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Two months. The snow melted, wildlife returned, and the fireplace stopped crackling. Trees and flowers blossomed into the vibrant hues of springtime. Insects could be heard at night in a chorus of chirps and clicks. Waverly managed to pet a deer who was incredibly soft and calm. Nicole swore she was dating a Disney princess.
It took two months for Dolls to finally locate the gun. Two months of weekly trips to the grocery store during which Wynonna was excessively on edge. She would not let Waverly leave the property until she was assured of her sister's safety. Both Nicole and Reina frequently visited the sisters, and Doc stopped by on occasion. Dolls was sure Wynonna would yell at him to get back to work if he showed up, and so he communicated through the safer means of text messages.
Life, minus the presence of her boyfriend, went back to normal for Reina after the gunshot wound healed properly. She cleaned the bloodstain off of her wall. She quite literally slept with one eye open.
A police cruiser drove up to the homestead and pulled into the gravel driveway, tires crunching rocks together. Nicole had barely removed the key when she popped her door open and didn't bother shutting it, running up to the house and directly into the arms of her girlfriend. Waverly clung to Nicole like she hadn't seen her in years, when in reality it had only been a few days.
"Hey," Nicole breathed, lifting Waverly a small bit to move them both out of the way of the door. Dolls entered seconds after Nicole, glancing at the two before deciding now would not be the best time to say hello to Waverly. Wynonna came bounding down the stairs. To her dismay, Dolls came empty handed.
"Where is it?" she asked.
"If I'm right, an abandoned warehouse a couple miles north from here."
"Then let's go get it!" Wynonna almost ran out the door, but she was stopped. Impatiently waiting for an explanation, she groaned a "whaaaaat?"
"Two things. It's being guarded, and do you really want to leave looking like that?"
Wynonna almost got offended before she glanced down and made the discovery that she wasn't wearing pants.
"Oh, right. Those." She walked around Dolls and into her room, putting on a pair of jeans. Backwards. In her haste, she either didn't care or didn't notice. She pulled on some leather boots and proceeded to follow Dolls to the cruiser.
~
"Looks like you're stranded here," Waverly mumbled into Nicole's chest. She finally released her from the extended bear hug to look up and smile, hazel eyes bright as she ran her hand through short fiery red locks. Nicole feigned sadness, sighing heavily and casting her gaze at the floor.
"I'm stuck! What am I gonna do?" She spoke in an exaggerated hopeless tone. Waverly's lips twitched into a smirk. With one finger under the officer's chin, she gently brought Nicole's head up.
"Me."
~
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Wynonna's leg bounced anxiously in the passenger seat of Officer Haught's squad car. Dolls had given her a Desert Eagle in place of Peacemaker, but she could not wait to get her hands on her gun.
"Are we there y-" She stopped herself as Dolls shot her a death glare. He cracked a smile as he stopped the car.
"Yes, actually. Tenth time's the charm." Wynonna was ready to fling herself out of the car before Dolls grabbed her shoulder. "Be careful, I don't know what's out there."
"We'll be fine. Easy job, right? Shoot the revenant until it goes down, grab Peacemaker, and permanently put it down." Wynonna hopped out and headed for the decaying building before them, Dolls right beside her.
As they reached the door, a rumbling growl stopped them in their tracks.
Slowly, Wynonna turned around to find herself face to face with a Doberman Pinscher, except it was twice the size of any dog she'd seen and angry.
It growled again, a low, thunderous sound that shook the ground. Wynonna was still, her eyes wide with terror at the sight before her. The animal's lips curled back to reveal a row of dagger-sharp teeth that were already stained red, matching its glowing red eyes. She snuck a glance at Dolls. "What do we do?" she whispered.
"I don't know what that thing is," he admitted in a hushed tone. "Maybe it'll go away?"
The snap of a jaw let them know that it definitely was not going away. Wynonna watched in horror as it lunged at her, sinking its teeth into her neck.
Dolls leapt into action and pried the beast's jaws apart to get it off of Wynonna. He drove it back, blood dripping from his hands as they dug into its teeth. The animal fought viciously, rearing up on its hind legs and pinning Dolls to the ground. Before it could kill her friend, Wynonna shot. Once, twice, three times before a bullet finally hit it in the muzzle. It let out a pained yelp and left Dolls alone long enough for him to get up. "Run!" he shouted to Wynonna. She lowered the gun and complied, sprinting for the cruiser. A last ditch attempt, Dolls threw an active taser at the animal. The taser hit it square in the ribs and it was incapacitated. Dolls hopped into the passenger seat and barely had the door closed before Wynonna sped off.
