(1) New Email
From: Jeremy Chetri
Subject: NEW ARTICLE!
Nicole blinked sleep out of her eyes and propped sat herself up straighter in her seat on the bus. She'd been more than glad to finally be home from yet another road trip. This one was only six days, but stops in Brampton, Winnipeg, Trois-Rivieres, and Mississauga had been exhausting. Compounding this, their flight back from Ontario had been delayed due to a snowstorm sitting over Manitoba, and the team bus back to their home arena was a less than ideal mode of transportation, especially at 3 am right before Christmas.
She opened her phone to read Jeremy's article. Ever since Waverly had more formally introduced her to the reporter, she found the boy to be quite charming, if not a little socially awkward at times. At some point during a night she and Waverly spent out at Shorty's with Jeremy and his (maybe-kinda) boyfriend Robin, absolutely butchering 90's pop songs, Nicole had made a deal with the writer that he'd send her advanced copies of anything he wrote for the local paper.
Nicole found the attachment [BlueDevilsOnFire] along with a short message from Jeremy to let her know what she thought of the piece.
PURGATORY GAZETTE
SPORTS: An Early Christmas Present for Bunny Loblaw
Story by Jeremy Chetri
(Nicole rolled her eyes at the article title with a hint of a laugh).
After a rocky start to their relationship, tensions seemed to have eased between the players and upper management of the Purgatory Blue Devils. As many recall, the first month of the new CEWHL season was defined by comments fired back and forth between the two groups over the demands for success for the hometown squad. The feud drew league-wide and national news, as all eyes fell on the Ghost River Triangle and questions arose of how the weight of the expectations would impact the players.
Luckily for Bunny Loblaw, it looks like she may have gotten an early Christmas present. Her team currently sits on top of the BC/AB Division, the Western Conference, and the standings for the Entire league with a record of 27-8-2 (11-0-1 in the month of December to date, following the win against Mississauga Mayhem). This season's performance would be incredible by normal standards, but for a team that had been living beneath the basement of the league, it's downright astronomical.
It seems that when it rains it pours for the Devils, who have made a miraculous turnaround from just a season ago. Purgatory has gotten production up and down the lineup, and outstanding goaltending play from their main tandem: second-year standout Lauren Miller, and the offseason acquisition Sabine Legrand. Miller is making a strong argument for the Rheaume Trophy, the league's top goaltending prize, boasting a .923 SV% and a 2.54 GAA.
Miller's strong performance is not the only thing gaining league-wide award talk. The Devils' top line of Jenna Boardman, Nicole Haught and Shae Pressman, recently assembled by coach Randy Nedley, has drawn attention as one of the most productive and dynamic across the entire league. The two rookies, Boardman and Haught, are high in the early polls for the Ranscombe Trophy for league's best first-year player. Pressman and Haught are vying for the scoring title and are among the players on the shortlist for the MVP trophy. Of course, when I asked the players about these prizes, they all had the same answer: "None of the individual stuff matters if the team's not hoisting the cup at the end of the year."
Things are looking more than great for the red-hot Blue Devils, and with all of Purgatory behind them, the team aims to continue at this high level.
She quickly shot an email back to Jeremy, telling him she thought it was great, even if the title was a little cheesy.
Nicole sighed contently to herself, looking around at the darkened bus, the rest of her teammates fast asleep as they approached Purgatory. She'd take the long travel days and the hectic schedules and even the batshit crazy owners any day as long as it meant she'd get to keep doing this—playing the game she loved surrounded by people who loved it just as much. She knew there was something special on this team, something special about what they were doing. Beyond the goals and the wins, they were a team who wholeheartedly banded together to play for each other, who didn't care about their individual achievements and only cared about each and every single one of their teammates. (Well for the most part—she'd take what she could get with Shae. The winger hadn't gone out of her way to be chilly to her anymore, but Nicole hadn't quite developed the bond with Shae that she'd had with her previous two linemates. As long as Nicole was providing her with opportunities to score, Shae seemed content enough, and Nicole supposed that was going to be as good as it got with her).
As they passed the sign indicating they were nearly entering Purgatory, Nicole felt a happiness well up within her—the joy of coming home. Because that's what this was, she decided. Purgatory was home. Edmonton may have been where she grew up, and she always knew it would be a part of her, but it hadn't been home in years. But this sleepy little town, with a coach that took a chance on her, and a girl who she was sure was too good for this world, and a best friend (?) who was just different enough from her to make it work, was more of a home than Nicole could've ever asked for. She'd been more than confident to say that everything good in her life right now was tied to this place.
The bus lights flipped on abruptly, waking the others, a chorus of groans breaking the silence. Coach stood up at the front, addressed the team briefly and then departed the vehicle. The rest of the team disembarked and entered the arena, dumping their equipment bags in the locker room. Nicole smiled widely as she looked around the lobby at the Christmas decorations she and Waverly put up after they'd returned from Edmonton.
Nicole put the last box of extra Blue Devils Christmas sweaters away in the storage room before locking up the excess merchandise. They'd waited the team's return from their early December road trip to decorate for the holidays, and Nicole honestly had never seen Waverly so cheerful. She'd walked into work this morning to find the girl already there, Santa hat on and her Christmas playlist playing on a speaker in the lobby.
As they worked, fake Christmas trees with fake snow made from cut up pieces of felt were in all four corners of the lobby, and little twinkling lights adorned the walls. It wasn't quite Santa's Village at the mall, but somehow the fake snowflake cutouts and garland on the wall were so Christmas-y and so Waverly, that it'd put even Ebeneezer Scrooge in the Christmas spirit.
It was the simple things about her girlfriend that made Nicole happy. She especially appreciated the way she'd calmed her down after the encounter with her parents in Edmonton. She'd been able to hold it together for the trip home before she lost her resolve on the phone call she'd made to Waverly (with the initial intention of telling her she'd gotten home safely). It had been just past 4 am, and she wasn't sure exactly what she expected, but when Waverly Earp showed up at her door with her big ass heart and her soothing soul, Nicole melted as she poured out years of unresolved family issues she'd thought she'd done well to repress. Waverly had been a listening ear and a loving shoulder to cry on through it all.
"Wait, wait, wait," Waverly stopped her from entering the lobby from the team store. As if she could, what with her girlfriend on a ladder blocking the doorway. Waverly had tacked something up before climbing down with a proud smile on her face. "Ta-da!" she proclaimed, pointing for Nicole to look upwards.
There, up on the door frame, she saw a sprig of mistletoe, hung for all to see.
She smiled as she shook her head at Waverly.
"Waves, you can't hang mistletoe in the lobby."
"It's not in the lobby." Waverly argued mischievously. "It's in the doorway, and I do believe that you owe me a kiss."
"Well," she said, pulling the girl in, "when you put it that way…"
The way Waverly smiled against her lips was all she could've ever asked for for Christmas.
If she wasn't so exhausted, Nicole would've thought about Christmas Eve dinner at the homestead later on tonight, but her only thought as she exited the arena on her way to her car was getting back to her apartment without falling asleep behind the wheel. She flipped on the radio in hopes of keeping herself up just long enough to make it into the driveway and up the stairs to collapse in bed.
She'd done exactly that, pushing her way through the door to her less than festively decorated apartment. She hadn't spent the time to "Christmas it up" because she knew that there'd hardly be a second of free time to be spent here with the hectic December schedule. (That didn't stop Waverly from making and bringing her a coat hanger Christmas tree, which Nicole placed prominently on the small coffee table in her living area).
However, Nicole didn't dwell on the emptiness of the apartment, instead quickly making her way to her bed, finally glad to stretch out on something that wasn't a hotel mattress, airplane, or bus seat. She fell asleep almost instantly.
Nicole pulled her car into the driveway of the Earp homestead, smiling as she pulled the bags out of her backseat. When she woke up just before noon, she'd texted Waverly to see if there was anything that she could bring to the dinner to which her girlfriend responded that she need only bring herself. However, not wanting to show up empty handed, Nicole grabbed the bottle of wine that Finning had brought over to dinner and a film session that she'd had with her two linemates earlier in the season.
She walked up the couple wooden steps to the front door of the Earp home, but didn't even have to knock before she was met with the bright smiling face of her girlfriend. She hadn't even gotten a word in before Waverly had pulled her in for a kiss.
"Well Merry Christmas to me." Nicole said, grinning stupidly as the kiss was broken.
"I missed you," Waverly said, running her hand tenderly up Nicole's arm as they stood on the porch. "And I saw your flight was delayed, last night I was worried you might not make it to dinner."
"I told you I'd be home for Christmas," she smirked. "Do you need me to sing the song for you?"
"No, no," Waverly said, "but you could do one thing for me."
"Name it."
Waverly nodded upward to another sprig of mistletoe in the doorway, and Nicole took the direction, leaning in to close the gap between the two.
"Yo! PDA!" A voice interrupted their actions. Nicole internally cursed the fact the timing of Wynonna Earp was impeccable. "You're letting all the heat out, get in here and make yourselves useful."
The two entered the home, closing the door and followed Wynonna into the kitchen where she was placing food dishes on the table, with Gus standing at the oven, pulling something out that smelled divine.
Waverly offered to take her jacket, and Nicole shrugged it off, giving it to the younger Earp as she offered her help in the kitchen.
"If I've said it once, I've said it a million times," Gus said as she waved a spoon at her, "Nicole Haught, as long as you're a guest in this house, you're gonna act like one and let the hosts do the work."
"Okay," Nicole nodded, not wanting to get into a back and forth with the woman, retrieving the bottle she'd brought from one of the bags she had. "I couldn't come empty handed, so I brought a bottle of wine."
"Thank you dear, just set it down there on the table, that won't last very long here tonight."
Nicole did as she was told, and retrieved plates and utensils to help set the table for dinner.
Waverly returned from hanging up Nicole's jacket, and minutes later, everything was all set for dinner, Gus urging them all to sit around the table. Nicole had been to more than a few dinners at the homestead since she'd befriended the Earps, but hadn't been to one with Gus there since she and Waverly started dating, so she was certain there'd be an interrogation similar to the Spanish Inquisition. To her surprise, there was none of that, quite the opposite really. While Gus hadn't said anything explicitly, she looked at Nicole not with calculated judgment, but an accepting and approving look. Most of the actual conversation centered on the woman telling embarrassing stories about Waverly and Wynonna as children, and Nicole found it absolutely adorable the way her girlfriend pouted, or her ears turned bright red with each moment her aunt was bringing up. Wynonna on the other hand proudly acknowledged every instance of rebellion and juvenile antics with a smug smile and a nod.
Nicole hadn't felt this much family in a long time. Not since she'd been able to spend Christmas with her aunt and uncle. So to sit here, feeling accepted and loved, like she belonged, that meant everything to her. This was her family for as long as they would have her, she concluded.
They moved to the den once dinner had finished, just enjoying each other's company for a while. When Wynonna, mixing her "hardly-eggnog" eggnog with hot chocolate, entered the room with wrapped parcels, Nicole gently pulled Waverly off of her lap to get the bags she brought. She delivered the small bag containing a maple scented candle she'd gotten from a shop they stopped by in Quebec that she'd brought for Gus, earning a grateful smile from the woman who insisted she hadn't needed to get her anything.
As she moved on to Wynonna, they exchanged their gifts, Wynonna insisting Nicole open hers first.
"Golden Girls pins!" She said excitedly as she tore into the parcel. Wynonna nodded and urged her to continue. "Shot glasses?"
"Matching shot glasses." Wynonna pointed out, grabbing the box. "One for you, and one for your best friend, moi."
Nicole chuckled at the interaction, but mostly found herself glad that Wynonna considered her her best friend too.
"Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?" Waverly said with an amused tone in her voice, eyeing the shot glasses. "I know which one's yours 'Nonna."
Wynonna shot her sister an unamused look before telling Nicole to open the last part of the gift.
Nicole did as told, finding…
"A keychain?" She asked, examining the strange object, small round metal keychain with 5 buttons on it.
"Press a button," Wynonna said excitedly.
Doing that caused a "Smooth moves Ginger Spice" to come out of a speaker Nicole didn't even see.
"All the buttons have a little motivational phrase from yours truly for when you need a lil' pick me up."
And as stupid and trivial as the gift was, and now matter how much she swore she hated Wynonna's nicknames, there was something so meaningful about the thought that went behind it. (Having a button that said "Nicole Haught you glorious ginger bitch" was a nice bonus too she supposed).
"Thank you Wynonna," she said, giving the older woman a hug. "Now open yours."
Not having to be told twice, Wynonna took a seat on the floor and rifled through the tissue paper in the top of the bag, before removing a box containing the very same sarcastic Magic 9 Ball Wynonna had pointed out in a shop in town a few weeks ago.
"Dude, you didn't." Wynonna said, jaw all but on the floor, tearing into the box like a seven-year-old.
"I did." She responded, happy that her friend clearly enjoyed the gift, no matter how novel it was. "There's one more thing, open it."
From the bag Wynonna produced a dark black bag, emblazoned with a skull and crossbones (not unlike the bottles of poison in cartoons) and the words WORLD'S STRONGEST COFFEE: Drink if you dare. Reading the bag, Wynonna jumped up from her seat and squeezed Nicole tightly before running off into the kitchen.
Nicole confused, turned to Waverly for explanation, but the younger girl only shrugged.
"Wynonna, what're you doing?" She called from the den.
"I'm gonna put whiskey in this coffee, and then I'm gonna fight God."
Fair enough, Nicole thought to herself, not expecting anything less at this point. (Gus shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose at the disaster of a woman that was her niece).
Satisfied, Nicole returned to where she had sat with her girlfriend, who was holding a gift box in her lap and stars in her eyes.
"Open," she said, thrusting the box into Nicole's hands.
Tearing off the paper and peeling the tape off of the box itself, Nicole opened it to see some sort of navy-blue garment. Holding it up to examine it, she recognized it as the hoodie that she'd lent to Waverly on the first day they met. It seemed that only now did she realize that Waverly had yet to return the article of clothing.
"I realized that I never gave it back to you after you lent it to me," Waverly said with a shy smile.
"I think you should keep it," she responded, "looks better on you anyways." She added with a wink.
Waverly accepted, giving Nicole the sneaking suspicion that she had hoped for this outcome anyway, and told her to keep opening.
Underneath the hoodie was another small box, from which Nicole produced a small, heart-shaped locket with a photo of the two of them taken the night of their first official date. Nicole held the locket close to her heart as she remembered the night fondly.
But, she didn't have long to reminisce because Waverly had taken the last item out of the box, almost bouncing with excitement, eagerly encouraging her to examine the contents of the envelope in her hand.
Inside was a folded up piece of CEWHL letterhead addressed to her.
Dear Miss Haught,
On behalf of the CEWHL Board of Operations and the coaches league wide, I would like to inform you that you have been chosen to represent the Western Conference at this year's All-Star Game in Toronto. The assembly of all 28 coaches from all 4 divisions have taken great notice of your performance this season, and recognize the importance of your contribution to the success of the Purgatory Blue Devils.
This year's All-Star Weekend will take place from Friday, January 27th through Sunday, January 29th in the city of Toronto, Ontario. More specific details will be relayed to you as the date approaches.
Again, we congratulate you on all of your achievements this season, and wish you the best of luck on the rest of your season.
Sincerely,
Eliza R. Shapiro
CEWHL League Commissioner
Nicole could hardly believe her eyes, reading and re-reading the letter over again to make sure of what the words on the paper were saying to her.
"It came into the mail at the arena the other day, while you guys were in Winnipeg." Waverly explained. "Nedley told me before you left for the road trip that the letters would probably come in before you got back. I wanted to surprise you."
"This," Nicole paused, still trying to find words. "Is the best surprise I could've gotten."
"I'm so incredibly proud of you." Waverly said, pulling her in for a celebratory kiss. Through the bliss of their kiss, Nicole found herself a bit insecure about the gift she'd brought Waverly. Everything she'd gotten from her girlfriend was so thoughtful and sentimental, and she was sure that nothing she could offer in return could match that.
"I got you something, but now I don't know how it'll live up to that." She said sheepishly, but Waverly assured her that her simply being Nicole Haught was more than enough of a Christmas present.
Still insecure, she watched Waverly pull out a pile of postcards and examine them curiously.
"Everywhere we went, I bought a postcard because I thought of all the places we could visit together, or just how much I missed seeing your face every day." She explained, blushing shyly. "I wrote a little note on each one."
As the girl read through all of them, her smile grew, but so did Nicole's anxiety. She knew she was taking a big risk with the very last one, and hoped what she wrote wasn't crossing a line.
When Waverly finally reached the card from Edmonton, she found the angel wing necklace Nicole had picked out for her taped to the front of it. Before Waverly could flip the card, Nicole reached out to take her hand, stopping her just a moment.
"I saw this in a shop in Quebec and I immediately thought of you," she started. "When I got here, I was struggling a lot finding a sense of belonging and family. I've been thinking a lot about the past few months and the one thing I kept coming back to was how immediately drawn I was to you, that somehow, someway you were going to be important to me. Especially when you were there for me after Edmonton and the confrontation with my parents. You've been like an angel sent to me, so when I saw this I knew it was perfect."
It was more than she originally intended to say, but it all spilled out. She watched the tears well up in Waverly's eyes, hopefully telling her that she was saying the right things.
"Nicole, I…" she mustered in a watery voice, flipping over the card to see the words Nicole had written after Edmonton.
I think I'm kinda in love with you
Waverly looked up from the card, and Nicole worried for a second that just barely two months was definitely too early into their relationship to make that sort of declaration. But instead Waverly yet again closed the gap between them and rested her forehead against Nicole's.
"I think I'm kinda in love with you too."