Chapter Text
AUGUST 31st, 2033
Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, Nicole registers what she thinks might be laughter. It’s hard for her to care about that right now, though. Not while she’s reclined on the couch in her office with Waverly draped on top of her and her wife’s tongue in her mouth.
It’s hard for her to care about anything when Waverly is kissing her.
Waverly had stopped by with sandwiches and fresh coffee, and they’d eaten lunch at Nicole’s desk while she looked over the week’s reports and Waverly graded a stack of papers. But when Nicole had tossed her pen down on the folder and pushed herself out of her chair to stretch, her joints cracking in the process, Waverly had gotten that familiar glint in her eyes.
There’s less than ten minutes left on her lunch break now, but she can’t think of a better way to spend them then having Waverly push her down onto the couch and make out with her the same way they did all those years ago. Nicole hears the laughter again through the closed door, but continues to ignore it because Waverly’s hands are starting to wander, and that’s far more important.
Or at least it was.
Until a loud squawk sounds from the radio on Nicole’s shoulder and causes both of them to jump. They stare at each other for a moment, startled, and then giggle like teenagers when Nicole reaches for the mic.
“Thanks, Murphy,” she says, trying not to snicker.
“No problem, boss,” Murphy returns, obviously struggling with the same thing.
A few things have changed in the eighteen years since Waverly had tackled Nicole that first time. They’re married now. They have two beautiful children. Nicole is the Sheriff. This is now her office – her couch – and they no longer have to worry about getting caught.
Mostly because everybody already knows what they’re doing.
On more than one occasion, they’ve gotten a little carried away and accidentally pressed the button on Nicole’s radio, producing an open mic which has inadvertently transmitted their activities to the entire department. The first several times it happened, they thought they might die of embarrassment. Although, the mortification factor was apparently never high enough to get them to stop making out on Nicole’s couch.
Now it doesn’t even faze them.
Or Nicole’s officers.
If the open mic lasts for more than a few seconds, one of them will simply squawk her to let her know so that she can shift the radio into the clear, and she can carry on letting Waverly rumple her shirt and mess up her hair.
No one even thinks twice about it anymore.
Waverly steals a few more kisses and then pats Nicole’s cheek and gathers up her stack of papers before scurrying out the door, leaving Nicole breathless on her couch.
Never a dull moment in Purgatory.
+++++
OCTOBER 7th, 2033
“Sheriff! Are you alri—”
There’s a long moment of silence where the only thing that can be heard is the pane of glass rattling in the door after it slammed into the wall behind the frame, accompanied by a muffled groan coming from the vicinity of Nicole’s neck.
“O-oh… Oh my god. I’m so— I’m so sorry, ma’am… I thought I heard… but you’re…”
“Officer Scott.”
“Y-yes?”
“Your shift is over at five?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Be in my office at four-thirty.”
“I, uh… O-okay. I mean. Yes, ma’am.”
Another long beat of silence.
“Officer Scott.”
“Y-yes, ma’am?”
“Why are you still in my office?”
“Oh! R-right. I’ll just… get back to my paperwork…”
“Close the door on your way out.”
The second it clicks shut, Nicole drops her head back against couch with a loud groan and Waverly can’t help herself. The muffled snickering that had been coming from Nicole’s neck is now full blown laughter.
“I swear to god, that boy is gonna be the death of me.”
“What did you expect from a kid that goes by ‘Scooter’? You’re that one that hired him,” Waverly points out, finally raising her head from where it had been buried against Nicole’s shoulder.
She’s perched in Nicole’s lap, straddling her hips, her arms draped loosely around Nicole’s neck. Waverly watches with amusement as Nicole brings a hand up from where it had been grasping her hip to scrub it across her red face.
“Don’t remind me.”
“How about if I remind you what we were doing before the interruption?” Waverly asks with a smirk and leans down for another kiss, but Nicole just whines instead.
“That’s what got us into this situation in the first place.” She shifts beneath Waverly so she can readjust her radio. “Your enthusiasm keyed up my mic. Again,” she adds with a pointed look.
Waverly pouts and rests her weight back on Nicole’s thighs.
“Didn’t we already go through this with the last one? You need to just give them a talk when they start,” Waverly laughs.
“He’s had the talk. They all get the talk. I guess he wasn’t listening.” Nicole frowns. “You know the other guys are laughing their asses off right now. I think they must have turned this into some sort of initiation.”
“Well, if you would just lock the door like I keep asking…” Waverly toys with Nicole’s unbuttoned collar.
Some things never change.
Nicole swats playfully at Waverly’s hip. “I was just sitting here innocently when you crawled into my lap. It’s not my fault you’re so overwhelmed by your hot wife that you can’t control yourself long enough to lock a damn door.” Waverly starts to balk, but Nicole kisses her nose before she can. “You’d think you would have learned your lesson about doors with locks after all these years.”
Waverly shoves at her shoulder and climbs off of her lap.
“You’re no fun.” She smooths out her skirt with a sigh. “I should be getting back to work anyway. My students are expecting grades for their latest papers before the long weekend.”
Nicole pushes herself up from the couch and wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist, resting her chin on her shoulder while Waverly gathers up her work and stuffs it into her bag. A smile begins to form as she gets an idea.
“Want me to pick Wyatt up from school today?”
Waverly leans her head back to look at Nicole. There’s a hint of something flashing in her eyes. Waverly thinks it looks like mischief.
“Why…?” she asks cautiously.
“You just said you have a lot of work to do,” Nicole answers with an innocent grin. “Astor already has soccer practice after school. I can pick Wyatt up and keep him out of your hair for a little while.”
Waverly narrows her eyes as she studies Nicole’s face. Something is going on here. She just can’t figure out what.
“Don’t you have your meeting with Scooter this afternoon? You’re not letting him off the hook that easily, are you?”
“No,” Nicole laughs. “He definitely isn’t off the hook for not just squawking like everyone else. I’ve got something special in mind for him.” Nicole smirks, but then shakes her head. “But that’s not until later. There’s plenty of time for me to be back here with Wyatt. He can do is homework in the bullpen, and then we’ll swing by and pick up some dinner on the way home after Astor is done with practice.”
Waverly knows her wife is up to something, but the prospect of some peace and quiet to finish her work before the weekend is too good to pass up.
“Anything but burgers from Shorty’s or pizza, and you’ve got a deal.”
“Done,” Nicole says, kissing Waverly’s cheek with a grin. “Now get out of here Professor Haught. You’ve caused enough trouble for one day.”
Waverly grabs Nicole by the collar and drags her into one last kiss, and then heads for the door, mumbling as she goes.
“Pretty sure I’m not the one causing trouble right now…”
+++++
“Mom!”
Nine-year-old Wyatt’s face lights up when he spots Nicole’s Explorer parked across the street from the school. He dashes toward her, stopping to check the crosswalk for traffic, and clambers up into the front seat beside her.
“Hey, buddy. How was school?”
“Aced my science test!” he says exuberantly.
“I knew you would,” Nicole beams proudly and holds up her hand. Wyatt gives her an enthusiastic high-five and then gets himself settled, buckling his seatbelt. “How much homework do you have?”
“Not much,” Wyatt shrugs dismissively. “Just my spelling words and a math worksheet. I think I can finish it before supper.”
“Good.” Nicole leans in and lowers her voice like she’s about to share a secret. “Because I could use your help with something.”
Wyatt’s blue eyes twinkle as his lips curl into a mischievous grin. “What’s the plan, boss?”
“I have to have a meeting with Scooter this afternoon.”
“Uh oh.” Wyatt scrunches up his face while he thinks for a moment and then seems to come to some kind of conclusion. “Did he forget to squawk?”
Nicole laughs so hard she nearly knocks her black Stetson off when her head drops back against the headrest of her seat.
“Yeah, kid,” she says, trying to regain her composure. “He forgot to squawk.”
“Rookies,” Wyatt mumbles, shaking his head with a serious expression and Nicole loses it again. He sits up a little straighter in his seat and folds his arms across his chest. “Don’t worry, Mom. I know just what to do.”
“Standard rules apply,” she says with a pointed look.
Wyatt begins ticking off on his fingers. “Don’t tell Astor,” he starts, and Nicole nods. “Mama can never find out.” She nods again. “And most important…” he pauses and smirks at her. “Ice cream on the way home.”
Nicole grins and ruffles his dark hair. “I think that about covers it, buddy. You in?”
“Like Flynn,” he answers with one of her favorite lines and gives her a fist bump. Wyatt has always been her partner-in-crime, and Nicole loves this dynamic they share.
“Alright, kiddo. Let’s roll.” Nicole starts the Explorer and Wyatt reaches for the radio console between the seats.
“Deputy Sheriff Haught is 10-41. Reporting for duty,” he says into the mic, waiting for a response.
“10-4 Deputy. Do you have a status on Sheriff Haught?” the dispatcher asks, playing along with the familiar game.
“Sheriff Haught is 10-8 and en route to the station,” he answers matter-of-factly.
“10-4 We’ll see you soon.”
Nicole drops her hat on Wyatt’s head as she pulls away from the curb with a smile.
+++++
Wyatt is sitting behind the high counter in front of Nicole’s office, quietly doing his homework, when Officer Scott shuffles in with a pale face and a jittery step. He looks past Wyatt at Nicole’s closed door, fidgeting with his hat in his hands. Wyatt drops his pencil and crosses his arms, giving the rookie a stern look.
“You have a meeting with Sheriff Haught, Officer Scott,” he says. It’s not a question.
“Uhh… Y-yeah,” Officer Scott answers, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “I-is she in her office?”
Wyatt tilts his head to the side and regards him with narrowed eyes.
“She is,” he says after a moment. Officer Scott starts to make his way around the end of the counter, but Wyatt holds up a hand to stop him. “Not yet. She’s busy.” Officer Scott stops dead in his tracks, clearly terrified of this kid.
Wyatt picks up his pencil and goes back to copying down math problems in his notebook. Officer Scott starts shifting his weight restlessly from one foot to the other.
“Heard about what happened,” Wyatt says without looking up, his tone low and calculated. He can hear Officer Scott gulp.
“W-what are… I don’t… That was, uhh…”
“There’s a squawking policy in place for a reason, Officer Scott.”
Officer Scott wheezes and has to lean forward and clutch the side of the counter to hold himself up.
Wyatt finally looks up from his homework, straightening up on his stool so that he’s taller than the hunched over man standing beside him.
“Oh. By the way. My mom is ready to see you now.”
The distinct sound of snickering comes from the far corner of the bullpen, but neither of them acknowledges it at the moment. Officer Scott makes a strangled noise in his throat as he drags himself over to door and forces himself to knock.
“Enter,” Nicole calls from within.
He opens the door with hesitation and finds the Sheriff sitting behind the desk with her arms crossed and an enormous smirk plastered across her face. It’s clear she knows exactly what just transpired outside her office.
Officer Scott turns and gapes one last time at the nine-year-old that just handed him his ass.
Wyatt’s face remains neutral and he just gives the officer a small shrug.
“Shoulda just squawked, dude.”