Nicole's POV

Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound of Waverly Earp's steady heart beats and her hot breaths blowing over the skin of my neck serenades me as I finally awaken from a nap that most people only ever dream about.

A nose sleepily nuzzles my neck as a bony hand grips my shirt tighter. I smile in amusement, the adorable view of the brunette causing my lips to quirk up and tugging at the deepest parts of my heart. I add a dreaming Waverly to my list of favourite versions of the girl in my arms and automatically pull her closer so that her body heat seeps into my skin and heats the blood in my veins.

My lips still tingle at the memory of soft ones pressed onto them with a gentle urgency and unrelenting passion. I fight the desire to lift my hand towards my mouth, not wishing to disturb the sleeping perfection in my arms. Instead, I silently recall the image of Waverly Earp kissing me and spam the replay button in my head. The melody of Sweet Disposition plays as the backtrack to the greatest moment of my present biography.

My cheeks start to ache at the vivid imagery of an angelically beautiful face staring at me with the same yearning that had been in my bloodstream since we first met, a yearning that turns into a waterfall of ecstasy when our lips finally connected with reckless abandon.

I can't remember when last I had been this happy!

Unfortunately, the universe was not going to allow me to have continued bliss. The barn door flies open without warning, a restless Rachel Valdez crashing our party. I watch as the younger girl pauses when her eyes fall onto Waverly and I's compromising position. I feel the heat burn my cheeks as I meet Rachel's surprised eyes.

"That's… a lot." She says, and I am about to protest and call her out for not knocking, when her face softens into a smirk. "About damn time you two finally figured it out."

I start relaxing and give her a sheepish smile, just as the warm body in my arms shifts. Fearing Waverly's reaction to Rachel seeing us together, I stiffen.

To my surprise, she does not move from my embrace. Instead, she gives Rachel a smile that instantly melts any of my worry.

"Hey Rach. What's up?"

Rachel taps her watch. "It's lunchtime and Chrissy ordered me to come and get you two."

"Thanks Rachel. We'll be right there." I tell the teen. She gives me a thumbs up before leaving me and Waverly alone once more.

A hand slides against my jaw and cups my face. I automatically close my eyes and nuzzle closer to the contact. The sound of a melodic giggle causes me to open my eyes to stare at glittering hazel moulded into moons of joy.

"Hey." Waverly whispers.

"Hey yourself." I say with a smirk. That smirk is ruthlessly removed by sweet lips pressed against mine.

I am just about to deepen the kiss when Waverly pulls away without warning. The brunette jumps up and grabs my hand, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Come on Haughtshot. Didn't you hear? We have a luncheon to attend." She says with a teasing wink, pulling me from the bed.

I follow her willingly, just like I always would, but not without the thought of two can play at that game.

Just before we exit the privacy of the barn, I tug her arm gently, pulling her towards me. She releases a gasp of surprise. I bury my head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her intoxicating aroma.

She slides her arms around my neck, melting into my embrace. "Nicole?" She asks with a laugh. I run my hands up her arms, delighting in the gooseflesh left in their wake.

I finally meet her gorgeous gaze. "Sorry, ma'am. It's just… you are so damn irresistible Waverly Earp." I say with a sultry smile before I lower my lips onto hers and continue to kiss her deeply, a kiss full of promise and an expression of every ounce of adoration I feel towards her. I take delight in her dazed expression when we finally separate again.

When she finally opens her eyes again, I smirk at her proudly and tuck a strand of honey brown behind her ear.

"Now, come on. We have a luncheon to attend, don't we?" I say, grinning devilishly. That seems to draw her from her daze finally and her face morphs into an expression of mock annoyance as mischief glitters in her hazel orbs.

"I see what you are doing and you are so on, Haught. But first, lunch."

With her hand in mine, and my heart in hers, we exit the barn and head fearlessly towards whatever lies ahead.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Waverly's POV

The clang of cutlery scraping against plates and the low tones of warm conversation resound through the tiny kitchen as we all tuck into the hearty vegetable stew that Chrissy expertly prepared for us. I pause, taking a moment to really absorb my reality.

I watch as Nedley takes a bite of his stew, a fatherly affection in his gaze as he thanks Chrissy for making us the delicious meal. His affectionate eyes shift subtly to Nicole, then Rachel and Jeremy until it finally lands on me.

He catches me watching him and gives me a warm smile and a knowing look. I know right then that Randy Nedley considered me his daughter. At the sudden affection I feel towards him, tears threaten to spill. I blink them away quickly, and simply return his smile in gratitude. Nedley seems to understand what I was trying to convey, giving me a slight nod before wordlessly returning his attention to his food.

My eyes move on to Jeremy who is apparently in the process of blowing Chrissy's mind with the intricacies of which fruits are berries and which are not. Even I am surprised to learn that strawberries are not actual berries and that cucumbers apparently are.

The sound of laughter to my left draws my gaze towards Rachel and Nicole. The younger girl seems to have told the redhead a joke of sorts, as Nicole has her head tilted back in abundant joy. The sight absolutely captivates me, a sentiment seemingly shared by the sun. Golden rays of sunlight filtering through the kitchen window had gotten themselves caught in her red locks, enveloping the woman I love in a gorgeous glow.

Goodness, she is exquisite.

Warmth radiates within my bones, seeping into my veins and eventually penetrates right into the deepest parts of my soul at the view surrounding me. One word echoes through my being in that moment.

Family.

This feeling was completely new to me, unheard of. Never could I have known how it could really feel, how it was supposed to be. The child in me only ever dreamt of this, a place full of safety, belonging and love given unconditionally. The child in me had hoped desperately for it, a hope that would be devastated time and time again.

Until now.

I allow myself a silent chuckle, remembering how against Joy Farm I had been when I first arrived here. I had seen it as a place that would only further the destruction my heart had been subjected to up until that point. Little did I know that Joy Farm would become my very salvation. The place, the people slowly chipped away at every icy wall in my being and gave my heart a home.

Despite the overwhelming happiness this thought causes me, a part of my heart still echoes its emptiness.

Wynonna.

My sister was the one thing that would make the wonderful image before me complete. I once again long deeply for her, wishing for my sibling to also experience this feeling of real family and love. I wonder where she was right now, what was she doing? Was she happy? Did she miss me too?

A warm hand covers my own, drawing me from my tumultuous thoughts. I meet kind brown eyes as Nicole smiles at me, her gaze full of concern. I allow the vison of the woman who adores me to settle the longing in my heart. I give her a reassuring smile, squeezing her hand in confirmation that I was okay.

She gives me a lingering look and a small nod. Nicole Haught's ever patient nature never ceases to baffle me. She never pushes, always giving me the reigns, allows me to dictate. Yet another one of the many reasons I adore her.

With one last reassuring smile in Nicole's direction, I return my attention to the delicious stew before me.

As I take a bite, the sound of a car on the gravel outside draws the attention of every person at the table.

"That'll be Doc. I'll go greet him." Nedley says, patting his chin with a napkin as he gets up.

The rest of us continue our meal amicably, hearing the faint sounds of Nedley opening the door and the low hum of voices in urgent conversation.

I am about to take a sip of my untouched water when Nedley enters the kitchen again, looking at me warily. "Uh, Waverly. There is someone here to see you."

His words take me by surprise. Me? Who would want to see me? I think with a frown. I am about to voice these questions when Nedley moves aside to reveal my visitor. I feel my heart freeze in my chest, utter disbelief wracking my body.

"Wynonna?"

My mind struggles to comprehend that the very person whom had my thoughts in turmoil just moments ago, was now standing before me. Stood there in her leather jacket and pants, Wynonna Earp looks at me with a mix of caution and relief in her familiar blue eyes. She takes a tentative step in my direction, hesitantly muttering the words I had missed so much hearing.

"Hey, Baby Girl."

She barely finishes her sentence before I am out of my chair, embracing her tightly. I hold onto her for dear life, my grip driven by fear that this was once again just a mere dream and she would disappear again much too soon.

I feel my sister's body stiffen with initial shock in response to my embrace, before she tentatively starts to hug me back. Her confidence grows at my unrelenting hold, her grip finally tightening to my level. Then the both of us are holding on like we never wanted to let go.

"Is this real? Are you really here?" I ask with a shaky voice, barely registering the tears running down my cheeks at the sudden relief I feel.

"I'm really here, Waves." Wynonna says and I can feel the empty section of my heart finally start to fill.

Someone clears their throat behind us, causing my sister and I to separate. I turn to face the rest of my found family, pulling a reluctant Wynonna to face them.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet my sister. This is Wynonna Earp."

Chrissy is the first to jump up, grabbing Wynonna's hand enthusiastically. "Hi! I am Chrissy, it is really nice to finally meet you!"

Jeremy follows her lead, doing a similarly enthusiastic greeting. Rachel just raises her head with an obnoxious "Sup", while Nedley tips his hat at her with a smile.

Wynonna awkwardly returns their greetings with a shake of her hand or nod of her head.

Nicole finally gets up from the table, slowly making her way over to us. She takes my hand and I can practically feel the burn of Wynonna's frowning gaze at the action.

With her other hand, Nicole reaches out towards my sister.

"Hi, Wynonna. It is nice to meet you. I am Nicole."

Wynonna's demeanour shifts from awkward to stoic in a split second as she eyes Nicole and then the proffered hand.

Her eyes briefly shift to mine, searching for something. She seems to find it, finally taking Nicole's hand in a grip that was unnecessarily strong.

"Nice to meet you, Red." She says, her eyes never leaving Nicole's.

And just like that, the Wynonna I grew up with was back.

Unperturbed at the very clear challenge in my sister's body language, Nicole does not so much as blink as she returns Wynonna's grip with a firm one of her own. I feel the prickle of pride at witnessing the two women I loved most in this world interacting for the first time, both sizing each other up and ready to defend me from the other. I find it both utterly ridiculous and endearing at the same time.

Nicole finally breaks eye contact with Wynonna to face me, her demeanour visibly softening as she does.

"Waves, I am sure you guys have a lot to talk about. Why don't you go over to the barn?" She tells me gently, her eyes full of warmth and sincerity.

"Are you sure?" I ask, not wanting to make her feel alienated.

She gives me a warm smile. "Yes. I'll be right here if you need me." She says, her gaze flickering to Wynonna's briefly.

The way Nicole is so perfectly considerate of my needs and feelings overwhelms me with a sudden urge to kiss her. Unfortunately, my mind registers that we have an audience, so instead I opt for a lingering kiss of thanks to her cheek.

With that, I grab Wynonna's hand and pull her out the door towards the barn. It was time for a much-needed Earp sister heart to heart.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Really nice place you got here, Waves." Wynonna says, wandering around the barn and inspecting Nicole's book collection.

I take a stance against the wall, observing her as I tighten my arms around myself. Now that the relief of seeing Wynonna again had passed, every feeling of disappointment and hurt she caused me starts to flare up violently.

"What are you doing here?" I ask bluntly, my tone scathingly sharp. It seems to give Wynonna pause. She slowly turns towards me, her eyes full of reproach.

"Isn't it obvious? I came to see my baby sister." She says gently. Her words only fuel the fire her unexpected return has ignited in the locked away depths of my heart.

I stand up and take a defiant step in her direction, straightening my back to look taller than I felt in that moment. "Cut the damn shit, Wynonna. You left. You left with not so much as a goodbye and now you expect me to believe that you just felt a sudden urge to visit me out of nowhere?"

She has the sense to at least look guilty at the truth in my words. With a heavy sigh, she takes a seat on Nicole's bed.

"Everything you said is true. I did leave you. I could have made more effort to say goodbye—"

"You didn't write, you never called. Wynonna, you made me feel so completely alone after everything we had gone through." The accusations just keep coming, tears following in their wake as I pour all my hurt out towards my tormentor who was once my greatest protector.

"I never meant for you to feel that way, Waves. I am so sorry that I did. I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't deserve it. But I need you to know that I left because I wanted you to be free."

I scoff darkly. "How is living without my only family in any way freedom?" I say, no longer even bothering to stop the uncontrollable angry sobs from bursting forth out of my heart.

Wynonna bites her lip, looking down in shame. She quickly recovers, and when she looks back up at me, I see the tell-tale signs of tears causing her blue eyes to shimmer in the late afternoon light.

"After it happened, after… he was gone, I reckoned it was a chance at a new beginning. For you, Waves. You were always the best of all of us. The Earp blood, its tainted with failure and the stench of stale alcoholism. I fit that script. I flunked out of high school and had more love for whiskey than I had for sleep. But you… you were always better, always had so much hope for a better future. You had dreams and you worked so hard for them despite what you were going through. I wanted you to have everything, because you deserved it, Baby girl. I was only ever going to get in your way. So I decided to leave once I knew you were going to be taken care of, and find my own way before I could hopefully be worthy of being part of your life again."

The raw emotion accompanying her words and the tear tracks on her cheeks instantly crumbles my defenses, pushing my feet towards my sister. I kneel in front of her, looking up at her with eyes of hope and a desire to show her that she had been wrong about all of it.

"Wynonna, you are worthy of it too. Don't you see? You were always there for me, you fought and took beatings for me. You didn't deserve that life just as much as I didn't. You deserved a better future too, Wy. And all I have ever wanted was you by my side. I… I missed you every day after you left."

Sobs wrack Wynonna's body as she lowers her head onto mine. "I missed you so much, Baby Girl. I called Gus every week to check on you. She told me about how you went to a place called Joy Farm. I seriously thought she had sent you to some kind of crazy house."

I cannot help the laugh escaping my throat at her words. "I thought that too the first time." I tell her, causing her to join in on my laughter. The sounds of our sobbing is quickly replaced by the crescendo of our shared joy and relief.

Talking and laughing with my sister like this takes me right back to those moments we shared as kids, watching Dr Pol and Monty Python movies, the tiny slivers of a happy childhood that we shared despite our otherwise terrible reality.

For the first time in a long while, I can feel the broken parts of my heart finally start to mend into a mosaic of renewed hope.

I wipe my eyes and start getting up slowly, pulling her up with me.

I reach over and wipe away her tears with my index finger. "This place has given me a lot of perspective and taught me about family and love and most of all, that our mistakes do not define us. I forgive you, Wynonna."

Wynonna looks up at me with disbelief. "You… you do?"

I smile at her warmly. "Yes, dingus. Now come here." I barely open my arms before Wynonna has me in a ferocious bear hug.

Once we separate, I sit down on the bed and pat the spot beside me. "So why don't you tell me what you have been up to all this time? Did you manage to find what you were looking for out there? Find yourself?"

Wynonna's eyes seem to spark with a pride that I never thought I would see in those blue eyes. "I did, Baby Girl. And it is also one of the things that lead me to Purgatory, and you. But let me start at the beginning…"