Champ went back to Shorty's reluctantly. He didn't really want to leave Waverly alone but it's what she asked of him so he felt compelled to comply. Once he got back to the small apartment he figured he would go downstairs and try to get some work done on their dissertation project. He always found he was more inspired as a writer after a couple of drinks so he grabbed his backpack and went down to the bar.

When he walked into the main part of Shorty's he wasn't overly impressed. The interior was fairly boring in his opinion. But then he remembered he was in a small town so he shouldn't expect much. As he approached the bar a beautiful brunette greeted him.

"Hey, what can I get you?" she said with an engaging smile.

"A pint of whatever you have on tap." He replied smiling back.

"Coming right up." She said and poured the beer. When she placed it in front of him she said, "Haven't seen you in here before, why is that?"

Champ took a swig of the beer and replied, "I'm from Arizona. This is my first trip to Purgatory."

"Ah, good. At least you're from outside the area." The brunette said and continued to smile at him.

"A stranger is a good thing?" Champ asked.

"I would imagine in most places a stranger could be a bad thing but Purgatory is a little different. Around here strangers from outside the area are less dangerous than those within." The bartender replied cryptically.

"Fair enough I guess." Champ said as he held up his glass and took another drink. "I have a silly question, does this place have Wi-Fi?"
The bartender nodded, "Actually we do. If you pull up the available networks I'll connect you."

Champ smiled and pulled out his laptop. Once he pulled up the networks he handed over his laptop to the bartender who punched in the password and he was connected. "Thank you." He said when she handed his laptop back.

"No problem. If you need anything else just let me know. My name is Wynonna." She replied.

"I'm Champ." He said with a goofy grin on his face. It didn't dawn on him right away that he should have recognized the bartenders name, all he noticed was that she was gorgeous.

Waverly decided she would spend the night at Gus' place. She really had no interest in facing Champ after she sent him away so she used this as her break from him. After a restless night, which she chalked up to being in Purgatory after all these years, she woke up very early. She didn't hear Gus moving around so she decided to go for an early morning walk.

She grabbed her camera and set off walking around the town she once called home. Most of the buildings were still the same from when she was a child which didn't really spark her interest. She wasn't sure why she was looking for inspiration in this small town she grew up in but she hoped if she could find something interesting to photograph it would help her deal with the loss of Curtis and her Champ issue.

As the sun rose she decided she would head to the sheriff's office and say hi to Nedley. Though Wynonna always had issues with him, Waverly found the sheriff to be a very nice man and figured he would be hurt if she didn't stop in to say hi to him. When she was a block away from the office she saw someone who stopped her in her tracks. Standing by the squad cars was a beautiful red head with an engaging smile chatting up the other deputies. Waverly didn't know what it was about this woman but she couldn't take her eyes off the red head. She grabbed her camera and fired off some shots of this woman.

"I'd hate to have to arrest you for casing the cop shop." Said a familiar voice behind her.

Waverly jumped but quickly regained her composure. "Sheriff Nedley, how are you doing? It's been a while."

"Waverly Earp as I live and breathe." Nedley replied and wrapped her into a hug. "I'm glad you were able to make it back."

"Me too." Waverly replied.

"I'm sorry about your uncle Curtis. He was a good man." Nedley said nervously.

"Thank you, sheriff." Waverly replied.

They both stood awkwardly for a bit. Neither really knew what to say in this type of situation.

Finally, Waverly chimed in pointing towards the people she had been looking at before he arrived, "So it looks like you've got some help patrolling the streets of Purgatory."

Nedley nodded and said, "Yeah I've been doing some recruiting from larger cities in hopes of getting some good deputies."

"And are these out of towners looking promising?" Waverly asked.

"A couple may be able to handle what Purgatory has in store for them." Nedley acknowledged.

Waverly smirked, "You mean there's a couple who haven't bought into my sisters' bullshit."

Nedley nodded, "Well Wynonna is a good litmus test for some of these youngsters."

"I'll bet." Waverly said with an eye roll.

Nedley turned very serious, "Look your sister isn't one of the bad guys. She may be a little over the top but she's not all bad."

"She let Curtis get killed, that's enough for me." Waverly said flatly.

Nedley shook his head, "You can't blame that on Wynonna. Curtis knew the risks he was facing and he did what he wanted to anyways. That's not on your sister."

"I guess." Waverly said drawing out the words.

Nedley sighed and said, "I know your relationship with Wynonna is complicated to say the least but while you're here give her a chance Waverly."

Waverly rolled her eyes, "What suddenly my sister's a saint?"

"I didn't say that." Nedley replied with a laugh. "She's still a sarcastic pain in the ass but some of this stuff that's been going on around here that she's had to take care of has changed her for the better."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do Nedley but I'm not here for some big family reconciliation. I'm here for Gus, that's it." Waverly said with a slightly harsh tone.

Nedley nodded, "Understood. Well I should probably get in there and get these deputies going for the day. Good to see you Waverly."

"You too Nedley." Waverly said as he walked away. Her eyes were drawn back to the group of deputies, more specifically to the tall red head again. But too quickly the woman and the others followed Nedley inside.

Waverly decided she should probably head back over to Shorty's and talk to Champ. She couldn't avoid him forever and she had to grab clothes for the funeral.