Guys, I'm proud of myself like. I've never been good at keeping a story up but I did and just. Thank you all for sticking with me. I hope I keep cranking them out with just as much vigor. Anyway, bit of a filler, bit of a flashback, bit of Wayhaught. I decided to break up this chapter from what I originally thought I was going to do because I blinked and suddenly it was 5,000 words and I wasn't even close to done with what I had to say. So. Next one should be coming soon. Please drop me a comment with your thoughts! I love hearing from y'all and I super appreciate that you guys have hung around.
Have a lovely rest of the weekend,
M
XXX
Chapter 6
Wynonna locked herself away upstairs, laying on the bed and tracing her fingers over Alice's cheeks and arms and hands. The baby latched onto one of Wynonna's rings and stared, wide eyed at the glinting metal. The showdown with her mother had sapped her of all energy and focus. They could do without her for a bit.
All of the work she'd done to set a good example for Waverly, give their mother a second chance, to try to repair things, had been for naught. At the core, she was still a scared ten years old, watching her mother's tail-lights disappear around the corner in the opposite direction of Purgatory. She'd been responsible for a little girl then just like she was now. Daddy had flat out ignored Waverly, turning a blind eye whenever Willa's dislike of her baby sister reared its head. Wynonna was the only one who had been safety for Waverly, the only one who was patient, who listened to her stories about her imaginary friends and dried her tears when she cried. Her chest ached at the memory and her eyes stung, thinking of tiny Waverly and watching Alice. No, she'll have it much better.
A knock on the door interrupted her memories. Wiping her eyes quickly but leaving her fingers for Alice to hold, she sat up.
"Come in."
Jeremy's curly hair preceded him into the room, carrying a plate with pancakes and a couple strips of bacon. It smelled amazing and Wynonna's stomach rumbled. She needed to remember to eat more regularly.
"Hey, I figured after the crazy family reunion and all of that you might be hungry and I wanted to see if I could take The Pod with me. Maybe show her Aesop Rock. It's never to early to learn how to talk fast," Jeremy rambled as usual, doing his best to be supportive. He was still the new kid and didn't know entirely how to deal with emotional Wynonna.
She did her best to hide her smile from the little dork, watching Alice turn her head at the sound of his voice, "You drew the short straw, huh?" she asked.
"No!" He answered too quickly, "I just…"
"Jeremy," Wynonna took pity on him, smiling a little, "Thank you."
He grinned hugely and made his way into the room, setting her plate on the bedside table and turning to look at Alice, eyes dancing, "Hey Pod," He knelt down next to the bed, chin on his hands to be on eye level with her. It took her a moment but when she focused on him, her little face split into a huge, gummy smile.
"Wynonna! She's smiling at me!" Jeremy bounced a little and it was almost too easy to imagine him as an excitable little kid, "Oh you're so cool," he turned back to Alice, tickling her little foot.
Wynonna couldn't speak, her chest felt funny and tight again but in the good way. Who would have thought the baby nerd would get her like this? She cleared her throat, picked up the plate and stood.
"If you're listening to music, put her on her stomach. Can't have my kid having a weird flat head."
"Actually they make helmets that help reshape-"
"Probably best if we can avoid that though?"
"Right, yeah," Jeremy scooped up Alice, still a little awkward at doing it himself but incredibly gentle, slow and calculated.
They tromped down the stairs together, Wynonna munching on her bacon as they went. At the bottom of the stairs, Jeremy started toward the living room but Wynonna's voice pulled him to a halt.
"I'm glad you stayed Jeremy," The Earp heir wouldn't make eye contact at first, eyes focused down at her plate, but with a sigh she lifted her gaze, "Really. Without you… I don't know where we'd be. But it wouldn't be great."
Jeremy beamed, maybe more brightly than when Alice had smiled at him, "What's family for?"
Wynonna bit the inside of her cheek and ruffled his hair as she slid past him toward the kitchen, "If you teach her to swear before I do, I'll kick your ass."
"There she is," Jeremy called after her and Wynonna lifted her middle finger to him in response.
"Yep," she heard him tell Alice, "That's definitely your mom."
Ruth, Waverly and Doc spent the better part of the day working through history, between Doc's memories before being dropped in the well, what Ruth had learned since her introduction to her father and Waverly's life-time of research. Wynonna popped in to offer insight every now and then, and propping her chin on top of her sister's head to watch Ruth like a hawk, looking for any indication that she was not as she claimed to be.
No such flags were raised. In fact, watching Ruth interact with her sister made Wynonna even more positive about her choice to trust her. Their cousin seemed kind to the core, genuinely interested in doing what was right and hearing about all Waverly had learned. She peppered Doc with questions about Wyatt and their adventures. He was happy to oblige, finding comfort in another person from his era in a way the Earps hadn't seen before.
Jeremy brought Alice back in to Wynonna, saying he and Dolls had to make a run to the store for a few things and telling them all how Alice had almost rolled from her stomach onto her back before scampering off after Dolls.
Alice was content being passed from Waverly to Ruth to Doc. She actually held her head up for a few moments, staring at her father's moustache with wide eyes before her little neck muscles gave out and she curled herself against his shoulder. Doc's calloused, free hand came up to rub Alice's back and he rested his cheek on the top of her head. His eyes sparkled when she made a little coo noise and Wynonna had to tear her gaze away, confronted by the familiar feeling of guilt that overtook her when Doc or Dolls made her heart skip a beat. It was ridiculous. She was a grown woman, a badass, a mother, protector of the world (well. Kind of, she liked to think of it that way). And yet these two idiots could spin her brain up into a tizzy like no other.
Waverly eventually got annoyed with her sister's constant interruptions and shooed her away, "We're trying to make progress, quit asking Ruth how many presidents she managed to sleep with." Wynonna went upstairs to wash the horrific start to the day out of her hair, but as she turned back, Ruth held up four fingers and grinned at her. Goddamn, she really is an Earp.
XXX
Nicole scrubbed her eyes with gloved hands, thankful she hadn't taken the time to put on make up before work today, as she rolled up to the homestead, a bag stuffed with clothing on the passenger seat. She turned off the lights of the squad car and killed the engine but made no move to get out. Getting out would mean going inside and telling her most kept secret, more than Shae, and she was terrified of what she could be losing.
"Nicole, you've got to go faster, if they catch up to us-" Waverly was strapped into the front seat, holding tiny Alice so close Nicole was afraid she might crush the newborn.
"I know baby, but if I flip us on this ice, it's not going to make much difference if they catch us." Nicole's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel as she glanced in the rearview mirror. The truck was still gaining on them steadily, at least two revenants in the cab and three more hanging out of the bed, red eyes blazing and screeching like wild animals.
They took the next turn hard, the back end of the squad car fishtailing but Nicole controlled the skid perfectly, thankful for the empty stretch of road toward the homestead as she swerved over the double line. The revenant driver didn't fare as well but managed to point the nose of the truck toward them and flooring it after they stopped skidding a short way into the field to their left. The truck came ever closer, and the gunshots began, whizzing past the squad car as Nicole swerved this way and that, keeping their target moving and inconsistent. The noise of the guns woke Alice, who looked up at her aunt and let out a pitiful wail that broke both of their hearts. But they had to cross over, had to get to where the amolite's protection would shield Alice from danger.
Waverly was almost backward in her seat, "Nicole-"
"I see them," she gritted out, heart pounding. The arch at the entrance to the homestead loomed in the distance, a clear delineation of safety. Nicole's foot was on the floor, eyes flitting from one mirror to another to the road ahead. The Revenants were almost upon them and she urged the squad car to go faster, now heedless of the ice. If it happened she'd handle it but-
The arch was just 100 yards ahead. Nicole took the turn calculatedly early, letting the momentum of the skid she knew was coming, carry them sideways until they were pointed perfectly down the driveway and she floored it onto Earp land. There was an audible roar from the Revenants behind them and a symphony of gunshots. Alice screamed but it didn't matter now. Nicole whipped the car around the corner of the house, shielding them from the revenants' bullets and finally threw the car into park, knowing they were safe with several acres of protected land at their backs.
The baby continued to cry, waving her tiny fists. Waverly leaned close and shushed her, pressing her lips against the baby's forehead. Nicole kept her head on a swivel but reached over and ran a hand along the baby's front, an extra comfort, more love and strength she could feel. Slowly, Alice hiccupped her way back to silence, brand new blue eyes staring up at the two of them wildly.
"She's got Doc's eyes," Waverly muttered, looking down at her niece like she was the one thing that could turn the world on its axis.
"Yeah, but that hair's all Wynonna," Nicole responded, brushing her hand gently over the thick, dark hair on her head.
They sat for a moment longer in the dying sunlight before Waverly shivered and glanced out the window again, "We should go in. It's going to get cold and…"
She didn't need to finish, Wynonna was the only thing on Nicole's mind too. She had hated leaving the heir at Shorty's alone but Alice was now all of their priorities and she'd seen Dolls slip in the back door as well as she sped toward the line of the Ghost River Triangle. Dolls would sooner die that have Wynonna not get back to the baby.
Carefully, Nicole got out of the car first, gun drawn, just in case somehow someone had gotten onto the homestead. She side stepped around the front of the car and opened Waverly's door, still keeping an eye out, but all three of them made it inside the homestead without incident. Inside, the house felt hollow and dark, even when Nicole walked from room to room, flicking on lights and checking under beds and inside closets. Empty, as she had known it would be, but a relief none the less. Waverly set to putting together a bottle for Alice, a long overdue first meal for the baby. By the time Nicole had swept the whole house and finally engaged the safety on her gun, she found the two of them on the couch, Waverly's eyes glistening with tears as she tried to press the bottle against the baby's protesting lips. Nicole ran a gentle hand over Waverly's hair as she came up behind the couch.
"She won't eat," Waverly muttered, going to try for the bottle again but being met with stubbornly closed lips, "She… She's been alive for three hours and forty seven minutes," Of course she's been keeping track down to the minute, Nicole thought, a smile tugging at her lips, "and she hasn't eaten anything. And she's already so small," A tear dripped down Waverly's cheek and Nicole circled to crouch next to her.
"Do you mind if I try?"
Waverly nodded and passed her first the bottle and then the baby, curling up into a ball in the corner of the couch as Nicole boosted herself up on the opposite end, marveling at the newest, smallest Earp. She took a slow, deep breath and then another, watching as the baby curled against her calmed slowly. Gently, Nicole teased the nipple of the bottle past Alice's lips and, with a slightly perplexed look, Alice began to suck.
"How-"
"You're just… a little anxious and I think she could feel that. Babies tend to take on the strongest emotion of the person holding them." Nicole rocked back and forth gently, resetting the bottle tip in Alice's mouth when it popped out and gently coaxing her to drink more.
"How'd you know that? How did you stay that calm?" Waverly scooted her way over to Nicole, sliding her fingers into the red locks and brushing through them in a far too distracting way.
Nicole didn't respond, just smiled and hummed, leaning into the feeling of Waverly's hands in her hair and the tiny warm bundle in her arms. If she closed her eyes and tried really hard, she could almost imagine that this was their future. Waverly pressed against her side, and it was their baby in her arms, safe and warm. Maybe Waverly had given birth, or she had or maybe neither of them and they'd just adopted this precious little dream. She and Waverly would raise a good, kind human who was brave and loved with all their heart and-
"I can feel you thinking," Waverly's voice was hoarse in her ear and when Nicole met her eyes, she could see that maybe, maybe Waverly was thinking about the same thing she was.
But instead of voicing it, Nicole shook her head. Later, she thought, We'll have all the time in the world for that later. Instead she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to Waverly's, relishing the sigh that caused her to sag even more against Nicole. She nudged in more, wanting to deepen the kiss but Waverly pulled back, giggling gently.
"As much as I love kissing you, and you know that I do, we probably shouldn't scar Wynonna's daughter any more than she already has been on her first day of life."
Nicole flushed and glanced down at Alice. The baby had stopped drinking her bottle and was staring up at them again with those wide blue eyes that seemed much too wise for her very limited time on the planet.
"You're right. She has had it pretty rough so far," Nicole ran a finger down Alice's nose, across her round little cheek. There was still a little bit of after-birth something dried below her ear but that didn't matter. The baby really was gorgeous. She already had them wrapped around her little fingers. Heaven help them when she learned how to use it.
"Well," Waverly murmured back, folding the blanket back to count Alice's little toes, "She is an Earp. Gotta learn quick that it comes with the territory."
Nicole laughed and nudged her temple against Waverly's head, "At least she's got the a whole team looking out for her." Alice didn't seem to be interested in the bottle anymore so Nicole gently lifted her up, out of the blankets and against her shoulder. She patted the baby's back until a tiny burp came out and Alice relaxed fully onto her chest.
"She's just so perfect," Waverly breathed, "How can something so small be so perfect?"
Nicole just shook her head, pressing a kiss to the side of the baby's head and taking a deep breath of baby smell before gently handing her back to Waverly.
"She needs some Auntie Waverly cuddles. It's been a pretty dramatic start to life."
"She seemed just fine with Auntie Nicole cuddles," Waverly replied, but took the baby no less, happy to lean back against the arm of the couch and let Alice lay on her chest. Nicole's cheeks went hot at 'Auntie Nicole' but she tried to play it off.
Of course, Waverly notice, "Hey. You're a part of this family. And you're stuck with us."
Her throat closed up and she reached for the hand Waverly held out, "No where else I'd rather be."
Hours passed. Still no word from Wynonna or Dolls. Doc and Jeremy had business to attend to at the mine shaft but they promised to let them know if they heard from Wynonna and to hurry to the homestead as quickly as they could. Darkness fell well and truly and Waverly's nervous energy was steadily building, coming off her in waves. Alice slept in Nicole's arms when Waverly could no longer keep still, pacing from room to room while Nicole tried to keep her heartbeat slow and her breathing steady so as not to upset the baby. Alice seemed perfectly content to lay on Nicole's chest, cuddled up half under her blanket, half under her aunt's jacket. The steady rise and fall of the baby's back under Nicole's hand, the little puffs of air against her cheek were a reminder, every second, of what exactly they were fighting for.
"What do we do if Wynonna doesn't come back?"
Nicole didn't realize Waverly had wandered back into the room, too busy staring down at Alice and trying to keep it together when she was itching to go out and help their friends. Not that Waverly wasn't, she knew. She was just better at controlling it than Waverly.
"What are you talking about, baby?" Nicole hummed, softly laying a hand over Alice's ear so could speak somewhat normally.
Waverly's eyes were sparkling as she twisted her hands in her shirt, "What if…"
What if Wynonna dies? Nicole thought, What if she loses her sister? Alice loses her mother? The town loses their heir?"
"We'll go," Nicole responded before Waverly could force out the words that stuck like sap in her throat, "We'll call up the boys and get out of town with Alice. If she can't grow up here safely, she can't save it later."
"Wynonna doesn't want her to have to save it and neither do I," Waverly bit out quietly, "So we would find a way before she had to."
"Without a doubt," Nicole replied quickly, "But… if that were to happen right now. We'd go. The big city or your Aunt's place. Hell, we could go to the US. Although, with the way their political climate is looking, we're probably better off fighting off the demons."
Waverly laughed wetly, coming to sink onto the couch at Nicole's hip.
"We would go, just us, or any of the boys who wanted to get away, we'd have a family. We would raise her and love her and when the time was right, you'd teach her her history," Nicole continued, pressing a kiss to Waverly's head, "And all of us together, we'd teach her how to fight. How to take care of herself. How to trust her gut. And if she wanted to, and if we hadn't found a way to break the curse ourselves, we'd let her choose to come back here or not. And we'd tell her all about her mother and say that she would have supported her whatever her choice."
Nicole can feel hot tears leaking into the shoulder of her shirt and her stomach drops, "Oh baby, no don't cry. We're not going to have to do that though. Your sister is one of the strongest, most ornery people I've ever met and I'd sooner take Nedley's mug than bet against Wynonna coming back for either of you."
Waverly nodded, "I know. But. I just wasn't expecting…all of that."
Nicole flinched, "Shit… I'm sorry, I…"
"No, no," Waverly's cool fingers were under her chin, tilting Nicole's head until their eyes met, "I wasn't expecting you to-"
"You said it yourself," Nicole responded, "You're stuck with me.
Waverly sagged against her empty side and shimmied her way up onto the sliver of couch between Nicole and the edge, "I'm not letting you go any time soon.
Waverly eventually fell asleep against Nicole's chest too, emotionally exhausted and physically drained. Her cheeks were pale, making the deep purple bruise along her cheek where Rosita had smashed her face into the pool table even more prominent. The revenant was lucky Nicole hadn't been there. Alice slumbered on too and Nicole kept silent vigil over them, staring hard at her phone where it sat on the coffee table, willing it to bring them any news of the rest.
There was a noise of tires on gravel and every fiber in Nicole's body tensed. Waverly sensed it and stirred. Nicole pressed her lips to Waverly's head but sat up, carefully sliding Alice off of her chest and into Waverly's arms.
"Be careful," Waverly whispered. There was no discussion about going or not and Waverly had to be the one to stay with the baby. Nicole clicked the safety off on her gun and crept to the front door to peer out of the side window. A long black SUV was rolling down the driveway, blacked out window enough to give Nicole a jolt of adrenaline. It had to be them. Had to be.
"Stay here," Nicole hummed, slipping out the front door and holding her gun at the ready at her side. She took the stairs slowly, watching the vehicle come to a halt ten feet from the front door. The driver side door opened.
"Dolls," Nicole breathed, relieved. He was a little bloody, a little bruised but over all, no worse for wear. Physically, he'd looked worse, but his eyes… he'd been through hell, "Wynonna?"
He nodded and jogged around the car to open the passenger side. Slowly, Wynonna's legs appeared, shaking. Nicole rushed over, reholstering her gun and reaching out to grab Wynonna's arm.
The heir looked pale. Her lips were dry and cracked, eyes sunken and trembling from head to toe. But she gripped Nicole's arm with her usual ferocity, gasping as she pulled herself up to stand and look Nicole in the eye.
"Nicole, the line. Alice. Waverly." Her eyes filled with tears as she searched Nicole's for answers, clinging to her other arm. She could feel the tension from Wynonna, see her swallowing hard, trying to control the fear that was building in her.
"It's okay, they're okay. They're perfect," Nicole leaned in and held tighter to Wynonna, "The baby's Doc's," She breathed, "And Wave didn't burn. Not one bit."
Wynonna tried to hold it together. She really did. Her lips trembled and she choked back a sob, "Really?"
"I swear, Wynonna. They're perfect."
Wynonna's eyes overflowed and she collapsed forward to rest her head against Nicole's shoulder. Nicole took it in stride, winding her arms around her friend and squeezing, "It's okay. Let's get you inside. Your baby's been missing her momma."
At that moment, Waverly came crashing out of the house, a pistol in one hand, Alice cradled against her chest with the other. In the next instant, the gun had clattered to the porch and Waverly was throwing herself at Wynonna. Nicole held steady while they got their feet under them and Waverly pressed her forehead against her sister. Alice was placed in her mothers' arms and Wynonna was sobbing, pressing her face against the bundle of blankets, kissing every little finger and holding on to Waverly for dear life.
Nicole came back to herself as the front door opened and Waverly stepped out into that same porchlight, wrapped in a blanket and smiling at her with such affection that for a second, Nicole forgot how to breathe. What more was she going to have to lose in order to do what was right? Shaking her head, Nicole pulled off her gloves and left them on the glove compartment.
Taking a deep breath, she waved, picked up her bag from the seat next to her and opened the door. Waverly drifted down onto the steps, feet covered in thick wool socks. Nicole locked the squad car and tossed the bag over her shoulder, forcing a grin for Waverly's sake.
"Hey," She hummed, skipping the bottom step to be on the same level as Waverly and pressing a quick kiss to her lips, before continuing to the porch. Waverly's finger on her arm stopped her before she could get to the door.
"Hi," Waverly chirped back, using the front of Nicole's uniform to pull her back down for a second, lingering kiss that shot sparks to the tips of Nicole's fingers and set a fire roiling low in her stomach. Waverly slid her hands up and around , threading into Nicole's hair. She hummed as Waverly's tongue ran over her bottom lip and suddenly, anxiety took over. She and Dolls had lied to the Earps. For months, they'd kept a secret because they didn't know how to handle it. Because Nicole had been afraid and even though he wouldn't admit it, so was Dolls. And now Waverly was kissing her like it was just a normal day, like Nicole wasn't about to destroy their happiness. This could be the last time Waverly ever kisses me.
The thought fanned the fire in her stomach and Nicole let the dufflebag drop, sliding her hands around Waverly's waist under the blanket. Her skin felt hot against Nicole's cool fingers and she was, yet again, endlessly thankful that her girlfriend had a crop top for every conceivable occasion. She ran her fingers across Waverly's flat stomach, relishing the way she sighed against Nicole's lips, ab muscles jumping at the attention. It was all the encouragement Nicole needed and she pressed forward, backing Waverly until her back hit the side of the house. The blanket slipped from around Waverly's shoulder as Nicole pressed their bodies together, sliding one of her legs between Waverly's and skating her hands up higher under her shirt.
Waverly groaned, rocking against Nicole's leg and knotting her fingers into Nicole's hair, pulling slightly as Nicole nipped at her lip. Nails rain against Nicole's scalp, then down her back, judt under the collar of her uniform then back into her hair and she moaned, pulling herself from Waverly's lips and pressing kisses down the column of her neck, trying to memorize what exactly her skin felt like, the precise pounding of her pulse because if this was going to be the last time…
"Oh," Waverly was gasping and it sounded like music and Nicole just wanted to burrow deep inside this moment and never come out, never move forward.
She reached her collar bone, biting gently before making her way back up the other side of Waverly's neck, tongue flicking out to skim against her skin, hands dropping to slip through her belt loops, pressing their bodies as close as possible. Waverly tugged at Nicole's uniform until the shirt came untucked and she could get her hands underneath, pressing her hands as flat and wide as she could, trying to touch as much of Nicole as possible. Their chests heaved against one another and all the world seemed to stop as Nicole slowly kissed up her jaw to her lips.
The kiss transformed, from hot, needy and much too arousing for their current position, to slow, gentle passion. Nicole cradled Waverly's cheeks in her hands, memorizing every bit that she could. Waverly's eyes fluttered open as Nicole ended the kiss slowly, pressing their forehead together. It took several moments for them to get their breath back, haloed in the light of the porch while darkness consumed everything around them.
"What was that for?" Waverly breathed, mirroring Nicole's hands and brushing her thumb over the scar on Nicole's cheek.
Her girlfriend shook her head, pressing one, two, three last gentle pecks against her lips before pulling back and staring at her. Waverly's stomach dropped. It was the same look Nicole had had that day in the hospital when-
"You know I… I love you so much, Waverly Earp."
Waverly's heart constricted and she leaned forward to bury herself under Nicole's chin, "Oh baby, I love you too."
None of the tension in Nicole's body eased and Waverly felt her stomach drop further. Wordlessly, Nicole pressed a kiss into her head, picked up the blanket from where it had fallen to wrap it around Waverly, grabbed her duffle bag and took the youngest Earp sister's hand.
"Come inside," Nicole whispered, "And call everyone together, okay?"
"Why?" Waverly tugged Nicole back as she went for the door, "Nicole, what going on? You're scaring me."
A silence stretched between them and Nicole seemed at a loss for words. She looked up, then down, and then everywhere but Waverly's eeyes. Her view shifted every few seconds and she tried to calm the anxiety in her. Slowly she brought her gaze up to meet Waverly's, tears building even as she blinked furiously against them
"Please, Wave, please don't hate me."
"Baby, no," Waverly pressed herself forward, taking Nicole's face in her hands again and for the thousandth time, cursing all the horrible things she'd texted Nicole during their fight, "No, I could never hate you. Never."
The contact and words seemed to have the opposite effect that Waverly wanted and a tear splashed out onto Waverly's thumb, dripping from Nicole's lashes, "Wait another couple hours and then tell me that again."
With that, she gently tugged her face away from Waverly and opened the door to the homestead and Waverly, feeling sicker than she had in ages, followed her in.
