WITH ALL MY MIGHT
CHAPTER ONE
September 8th 1995
Willa and their daddy were busy, shooting cans and bottles out by the fence, and their mamma was somewhere in town, doing God knows what, probably the shopping or maybe drinking beer with Gus at Shorty's, or maybe she just didn't want to see her seven-year-old learn how to use a gun – at least that was what she'd said, before she'd taken their beat-up truck and driven straight into their already crooked mailbox before speeding down the gravel road.
Wynonna wasn't sure why her mamma was so mad at their daddy for that thing about the gun, because they all knew that Willa was supposed to learn to shoot it eventually.
The sooner the better, as their daddy had argued.
And Willa. Willa, she had grabbed Peacemaker from Daddy's hand and told Mamma that she was gonna be the next Earp heir, and she needed to learn. As Michelle Earp had cursed her husband's ancestors and grabbed the car keys from the countertop, Wynonna had slipped barefooted into her blue rubber boots and ran outside to watch the car speed away.
Now, she was tiptoeing along the northern border of their land – Willa and Ward were in the other end, by the southern border, right near the barn, she could hear Ward's curses as Willa learned how to pull the trigger – and she was trying not to be too bummed about the fact that Ward had told her to get lost when she went to watch them practise.
Daddy had told her to go paint a picture, play with her teddy, simply just stay out of the way. But Wynonna wasn't good at staying out of the way, she never had been. She wasn't good at sitting still either, which was why she'd snuck out through the kitchen door to go explore, even if she knew that she wasn't supposed to.
Momma always called her a firecracker, not that Wynonna was entirely too sure what it meant.
Wynonna kicked a rock across the invisible border of their land – it had always been invisible, never drawn with a fence or bushes, yet both Earp girls knew exactly where it was, their father had made sure of that. They weren't allowed to cross the border, he'd said, when Wynonna was barely able to wobble on her two tiny legs, because red eyes were looming just on the other side, in the outskirts of the forest, and they were there, always, ready to grab them and go. That's what he'd said.
Willa and Wynonna were ever really only supposed to leave the homestead with one of their parents, Aunt Gus or Uncle Curtis, heck even Shorty was okay. Willa had been in school for a year, and Wynonna had just started, so the grown-ups in their lives took turns driving them there. Already, Wynonna hated school; of course, there was the sitting still-part which she couldn't muster there either, but there were also the other kids, making fun of them because of their name and their daddy and the fact that he told everybody that demons were real. Wynonna didn't give a rat's ass about that though, she didn't need them stupid other kids, she was an Earp, and she could take care of herself.
And she and Willa, they had each other; they were best friends, they were sisters. And Wynonna would only ever need Willa by her side, not anyone else.
Mamma always said they were thick as thieves. (Wynonna didn't know what that meant either).
One of Wynonna's braids fell over her shoulder when she reached down to grab a rock off the dusty ground. It was September, and it was already starting to get colder in Purgatory, yet there she was, in her blue rubber boots and nightgown with just a jacket thrown over her shoulders. Her mother would have chastised her, told her to at least wear some pantyhose, even though she knew Wynonna hated them and would rather feel cold.
She felt the rock in her hand, testing its weight, before she threw it across the border, using all of her strength and aiming at the nothingness at the edge of the forest. She thought she saw movement over there, someone – or heck even something – looming in the shadow right by the edge. Watching her, watching the rock as it landed a mere few feet from the first line of trees.
Wynonna was, even at the tender age of six, very aware of the fact that there was an actual danger towards her and Willa outside of the homestead. She knew this, she had experienced it a few times already, even in her short life. Once when she was four, she and Willa had been playing with their kites in the backyard and one of them had gotten stuck in a tree outside the border. They had told their mamma, but they had been too impatient to wait for her to help retrieve it, so they'd gone across the border, and before they even knew it, a scary man with red eyes had grabbed Willa, thrown her across his shoulder and was trying to leave with her.
Their daddy had come storming out of the house with a bottle in one hand and Peacemaker in the other. He'd shot the guy, and before Wynonna knew what was happening, the ground had swallowed him in a rage of fire.
She'd been so scared that night; Mamma had tucked her in with sweet songs and tender kisses, and told her that everything was going to be okay. But from the age of four, Wynonna knew that their lives were never going to be okay because they were Earps. And Earps had a job to do.
It was getting darker now, but she hadn't heard the familiar rumble of the truck coming up the long driveway. She didn't want to go back yet, not before Mamma was back. She'd just be stuck in the house while Willa learned how to shoot and had fun with Daddy.
Wynonna.
She thought she heard someone calling her name from the woods and turned to look towards the trees that loomed with shadows that kept getting longer and longer.
Wynonna.
There it was again, and it didn't just sound like anybody – it sounded like Mamma. What was Mamma doing in the woods, and why hadn't she come back with the truck yet? Wynonna took a testing step; placing one foot over the invisible border while turning her head to look across her shoulder. She knew she was doing something that she was not supposed to, and if Ward saw her, he'd give her an earful and send her straight to bed without supper.
Wynonna.
She was sure now. Someone was definitely calling her name, and it sounded a lot like her mamma. Her braids whipped across her shoulders when she turned around and placed the other foot across the border as well.
She held her breath.
She wasn't sure what she thought was going to happen, but this was definitely not it. Six-year-old Wynonna Earp was confused, because even after all the stories her daddy had told her, even after experiencing it herself, seeing it with her own two eyes, nothing happened when she crossed the border and left the Earp homestead.
She heard her name come from the woods again; it was soft, delicate, like a whisper across the empty field. She didn't know why her mamma would be calling her from across the field, from the scary, dark woods, but she knew that if her mamma called, she'd always come running.
So, six-year-old Wynonna Earp didn't think twice about it; maybe it was because she was a firecracker, and firecrackers probably didn't think twice (she still wasn't sure if that was for certain or not), but she took off running towards the woods, almost slipping in her blue rubber boots which were a little too big because they were actually Willa's. She felt the wind in her face, catching her hair and her jacket, making it feel like a cape on her back, and she came to a halt, stopping, a little bit winded and out of breath, right near the first line of trees.
She could feel her heart beat wildly in her chest, and she held her breath, trying to listen to her mamma's voice again, wanting to find her between the trees, to see what she wanted, why she'd called her name.
But Wynonna couldn't hear the soft sound of her mother's voice. She could only hear the wind rustling the leaves, the sounds of small animals crawling across the ground. The distant sound of gunfire.
Suddenly, a small whimper broke the otherwise almost eerie silence, and Wynonna felt her heart speed up again. That sound was not something mother Nature would usually make, it was not even something Wynonna's human mother would make. Wynonna hadn't been around many babies in her life, but of this she was certain: The sound was coming from an infant.
Tentatively stepping further into the forest, very aware that she was entering dangerous territory, Wynonna peeked around a particularly thick set of bushes. She thought the whimpers were getting louder, and as she looked around, her eyes trying to adjust to the way everything was just a little bit darker inside the woods, she saw a small bundle, wrapped in blue, sitting atop an old tree trunk.
A baby.
Holding her breath, Wynonna carefully stepped closer. She wasn't sure what to do, all she knew was that small babies weren't supposed to lie on top of tree trunks in the woods at this time of day. Especially not in towns like Purgatory where ad things tended to happen. She slowly reached a shaking hand out, not wanting to startle the baby, and brushed the blue fabric to the side.
The baby immediately stopped whimpering, and big, round, green eyes stared up at her, suddenly alert, surprised even, by the face staring down at them.
Swallowing loudly, Wynonna brushed a finger across the baby's cheek. "Hello," she whispered, voice cracking. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"
Whimpers started erupting from the baby again, and Wynonna looked around, trying to figure out if there was somebody nearby – anyone, a person who owned this baby. She felt watched, like somebody was looking at them just in the periphery of her vision. But she didn't see any red dots lurking at her, and there was silent – so, so silent. Except from the baby's whimpers which were now growing stronger.
Wynonna turned her attention back to the bundle in front of her. She didn't know what to do, she was confused – why would anybody leave a baby outside in the woods? She blew on a piece of hair that was dangling in front of her eyes and made a decision: With shaking arms she struggled to pick the baby up, careful not to drop it. It felt cold in her arms, even wrapped inside the blue blanket, so she tucked it beneath her jacket and struggled to zip it just a little bit. Her heart beat faster than she could ever remember it to have done before, and she locked her blue eyes to the green eyes staring up at her and bent her head to press a kiss to the tiny forehead. A wasp of blonde hair, barely there, tickled her nose as she whispered, "There, there. You're okay. I've got you now."
Wynonna felt something scratchy on her cheek and tucked her fingers into the blanket, right next to the baby's left ear, and she paused when she came into contact with parchment. Pulling, the six-year-old realised that she was standing with a white envelope in her hand. She felt her eyes go wide and spun around herself, just checking one more time if there was anybody around. "Hallo?" She tentatively called out, but there was no answer. "Anybody here?" She continued to question, this time raising her voice, even if it was scary. She didn't know why she was doing it though, because she could just feel it – feel that there was no one there who would announce their presence, and that she was all alone with this tiny baby who felt a little bit too cold, a little bit too heavy, in her arms.
Blue eyes fell back to the envelope, and Wynonna struggled to turn it over while still carrying the baby's weight. Her eyes turned wide when she read over the one word scribbled across the front.
Wynonna
The handwriting felt oddly familiar, yet Wynonna couldn't place it. She couldn't even read, just her own name, and Willa's and a few other choice words, but she was certain. Her name was written across this envelope, and the envelope was tucked inside the baby's blanket.
"I was supposed to find you," she whispered, as her eyes fell back to the small human in her arms.
The baby blew a small bubble of spit in reply.
Clenching her jaw, Wynonna made a decision; even at six years old, she was more determined than most, and she swept the envelope into the pocket of her jacket, zipping it for good measure, before she clutched the bundle closer to her chest and made her way back through the bushes and into the open field.
She had no idea what this was all about, she even had no idea what her parents were going to say when she suddenly came back with a tiny baby in her arms, but she didn't care. She hadn't read the letter tucked inside that envelope, and she wasn't going to read it before she had learned enough to do it by herself, because if Wynonna knew anything, it was that when something was addressed to you, with your name – and only your name – written across the front, you were supposed to read it by yourself. She wasn't going to show Willa or Daddy, perhaps only just her mamma if need be, because someone had written a note, especially and specifically for her, and then they'd left if with that baby inside of those woods. She had to make sure what was inside that letter though.
Carefully making her way through the open field, towards the border where Wynonna knew she was supposed to take this tiny human – to be safe, to be taken care of – she felt an odd kinship with the baby in her arms. She could feel a lump forming in her throat as the thought of losing this baby entered her mind. She wasn't going to let that happen, she wasn't going to let her parents take it away, send it off somewhere, to someone else, because this baby was meant to be with her, and she was supposed to take care of it. She could just feel it. Staring down at those green eyes, Wynonna knew that she could never leave this tiny person without her protection, and she felt her heart swell – with love, with pride even – because she was gonna watch over this little baby like a big sister and make sure that no one ever did it harm.
"Maybe I'm going to have to show Mamma that letter," she whispered to the baby, before pressing another kiss to its forehead.
She could still hear gunshots coming from the other side of the house as she crossed the border, and she made a sigh of relief; from the fact that she was safely on Earp land or from the fact that Ward and Willa were otherwise engaged, Wynonna didn't know, but she staggered toward the house and through the back door, before falling onto the floor in the kitchen, legs bent and with the baby cradled in front of her.
She draped her jacket over them both and leaned her head back against the wall. She suddenly felt so, so tired. All she wanted to do was close her eyes, for just a second, and maybe everything would be okay when she opened them again. But Wynonna couldn't sleep, not really, not with the baby in her lap and the sound of gunshots coming from outside.
She heard her daddy cheer Willa on, and Wynonna started humming to the baby in her lap to calm its whimpers, while she stuck a hand into the pocket of her jacket and retrieved the letter. She used her teeth – her humming stopping briefly – to open the envelope, and saw a handwritten letter fall to the floor. The baby was still whimpering, and Wynonna could not make out any of the words inside that letter except her own name – both the first and the last – and she grabbed the paper, fisting it tightly, as she closed her eyes once more, fighting to stay awake.
"It's gonna be okay," she whispered to the baby, stroking its little cheek, "it's gonna be quite alright. I've got you now. Mamma's gonna be home soon, and she'll figure it all out."
She wasn't sure how long she sat there, battling sleep, humming to the baby in her arms, but she smiled to herself when she heard the familiar sound of the family's truck stopping outside, the roar of the engine cutting off. She could hear Ward holler something at his wife, before another gunshot went off, and she pressed yet another kiss to the baby's forehead, smiling, knowing that her mamma was going to take care of everything in just a minute. Her mamma always did.
The door to the kitchen slammed close and Wynonna heard, more than saw, her mother coming to a halt. She dropped two filled grocery bags to the floor.
"Wynonna?"
Wynonna stared up at her mother, the beautifulest woman she had ever known, and held the fist with the letter out for her to take. "I found it in the woods, Mamma. It has my name on it. I think I was s'posed to find it."
Michelle Earp grabbed the letter from her daughter's hand, and if she was confused or worried about an unknown baby in her kitchen, she didn't show it. Wynonna just watched as her mother read the letter, her eyes moving left to right, her forehead crinkling as she went.
She sighed. "You left the homestead?"
Wynonna made a face, "I know I'm not s'posed to, but I heard you calling my name."
Michelle kneeled down in front of her daughter, brushing the blue fabric away from the baby's face. "You are not supposed to, no. But you were supposed to find her."
Licking her lip, Wynonna's eyes locked with her mother's. "It's a girl?"
"Yes," Michelle replied, nodding her head softly, "a little girl. Not very old from the looks of it."
Wynonna felt her forehead crinkle. "What are we s'posed to do with her? You can't take her away, I won't allow it!"
Michelle smiled down at her, "I ain't gonna take her away, sweetheart. You're supposed to take care of her, it says so in this letter." She squeezed the paper tight and crumbled it inside her fist. "It's a big responsibility, Wynonna, are you sure you're up for it? Watching over her?"
Jutting out her chin, Wynonna replied, "Sure am."
"Good," her mother whispered, brushing a piece of Wynonna's loose hair out of her face, "because you're gonna be her big sister, okay? And if there comes a time when I'm not around to take care of you anymore, you're gonna watch out for her, okay? She's gonna be the baby in the family, and she's gonna need you."
Wynonna felt pride swell in her chest, and she knew for certain that she was always going to take care of her baby sister. She wouldn't, ever, let anyone hurt her, and if, when her baby sister grew up, other kids would call her names and make fun of her, just like they did with Willa and herself, Wynonna would stand up for her, because that's what big sisters do.
Michelle carefully stuffed the crumbled up letter into the pocket of Wynonna's jacket. "Hide this somewhere, Wynonna, a place only you know how to find. Your daddy ain't gonna like this, sweetheart, another baby, another mouth to feed." She sighed, taking the baby from Wynonna's arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead and tugging her close. "We're going to tell Willa and your daddy that we just brought her home from the hospital, okay? That's what we're going to say."
Wynonna had never seen her mother look so serious before. "The hospital?" She whispered.
"Yes, darling," Michelle replied softly, "nothing about the woods or the letter, okay? That's just for you and me to know, not even for the baby, you understand?"
Nodding, Wynonna felt the crumbled piece of paper in her pocket, already making up places in her head where she could hide it; places that not even Willa would find it. Maybe beneath the loose floorboard in her bedroom, or the hollow trunk in their backyard. Maybe even in the barn, she was pretty sure there was some loose boards in the ceiling that Willa didn't know about.
Michelle bent down and pressed a kiss to Wynonna's hair. "She doesn't have a name, darling, the letter didn't say so." She looked down at the baby in her arms, the newest family member, her third daughter, before staring at her middle child. "You know what I think? I think we should name her Welcome, because we're going to make sure that she feels good with us, right? That she knows she's a part of our family as much as you and Willa," she nods to herself, "that she's… she's your sister. My daughter." She paused, "And it starts with a W."
Wynonna wrinkled her nose. Welcome Earp? That wasn't a name for the tiny baby tucked safely in her mother's arms. It wasn't a name at all. She stared at her mother, "Nope," she said then, "can't name her that. That's not special enough."
Michelle locked eyes with Wynonna as she softly proposed another question, "Well, what do you think then?"
Standing on her tiptoes, Wynonna looked down at her baby sister, her angel, and knew exactly what her name was. "Waverly," she whispered, glancing briefly up at her mother's face for approval, before once more locking her eyes to the tiny nose, the littlest pink lips, and those big green eyes, "her name. It's Waverly."
xxx
It's been a long time since I wrote fanfiction so I'm a little rusty. Apologies for that and for any mistakes I didn't catch.
This story is going to be Wayhaught since I love that couple so damn much, but it's also going to explore the relationship between Wynonna and Waverly as well as Waverly's background and her as a character. It should follow canon, so everything we've seen on the show should be able to fit in here, and if that changes, I'll let you know. I'm not sure how long this story will be, but it is going to have some chapters, and I have a very lose storyline planned out at the moment.
I sure hope you enjoyed the first chapter and want to read more! Leave a review, let me know what you think.
Disclaimer; I do not own these characters or this show. Sadly.
