Plans don't go right for this long

"Okay, do we know what's causing this?" Nicole said.

The Earp sisters faltered. Nicole sighed.

"Seriously?" Nicole said.

"Been kinda distracted!" Waverly squeaked.

"Right, then that's our first step," Nicole said. "Black Badge ought to know something, right? Or at least might've encountered something like this before."

Wynonna nodded slowly. Waverly still fidgeted.

"Makes sense," Wynonna said.

"So I'll take care of that," Nicole said. "You stay with Waverly, make sure she's safe. I'll check out whatever data Black Badge have got, and come back with answers-"

"Hey, why do you get the cushy desk job?" Wynonna said.

"_You're _volunteering for research?" Nicole said. "One of us needs to stay here if she's not in control."

Wynonna opened her mouth, then considered. Nudity or boring books? She sighed; Nicole had a point.

"Alright. Fair," Wynonna said. "But you call the instant you have a solution, okay?"

"Okay," Nicole said.

Nicole lingered. Wynonna frowned; she looked pointedly at the door, trying to silently signal for the clothed redhead to get out. Nicole looked back, eyes wide and expression probably trying to signal something; it was a moment before Wynonna realized she wasn't just ogling.

Oh. Right. Wanted to have a moment with her girlfriend. Yeah, that checked out. Wynonna coughed, and took a step back.

"Okay. Right. I'll just be... over here," Wynonna said. "Won't be tempting you. And kit off if you're getting close, you know how this works."

Wynonna backed out the door; Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. She took a few steps towards Waverly, half-melting, before catching herself. She glanced towards the door Wynonna had gone through, making sure it was shut, before quickly stripping herself.

She tried not to think too hard about it. This was definitely weird, but it was Waverly. Just Waverly. Grateful, she left her clothes in a messy pile on the far side of the room, and hurried over to her girlfriend, catching her in a hug and trying very very hard to not dwell on the sheer amount of skin contact they had.

"Are you okay? Really," Nicole said. "This sounds... crazy, in so many ways."

"It is," Waverly said. She hugged back. "Glad you're helping."

"Don't know what I'll find," Nicole said. "You'll be okay here?"

"Wynonna'll keep an eye out for me," Waverly said. "She always does."

Nicole breathed a smile of relief; she leant in for a kiss goodbye, and Waverly responded in kind. Eventually she moved back.

"See you soon, I hope," Nicole said.

"Really hoping so too," Waverly said.

"Think it's the first time I've ever looked forward to seeing you with your clothes on," Nicole said.

She chuckled to herself, reaching for her clothes. After a moment, the door behind her opened, Wynonna peering through.

"Eh. Eight out of ten," Wynonna said, looking at the bent-over Nicole. "Not bad."

Nicole hastily straightened, flushing and whirling around, clutching her clothes to her chest.

"Wynonna!"

"What? You got to see us," Wynonna said. "Only fair."

Nicole stammered for a moment, then resigned herself to groaning. One-upping Wynonna just wasn't worth it sometimes; she moved back to the corner, quickly getting what she could back on, before heading for the door.

"Stay safe," Nicole said. "I'll call with what I find."

"Gotcha," Wynonna said.

"Good luck!" Waverly said. She waved a little tentatively.

And then Nicole was gone. The two nude sisters looked at each other; Waverly wasn't sure what she felt as she heard the car pull away. On the one hand, she was disappointed to see her leave - she always was, but at least Nicole didn't relish making things awkward as much as Wynonna did. On the other hand, she was glad that some actual progress was starting to be made towards solving this.

Waverly relaxed just slightly. Being naked in front of Wynonna was... definitely new, but honestly anything was a step up after the day she'd had. At least Wynonna wanted her happy.

"You do have good taste," Wynonna said eventually. Waverly groaned.

"Really?" Waverly said. "That's how you break the silence?"

Wynonna flashed a grin; Waverly shook her head despite smiling back. The one thing she would say, Wynonna was at least good at drawing attention to topics other than her current nudity, even if she did it in maybe the worse way possible.

"I'm going to take some time to myself," Waverly said. "Please don't be planning how to flirt with my girlfriend while I'm gone."

"No promises," Wynonna said.

She offered a finger-gun; Waverly almost tutted, despite smiling, as she ducked away into a side room.

Wynonna waited a moment. She looked down at the floor, the pile of clothes Nicole had left for them. They were admittedly a bit lacklustre, overlarge shirts and paint-stained jeans, but they'd do for the time being. Just had to keep them safe, then once Nicole had helped Waverly, they were one shopping trip from forgetting this whole affair had ever happened.

There was an odd sound from the room Waverly had gone into. Wynonna frowned.

"Waves, you okay?" Wynonna called.

No response. Wynonna hesitated.

Wait, she was meant to be keeping an eye on Waverly. She was still possessed after all; she could be doing anything. It wasn't safe to leave her alone.

"Waves? I'm coming in!" Wynonna said.

She took a step closer to the door. No answer, again; frowning, Wynonna pushed the door open.

Inside, the room was empty, but the window was wide open. Suddenly in a panic, Wynonna sprinted over to the window, unconsciously crossing her arms over her chest at the sudden rush of cool air.

Oh. Shit.

There was Waverly, in the distance, no doubt not choosing to move the way she was. She'd gone an impressive way already, a flesh-colored streak against the dusty landscape around the homestead. It wasn't long before she'd be hidden by the hills.

Wynonna risked a look back; Nicole's delivery of clothes were in the other room. That was a surprising amount of time needed to go back, get into them, then get out here, and... and Waverly was almost out of sight.

Wynonna swallowed.

Then, before she could talk herself out of it, lifted a leg up and slipped herself through the window.

"Oh, I am so holding this over you when we're done," Wynonna muttered to herself.

Wishing there was any plan of action that didn't require both keeping her eyes on her sister's butt to avoid losing her, and being just as naked as she followed, Wynonna started running after her.

Keep Waverly safe. That's what she had to do - keep an eye on her, get her home. And also hope she caught up with her before she made it to the more populated parts of town.