After their first meetup at Purgatory's motel, Wynonna and Sam decided to try dating again. How could they not? Even with all the craziness and distractions in Wynonna's life, she couldn't ignore that what the two had together was special.
Sam insisted on taking Wynonna out on a real date. They hadn't been able to do much actual dating in Greece before Wynonna left. "I'm going to pick you up, we'll go out, and at the end of the night I'll walk you to your door. And then we'll probably make out. You know, real traditional stuff," Sam said with a grin.
"Sounds lame," Wynonna responded. "Let's do it."
Sam bought a huge used truck that had a tall cap on the back. She drove up to the Homestead to pick up Wynonna for their date she'd planned. She wore black skinny jeans and a patterned short sleeve button-up which was buttoned to the top. She knocked on the door, holding a brown paper-wrapped bouquet in her hands. She had excited butterflies in her stomach.
Waverly opened the door. She noticed the bouquet in Sam's hands and got an uneasy feeling – she knew Wynonna would hate flowers. Waverly had had high hopes for Sam since hearing about her, but if she brought Wynonna flowers she must not know her at all. "You must be Sam," she said, leading her inside.
"And you must be the famous Waverly," Sam smiled.
"Wynonna will be ready in a minute, you can come wait in here." Waverly led Sam into the dining room where Nicole was sitting at the table. Waverly got a peek inside the bouquet paper and smiled. Sam did not bring flowers – it was a bundle of thin wooden dowels with donut holes stuck on the ends. Waverly was wrong – Sam knew Wynonna really well.
"So," Waverly started. "What are your intentions with my sister?"
Sam took a seat at the table. "Wow, just getting right into it. You don't mess around, I like it. I know it sounds crazy because I haven't actually known her that long, but I'll stick around until she tells me to leave," Sam said. "Or until one of those demon things rips me apart," she added jokingly.
Waverly and Nicole exchanged an uncomfortable look.
"Yikes. By the look of your faces that is not something I should be kidding about," Sam said nervously. "That's only slightly terrifying." The three chuckled awkwardly. Nicole gave Sam a sympathetic smile.
"But in all honesty," Sam continued, "Wynonna is one of the strongest people I've ever met. She is super caring and incredibly funny. She's so beautiful she takes my breath away when she walks in the room. I feel lucky that I get to spend any time with her so I'll soak up as much as I can. You don't have to worry about me breaking your sister's heart."
Waverly fought back a tear and smiled. "Okay," she said. "You pass."
"Phew!" Sam said. She laughed, but she did feel some relief. She was usually so calm and chill about everything, but she wanted Wynonna's sister to like her.
Wynonna entered the dining room wearing a crop-top and dark grey skinny jeans. She saw Sam sitting with Waverly and Nicole and her heart raced. She admired Sam in that button-up, her biceps stretching the cuffs of the short sleeves. Her hair was slicked back which allowed Wynonna to appreciate her whole face. Damn, she was sexy.
Sam got up from the table and handed Wynonna the bouquet. "Wow," she said. "You look great!"
"SWEET DONUTS!" Wynonna exclaimed, her eyes widening and an enthusiastic smile spreading on her face. She grabbed the donuts and shoved one in her mouth. "Kay, bye!" she said, mouth still full of donut. She waved to Waverly and Nicole who were now grasping each other's hands and fighting back the urge to squeal in gay excitement. Wynonna rolled her eyes and took Sam's hand and walked out. The two got in Sam's truck and drove off.
"Where are we going?" Wynonna asked. Sam had been keeping the date plans a secret.
"You'll see when we get there," Sam said slyly.
Sam pulled up to an old, abandoned-looking building on the outskirts of town. It was Purgatory's own old-school roller skating rink. Wynonna was a bit confused because it was most definitely closed down. She had only ever been there a few times as a kid – she'd all but forgotten that it existed.
"Here we are!" Sam said excitedly.
"Uhhh, I hate to break it to you, but this place hasn't been operational in years," Wynonna said.
"Yeah, I figured that out when I Googled 'things to do in Purgatory' and drove all the way out here because it was still listed as a business. But here's the thing - it was really easy to break into and all the old equipment is still in there! I came by the other day and cleaned it up a little." Wynonna could tell she was super excited for this. "Are you into it?"
Wynonna had to give it to Sam – this was definitely a surprise date. Plus Wynonna wasn't afraid of some trespassing or breaking and entering. Why the heck not? "Lead the way," She said. She was just glad to be alone with Sam; she didn't really care what they did.
Sam opened the door to reveal her work. The inside of the building was one big room with a large oval rink in the middle and some benches in the surrounding area. The floor was in surprisingly good shape for not having been used in so many years. Sam had lined the floor and the guard rails of the rink with battery-operated Christmas lights. She'd also placed a few lanterns throughout the room for some extra light. Despite the creepy, decrepit vibe of the old building, Wynonna thought it felt pretty romantic.
They rummaged through broken shelves of skates to find matching pairs in their sizes. Sam put on her skates and immediately zoomed around the rink. Wynonna had not expected to feel impressed by any roller skating skills, but Sam was showing off and Wynonna liked it. It was so on-brand for Sam to be really good at something so random.
"How the hell are you so good at this?" Wynonna asked, stepping onto the rink. She held the guard rail to stop herself from instantly falling.
"I got really into it when that Ellen Page roller derby movie came out," Sam shrugged.
"Makes sense. Gaaaay," Wynonna teased.
Sam laughed and skated toward Wynonna. "I mean, you're not wrong," she said with a wink. She took Wynonna by the hand and led her around the rink. It felt so natural to hold hands with Sam, but it also made Wynonna feel a good kind of nervous. How had it been over a year since they'd seen each other? It felt like no time had passed. Sam's presence in Purgatory was unexpected, yet so comfortable and welcome.
The pair talked, laughed, and skated for over an hour. Wynonna was finally getting the hang of skating when she heard a noise outside.
"Shhh," she said to Sam. They stopped skating.
Sam looked around the room, her hand gripped onto Wynonna's arm. "Ahh!" she yelled. "Holy crap, dude, you scared the shit out of me!"
Wynonna turned to where Sam was looking. A man stood in the doorway. He didn't respond to Sam's shouts, but instead moved aside, letting in a line of three other men.
"What's happening?" Sam whispered as the men stalked around the outside of the rink.
Wynonna saw the men's eyes glow deep red. "Shit," she said. "Revenants."
"Revenants?" Sam asked nervously. "Like, the demon guys who hate you and want you dead because you can send them back to Hell - those revenants?"
"Those're the ones," she responded. Wynonna was thankful she'd brought Peacemaker along for the date, but they were still outnumbered and surrounded.
"So you're a lesbian now!" said one of the revenants to Wynonna. "Which one of you is the man?" he sneered.
Sam couldn't stop herself from answering. "I guess I am since I hate asking for directions and I always leave the cupboard doors open!" The revenants grumbled and looked slightly perturbed that they didn't get a sexier answer.
Wynonna laughed. Sam was so funny. She was so glad that Sam had taken her on this date, and put in so much effort, and made her feel so good about herself even though she sucked at roller skating, and – oh, yeah –she shook her head to snap out of her distracting train of thought – not the time.
"So what's the plan?" Sam asked Wynonna. Wynonna smiled. She was impressed that Sam was acting tough in spite of new, supernaturally horrifying circumstances.
"We're going to kill you and your stupid girlfriend," taunted one of the revenants.
"Well, do it, then!" Wynonna challenged, rolling her eyes. She noticed they didn't have any guns, only a few axes. They must've been out in the woods nearby and spotted the truck outside the rink. This wasn't a planned attack. The revenants seemed to be waiting for Wynonna to make the first move – idiots.
Wynonna had an idea. "Let's whip it," she said. When Sam looked confused, she added, "Like the Ellen Page movie."
Sam's face lit up with pure delight. "YES. You've seen it?! GAAAAAAY" she mocked. "I've always wanted to try this."
Wynonna and Sam started skating which prompted the revenants to begin their march toward the rink. Sam skated ahead and grabbed onto a spot on the guard rail that wasn't near any revenants. When Wynonna caught up to her, Sam grabbed her outreached arm and whipped her forward. Wynonna flew around the rink with Peacemaker in hand. She was able to shoot two revenants before they even fully got into the rink. The last two were a bit trickier. Wynonna had lost her momentum and was slowing down.
"I'm out of gas!" she shouted. The revenants were chasing her around the rink and it was all she could do to keep her balance now that she wasn't propelled by the whip. She could see out of the corner of her eye that one of the revenants was running toward her. In her attempt to turn quickly to face him, she fell backwards, unintentionally yet successfully avoiding his ax swing. As he lifted his ax above his head to generate another swing, Wynonna, still on the floor, got the perfect angle to shoot him in the face. Just one left.
Wynonna scrambled up on her feet just in time to see Sam hip check the last revenant into the guard rail so hard he got knocked out. "Woohoo!" Sam said, raising her arms in the air. "Roller derby moves for the win!"
Wynonna skated over and shot him right in his stupid face. "Nice!" she said, high-fiving Sam. "Thanks for the assist."
"Anytime," Sam responded. "You know," she added, guiding Wynonna over until she had her back against the guard rail. Sam stood right up against Wynonna and held onto the railing on either side on Wynonna's hips, bracing herself on her toe brake. "That was pretty sexy, seeing you all badass back there. You got some good moves."
Wynonna blushed and her heart pounded. "Oh, really?" she asked raising an eyebrow. She bit her lower lip and looked Sam up and down. This girl drove her crazy in the best way possible.
Sam held onto the railing with one hand and placed the other around Wynonna's back to pull her close. They made out – hard. Wynonna grabbed Sam's face with one hand and her ass with the other.
After a few minutes of this, Sam pulled back. "Wait. Is it wrong of me to be turned on by you killing a bunch of dudes?" she asked. She looked at Wynonna and lost her train of thought. "Never mind, I don't really care," she said, leaning back into Wynonna.
The two kissed passionately for several seconds before Sam pulled back again. "You know what," she said, "maybe we should get out of the place where we just saw a bunch of literal Hell holes open up."
Wynonna looked around and nodded. Any romance that had been in that building was now tainted with the memories of revenant douchebags. "Sure," she said. "Let's go home."
It was almost midnight when Sam kept her promise and walked Wynonna to her door. The front curtains opened a crack so Waverly and Nicole could peek out. Wynonna rolled her eyes. "I would invite you inside, but there's obviously no privacy in there," she said.
"That's okay. I don't normally have a sleepover on the first date, anyway – I'm a gentleman that way," Sam replied jokingly.
Wynonna laughed. "Don't you mean you're a gentle woman?"
"Only if you ask me to be," Sam answered mischievously.
Wynonna felt her face get hotter. Sam knew how to rile her up.
"Despite the super crazy events that transpired, I had a really good time tonight," Sam said more seriously. "I like you - a lot."
"Me, too," said Wynonna. She wasn't the greatest at expressing her feelings. Saying stuff out loud meant it was real, and real things could be taken away - real things could lead her to getting hurt. But she didn't want to screw things up with Sam. Sam was worth it. Wynonna took a deep breath and forced herself to actually say it. "I mean, I…really like you, too."
Sam smiled and leaned in to kiss Wynonna, more tenderly than before. Still aware of Waverly and Nicole watching from inside the house, they kept the kiss short and sweet. Wynonna watched as Sam walked back to her truck and drove off.
Wynonna felt bad that their date had gotten ruined by revenants so she texted Sam the next day and suggested a redo. Sam was all for it and had an idea. Sam showed up at the Homestead that night wearing slightly baggy light grey sweatpants, an oversized puffy plaid shirt, a light grey toque, and a pair of boots that Wynonna couldn't distinguish between slippers and actual footwear. She looked cozy and frigging cute.
"After all that happened last night I thought we could do something relaxing and stay in," Sam suggested. "I figured here was safest since you said revenants can't get on your land."
"Sounds great, but the Golden Girls are here so we'll still have no privacy," Wynonna said gesturing to Nicole and Waverly.
"Hey!" said an offended Waverly.
"I don't count that as an insult, so joke's on you!" Nicole said proudly.
"I thought you might say that," Sam said. "Well, not exactly that, that was amazing, but I do have a plan to help us out - time to get cozy."
Wynonna changed into a comfortable outfit of leggings and a big sweater that had on it a picture of a bunch of cartoon dogs with bones and read, 'Everyone deserves a good bone'. Sam thought it was hilarious.
Sam led Wynonna outside to her truck and opened up the back. She had set up a small air mattress on the bottom and covered it in blankets. Pillows lined the sides and back. There were Bluetooth speakers set up in the top back corners and a box attached to the ceiling.
"This is awesome," Wynonna said smiling.
After the pair crawled in, Sam shut the bed of the truck and pulled down the cap opening so they were completely enclosed. She took a white sheet that had been bundled at the foot of the makeshift bed and taped it up so it hung covering the openings.
"I thought we could have a little movie night," Sam said. She pulled out her phone and selected a movie she'd downloaded. She connected her phone to the box on the ceiling which Wynonna now realized was a projector.
Wynonna was impressed. This date was cute as hell. As the movie started, she and Sam snuggled up with their heads at the back of the truck bed. Sam put her arm around Wynonna and the two fit together as if they were made to. The movie Sam chose was Gene Wilder's 1974 classic 'Young Frankenstein'. It was perfect.
"I think after last night we deserve to watch a comedy," Sam said. "I know you deal with serious, scary stuff all the time, and I want you to know that I'm here for you in that serious stuff - I want to be. But I'm also here when you need a break from the crazy and just want to get your mind off it all."
Wynonna looked up at Sam, thankful she had this woman in her life. She wondered if their relationship could really work, but she knew she wanted it to. Sam kissed Wynonna's forehead and settled back to watch the movie.
"Oh! Almost forgot!" she said, pulling a flask of whiskey out of her pocket. She reached behind a side pillow and retrieved the box of donuts she'd hidden there earlier. "Movie snacks!"
Wynonna put her hand over her heart. "You know me so well," she said grabbing the flask. "So does this count as our second date, or first again since it's a redo?" she asked.
"I think it definitely counts as a second date," replied Sam, taking a bite of a donut.
"So…are you okay to sleep over, then? Since it's not a first date?" Wynonna asked.
A smile spread across Sam's face. "Of course," she said, trying to keep her cool.
"Good," Wynonna replied.
"Good," said Sam.
The pair sat through the movie, their tension building as they watched. They could've turned it off, but they both got too invested. As soon as it ended, however, they were all over each other. They spent the entire night in the back of Sam's truck. For once Wynonna's centre of attention wasn't the revenants or the curse. While they were always at the back of her mind, she was so focused that night on Sam and Sam alone. Being with Sam gave Wynonna the sense of comfort that she craved in her hectic life. She knew she'd have to deal with the crazy soon, but that night she and Sam were all that mattered.
Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was luck. The universe rarely let Wynonna have anything she wanted. Was she being selfish for potentially putting Sam in danger just so she could be with her? Things with Doc were still complicated - would Sam really be okay with all of that? All Wynonna knew for sure is that moments of stability in her life were fleeting. She could either avoid attachments altogether and embrace the crazy, or she could hold on to the little piece of normalcy that created a bit of balance in her life. She decided to hold on – to hold on to Sam, and with her, a piece of herself Wynonna thought she'd lost: the ability to hope.