Author's note: I had originally planned for this chapter to include three important conversations, but just this one had so much to pack in that it ended up being enough to stand on its own. The next chapter will include Mama Earp and some long overdue Wayhaughtness, so stay tuned! ;)

Wynonna look around the room. "So Waverly's a reincarnated witch and Haught survived a cult of Bulshar massacre. Also Peacemaker talks to you. Neat."

"I think that about sums it up," Doc said.

Jeremy looked at Waverly and Nicole, practically swooning. "You guys are perfect for each other."

Waverly turned to Kate. "What did you see in your cards about Nicole when she came in? You said something was interesting..."

Kate nodded. "I did. You'll need a little more history first, though, and I believe Sheriff Nedley is just the man for that."

All eyes turned to Nedley.

"What history do you mean?" he asked Kate.

"About when you first met Officer Haught. When she was a child."

Nicole gasped. "You met me when I was a kid? Why have you never told me?"

Nedley stared wide-eyed at Kate. "How did you know that? The only other person who knew was Wade Earp."

Now Wynonna was shocked. "Daddy? What the hell did he have to do with all this?"

"Quite a lot, actually," Nedley said.

Nicole nodded slowly. "Ward was the one who saved me. Peacemaker helped me remember." She hadn't revealed that part of her vision to the others. It would have raised too many unanswerable questions, but now it seemed the Sheriff just might have those answers.

"I can fill in a little more of your story, Nicole. After Ward found you, he brought you to me." Sheriff Nedley sighed and dropped into in a deep armchair. "I was pretty shaken up after all those people died at the music festival. And what's more, some top-secret cross-border task force took over to process the scene and clean everything up.

"The good ol' BBD, I'm assuming?" Wynonna said.

Nedley nodded. "They said it had been a fire. Their story didn't quite track with me, but who was I to ask questions? Later that day, Ward pulls me aside. 'You know that girl waiting out in the lobby?' he asks. I said, 'Sure, the runaway. Six years old. Flaming red hair.' Ward just shakes his head and tells me, 'She's not actually a runaway. That's what I've told everyone to cover up what she actually is. A survivor. She was at the music festival with her aunt and uncle and is the only one who made it out of there alive.' I was stunned. Why would he hide her from these cross-border agents? So I ask Ward why he's telling me this. 'Because I need your help,' he tells me. 'She's special, Randy, but she doesn't know it. Not yet. I don't think I fully do either.'"

"Special how?" Waverly asked. She looked at Nicole and grinned. "I mean, I know she's special. She is my magical unicorn after all."

Nicole couldn't help returning the smile and squeezing her hand. "That's right, baby."

Wynonna dry heaved. "All right, you two. Remember the rest of us are still here. And we're discussing a massacre."

"Right," Waverly said, a bit sheepishly. "Sorry. Please continue, Sheriff. What did Daddy tell you after that?"

"Well, then Ward says to me, 'Randy, I'm sure you've noticed that strange things happen in this town...' I told him I prefer not dig too deeply into what I can't explain, and he says, 'Well, there's not too much more I can say about it, but I need you to keep an eye on this girl.' I ask if she's an orphan. Do we need to find a new home for her? Ward tells me she does have parents, they've been alerted to the situation, and are on their way to pick her up. They had been out of the country on vacation."

"Not entirely true..." Kate said.

"What?" Nicole asked. "You know something about my parents, too? What were they doing?"

"Sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have butted in. This is the sheriff's story. We can talk about your parents another time."

Nicole started to protest but Waverly placed a hand on hers. "One reality-crushing revelation at a time, babe. Okay?"

Nicole sighed. "I guess you're right." She turned back to Nedley. "What happened next?"

"So Ward asks me to look out for this girl. From afar. He says her name is Nicole Haught. She has a bigger part yet to play in Purgatory, and I need to do all I can to ensure she finds her way back here someday. 'Why me?' I ask him, and Ward says he has a bad feeling he might not be around much longer. He says he can't explain, he just knows it. Then he says, 'Trust me, Randy, please. I don't fully understand why, but this girl Nicole needs to wind up back in Purgatory, and she needs to be here before Willa's 27th birthday.' I remember chuckling at this point. How could he be so specific and yet so vague? Then he gets serious with me, grabs me by the front of my shirt. 'I'm not screwing around, Nedley,' he says. 'Promise me you'll help guide this girl back to this town.' He was kind of frantic, manic even, and it freaked me out. I had never seen him like that before. And he was my boss. So I tell him I'll do it. I'll watch young Haught and somehow try to get her back here. I had no idea how, and honestly it kind of slipped my mind after Ward and Willa died. I didn't think it mattered anymore, and I thought Ward was losing his marbles a bit. No offense," Nedley said, looking to Wynonna and Waverly.

Wynonna shrugged. "None taken. All the Earps are crazy, Nedley. Surely you know that by now."

"So what changed?" Nicole asked. "Because obviously you did get me here."

"It wasn't until I had been Sheriff for a while and was looking to recruit some new officers. Due to the nature of life in Purgatory, one way or another, let's just say we have a high turnover rate. So that's when I'm looking at files for potential candidates and I come across your name. Nicole Haught. Everything comes flooding back and I'm honestly a bit spooked. I look at your headshot and there's that same girl I had seen so many years ago. Now all grown up and a police office, no less. Plus, you were top of your class at the academy and looked to be an outstanding candidate. I don't know that I even would have tried recruiting you here because I would have thought you were too good for a place like this. But then I remembered my promise to Ward. Willa was gone so I didn't know if what he was afraid of was still relevant, but I knew that regardless of those crazy Earps, Purgatory would be lucky to have such a fine officer. You can imagine how thrilled I was when you said yes."

"Something drew me to your offer," Nicole said. "I can't even explain what it was. Purgatory certainly wasn't the kind of place I had been planning to go to, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that it was the right choice. I had to say yes."

Doc tipped his hat to her. "Well, I think I can safely speak for us all when I say we're glad you did, Office Haught."

"Why did you choose to become a police officer?" Kate asked.

Nicole had nearly forgotten the vampire was there. "Well, for a lot of reasons. But I guess mostly because I wanted to do something meaningful. Get out of my comfort zone. Interact with different kinds of people. It wasn't for power or authority. I wanted to save lives and help people make better choices." Nicole's head dropped. "And I'd be lying if I said my experience with the massacre wasn't a big part of my choice too. I wanted to help more people be survivors than victims."

Kate nodded. "You feel a sense of fulfillment from protecting people."

"Yeah, exactly," Nicole said.

"Because you're the Protector."

Nicole hesitated. "What do you mean?"

"You've heard this term applied to you before, yes?" Kate asked.

Nicole nodded. "When Ward saved me. Peacemaker was communicating with him, like it did with me, and he said, 'She's just a girl. How can she be the Protector?' But that's all I know."

"Peacemaker has a wealth of knowledge I don't think any of us fully realizes," Kate said. "Just imagine everything that gun has witnessed."

"You're talking about Peacemaker like it's a sentient being," Waverly said.

Kate shrugged. "I really don't think that's too far from the mark. But what I do know is this. Ward instructed Randy Nedley to watch over Nicole and guide her back to Purgatory because she's the Protector. It literally is her destiny to be here."

"The what?" Wynonna asked. "I've never heard about any so-called Protector."

"She's the Protector of the Earps. The heir and his or her successors."

Everyone started talking at once and Kate held up her hands to silence them. "Give me a minute, sheesh. You mortals are impatient. May I continue?"

Wynonna rolled her eyes. "Proceed."

"Not long after Wyatt told me the truth about my husband's fate," Kate said, looking at Doc, "he discovered that I planned to become what I am today. An immortal being. I was afraid he was going to try to talk me out of it, but instead he asked for a favor. Since I would be wandering the earth for all time, he asked if I could watch over his heirs. But not only his family - the Protectors as well. When that devil Sheriff Clootie cursed Wyatt, Maggie added her own modification. She couldn't retract Clootie's curse, so instead she added a provision. Each heir would have a Protector - someone with ties to the Ghost River Triangle who would aid in their efforts to break the Earp curse."

Kate looked around to make sure she still had everyone with her. The room was dead silent, all eyes fixed intently on her, so she continued.

"But here's the thing. I've done a shit job of honoring Wyatt's wishes. I've lived my extended life selfishly, assuming things would work themselves out on their own. I certainly didn't think the Earps would still be cursed several generations later. How hard could it be to re-kill 77 people who couldn't even leave a relatively small geographical area?"

Wynonna clenched her fists. "Yeah, well, I'd like to see you try-"

Kate cut her off. "But I see my mistake now. These revenants don't mess around, and some of them truly are very evil people. And no other heir has had such a team fighting with them. Your people are loyal, Wynonna, and as you've already seen, they will literally die to help you on this journey. I'll admit I'm still a little hazy on the Protector job description, since I've never actually seen one in action, but I don't believe there are any hard-set rules. What I do understand is that the Protector isn't necessarily born with that title. It's earned in a way, and he or she always has some connection to the Ghost River Triangle. Usually they're born here. In Nicole's case, she was the sole survivor of a massacre that occurred here. An event tied to Sheriff Clootie, no less. That was her crucible, so to speak. Something to link her to this place and, in theory, motivate her to aid the heir and break the curse."

"But I don't understand," Waverly said. "If the Protectors have been a thing since Wyatt's time, why didn't I ever come across this in all my research? Surely there must have been a record of something this significant."

"Not if the heirs wanted to keep their Protectors safe," Kate said. "Sheriff Clootie was the only one who heard Maggie's spell that brought the Protectors into being. And the heirs' discretion has worked. Protectors who accept their calling have a knack for staying alive."

"You mean they're immortal?" Jeremy asked eagerly.

"No, not quite," Kate said with a laugh. "But no Protector has ever been killed in the line of duty while helping the heir."

Waverly looked at Nicole. "You did survive the Widow's bite and a fall from a freakishly tall cliff."

Wynonna snorted. "Yeah, well, obviously the same can't be said for the heirs. Pretty shitty job of protecting, if you ask me."

"They have tried," Kate said with a shrug. "But they are never the demons' primary target, are they? Especially when revenants don't even know that such a role exists. And not every Protector has accepted their call, leaving that heir even more vulnerable."

"Okay, let me see if I have this right," Nicole said. "I'm the Protector for the current Earp heir. For Wynonna. I have this 'calling' because I survived a crucible that links me to this place. I don't have any job description or any special abilities besides the fact that I'm destined to help this heir until one of us dies. And there's a good chance I'll survive as long as Wynonna does."

Kate nodded. "That's pretty much it. Everything I know, anyway."

"But how did we not know any of this before?" Wynonna asked. "Seems like a pretty big deal. Why didn't Daddy ever tell us?"

"Well, you weren't supposed to be his heir, were you?" Kate asked.

"Willa..." Wynonna said.

"Exactly. She would have known. And I wouldn't be surprised if she had figured out who your Protector was when she came back." Kate looked to Nicole. "Since she sided with the revenants, can you recall any time when Willa tried to hurt you? I imagine she would have wanted to eliminate the Protector."

"Uh, yeah," Nicole said. "She's freaking shot me in the chest."

Kate folded her arms. "I rest my case."

"Then who was Daddy's Protector?" Waverly asked, trying to fit the pieces of this crazy jigsaw puzzle together.

"Who stayed by Ward's side even with all the abuse?" Kate said. "Who was the missing piece when the Seven attacked the Homestead and shattered the Earps?"

"Mama," Wynonna and Waverly said, looking at each other.

"Your mother didn't go crazy because she had a psychotic episode," Kate said with an incredulous laugh. "A Protector can't be broken that easily. "She was targeted by demons. They may not have fully understood exactly who she was, but they knew she was special. They knew they couldn't destroy your family while she was still an integral part of it."

"And all this time I've hated her," Wynonna said. "Blamed her."

Waverly put a hand on her shoulder. "We didn't know."

"Go to her, Waverly," Kate said. "There's more your mother can reveal about your past than I can."

"But what if she's having one of her episodes? What if she doesn't even remember who I am?"

"That's a risk you'll have to take," Kate said. "Because there's even more to her than just being your mother and a former Protector. Something she can explain that I have limited knowledge of. It's no coincidence your reincarnated spirit came to her, Waverly. Mama Earp is also a witch."