for the most awkward conversations, but it is what it is.”
“Oh. Yeah, I can only imagine.”
After a few seconds of looking around, she noticed the redhead was still looking at her, eyebrows raised in question, as she removed her boots. She tried to remember the last few words they had exchanged. The lightbulb then shone in her head.
“Sorry, I’m really tired, I’m Waverly.”
After a second, she added, “Earp.”
“Well, Waverly,” the redhead let a beat pass before adding with a grin, “Earp. Let me show you your room.”
She could tell the taller woman was teasing her, but she didn’t mind. It was weirdly pleasant. The feeling of emptiness she was accustomed to seemed to be gone at the moment. She had no clue where she was, what she’d gotten herself into and had very little information about this woman, but she felt strangely calm. There was something reassuring and kind in the deep brown eyes of the officer, and for now, that was enough.
“Do you need to pick a bag or something in your car?” Nicole asked, as she opened the door of a bedroom.
“Hm. No. I don’t have anything, I didn’t plan on skipping town tonight, it was just a…spur of the moment kind of thing. Needed some fresh air.”
“I see.”
The woman left the room and Waverly sat down on the bed. When she came back, less than a minute later, she saw the brunette staring into the void, having barely moved.
“Here, it’s probably too big for you but you’ll be more comfortable than in your day clothes,” she offered as she put a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt on the bed next to her. Waverly nodded, thanking her quietly.
“Do you need anything else?”
“No, thank you, you’re very kind. I just need to get some sleep. I think my brain is running out of bandwidth.”
She heard the other woman chuckle.
“Okay, well if you need anything, I’m in the room next door.” She started to leave but turned around and caught her eyes. “I mean it,” she added with a sincere smile.
And every cell of Waverly’s body could feel that she did, indeed, mean it. What that reaction inside of her meant, on the other end, was a complete mystery, but that riddle could wait a few hours. She was in no state to process anything anymore, and that forest green pillow was waiting for her head to collapse on it.