The lights in the hospital room were dim. Waverly sat beside Nicole’s bed holding her hand that was still unmoving. The machines beeped constantly. She was exhausted, but there was no way she was leaving Nicole. She heard the door open. It was Wynonna. “Hey, Doc. I just need to check her vitals and everything.” Waverly nodded. Even Wynonna was somber, something she had never seen before. “Hey, Doc?” Wynonna said. “She’s gonna be okay. She’s a badass. Plus, she’s got you pulling for her.” Waverly gave a weak smile and slight nod. Wynonna closed the door leaving the two alone with the dull beep of the machines.
Dolls stopped by every day. “Hey, Doc,” he said quietly opening the door. “How’s our patient?” “Same,” Waverly said stroking Nicole’s hand with her own. “You know, I can stay with her if you want….” Dolls didn’t get to finish his sentence. “No! I’m not leaving her. She might…she might wake up.” “Doc, I know, but you need a break. Go home, shower….” "I said NO, Dolls. I’m not leaving her.” Dolls let it drop. He could see the determination on her face and knew she wasn’t budging. They sat in the silence. Waverly finally said, “Dolls….what if…what if…she hates me…when she wakes up?”
“What?” “You know…what if she blames me for….all of this?” Waverly turned to face Dolls. Tears streaming down her face. “What if she hates me?” Dolls got up and pulled her to him. She went easily into his arms burying her face in his chest with broken sobs. He let her cry. When the sobs finally began to subside, he said, “Doc, I don’t know what that little shit said up there, but I do know one thing….none of this….none of what happened up there is your fault. It is all Tucker Gardner. Every bit of it.” He took her shoulders in his large hands and pushed her back to look in her face. He lifted her chin and made her look at him. “Doc, you…..you didn’t do this…HE did. Both you and Nicole were his…victims.”
“But he said…” Waverly began trying not to break again. “I don’t give a damn what he said. I’ve seen the two of you together. I know she loves you and you love her. I’ve seen the way you look at each other. She is NOT going to hate you. I promise.” Waverly wanted to believe him, but Tucker’s words still lingered and echoed in her head. She wouldn’t be able to push them out until she talked to Nicole. She needed to hear it from her to know she wasn’t to blame for what Tucker did to her. Waverly nodded and sat back down in her chair. Dolls squeezed her shoulder and quietly exited. Waverly was once again left with her thoughts and those damn beeps.
It had been almost a week. The doctors had kept Nicole in an induced coma to give her body time to begin to heal and to help with the shock of the damage to her body. Her jaw was wired shut. The swelling had begun to dissipate but the bruising was still dark. The surgery on her shoulder repaired most of the damage to the tendons and muscles but she would need months of physical therapy to regain her strength and usage. Her hip wasn’t as bad. Just a few stitches there. Her leg? Nicole’s leg had the most damage. The arrow itself had torn muscle and tendons when she was shot. But with Tucker dragging her through the woods, the arrow had moved in all directions as it hit the dirt each time. Her leg muscles were now mangled. The doctors said even with physical therapy she might walk with a slight limp, not to mention all the scaring from the wounds.
Waverly was sleeping with her head lying beside Nicole’s leg. She thought she heard a moan and stirred. When she didn’t hear it again, she let herself fall back into the slumber of sleep. Just as she felt herself falling into the abyss, she felt Nicole’s leg twitch and another moan. Waverly jerked her head up and looked at the red head. Nicole’s eyes were fluttering trying to open. With every move she attempted, a moan would escape. Waverly jumped to her feet and hit the emergency button, then she began talking to Nicole. “Baby. Nicole. It’s me, Waverly. I’m here, baby. You’re ok.” Nicole was fighting so hard to escape the blackness. She could hear Waverly’s voice, her angel’s voice. But, the pain. It hurt to move. She couldn’t move. It was like she was tied down. Tied down? Tucker! Nicole began to fight. The pushed the pain aside. She had to get away from Tucker. She had to get to Waverly. Wynonna came busting through the door. “What the hell!?”
“She’s trying to wake up!” “Keep talking to her, Doc. I’ll go get Nedley.” Wynonna ran out the door leaving Waverly continue to talk to Nicole. Her heartrate was high. Waverly knew she had to get her to calm down. She stroked Nicole’s face and hair and explained they were safe, that she needed to calm down. “You’re safe, baby. We are safe. I’m right here by your side.” Her heartrate was still erratic when Nedley and Wynonna came crashing back through the door. Nedley told Wynonna to have the shot ready. If they couldn’t get Nicole calm down, they would have to put her back under. Nedley called Nicole’s name and told her she was in the hospital. Nicole could hear someone else talking. In the fog, she couldn’t tell who it was, but she knew it was a man. Tucker! Her panic increased. They were going to die. Nedley took the syringe and inserted it Nicoles’ IV. She calmed almost instantly. They heard Wynonna exclaim, “Damnit, Haught.” Nedley said nothing. He knew Wynonna really cared about the doctor lying in the bed, as did he. Taking a deep breath, he turned to leave. Waverly fell in the chair once again. Adrenaline had left leaving her once again exhausted
