25. Begging For Forgiveness

Waverly glared at Doc. She took in the sight of his greasy hair, which was perfectly visible due to his lack of hat – something that was extremely rare. She lowered her eyes to his face and noticed the huge bags under his droopy eyes. His mustache was ungroomed, and it looked like he hadn’t shaved the sides of his face in a while. She could tell he hadn’t eaten, slept, or even bathed in quite some time. He kind of reminded her of Nicole when they had their huge fight – minus the lack of bathing part, because no matter what roller coaster of emotions Nicole was going through she always bathed on a daily basis.

Waverly felt a pang of sorrow for the man, but then remembered how he had walked out on Wynonna after she had told him about the baby, and she quickly went into protective sister mode. She folded her arms and puffed out her chest as she sported the meanest scowl she could make.

“Why?” She said shortly.

Doc took a small step forward. “Please, I just need to speak with her. I need to apologize.”

“Damn right you do!” Waverly shouted. It was at moments like these where she was thankful that they didn’t have any neighbors. “She told you she was having your kid, and you walked out on her! I thought you were a good man, but a good man would never walk out on the woman he loves, especially after hearing that she was carrying his child.” She gesticulated wildly in the air before returning her arms to their crossed position, just waiting to hear his response.

“I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just up and left the way I did without sayin’ a word, but I was a little shocked, and admittedly slightly angry.”

“With her? Because it takes two to make a baby, Doc. This isn’t her fault, you know.”

“No, not with her. With myself.”

“For getting her pregnant?” Waverly’s tone had softened a bit as her curiosity took over.

“No. Somethin’ else I did. Somethin’ I strongly regret and probably will for the rest of my life.” He sighed and shook his head before realizing that he should be telling all of this to the other Earp. “Look, can I just come inside and talk to Wynonna please?”

“She’s not here.” The anger in her voice was now replaced with concern.

Doc threw his hands in the air, as if he were about to throw a fit. “Well why didn’t you start with that?! Where is she?”

Waverly paused for a moment, unsure if she should tell him of her sister’s whereabouts before finally deciding to give in. “At Gus’s.”

“Thank you,” he bowed sarcastically before jogging towards his deep red 1977 Chevy Camaro and speeding off down the dirt road.

---

“Jesus Christ.” Wynonna groaned in response to the loud rapping on the door from where she was sleeping on the couch – she found it to be more comfortable on her back than the old springy mattress in the guest room. She slowly stood up when she heard the pounding again.

“Okay, okay. I’m coming. Don’t get your panties in a wad.” She switched on a lamp as she made her way towards the knocking. When she got there, she leaned against the door frame and slowly unlocked the door before opening it.

“Wynonna, I’m so sorry I walked out on you! I never should’ve left.” Doc immediately blurted out before the door was even opened all the way.

Wynonna stood there, stunned. She was not expecting to see Doc, and she was definitely not expecting to hear him say that. Truth be told, the last few days she had been getting herself into the mindset of being a single mom.

“Um, why don’t you come inside,” Was all she could manage to say as she led them into the kitchen. She plopped down in a chair and slumped against the back as she rubbed her stomach protectively. She expected Doc to sit down as well, but instead he immediately began talking again as soon as he entered the kitchen

“I want you. I want this baby, our baby. I want a house and a grassy backyard with one of those structures with swings and slides that I hear are a pain in the ass to assemble.”

“A swing set?” She offered nonchalantly.

“Yeah, one of those!” He knelt down on his knees next to the woman. “I want all of it with you.” He reached out to take her hand that was sitting in her lap, but she quickly jerked it away.

“Why did you leave?” Her voice was quiet, but laced with anger and the pain of rejection.

“What?” He pretended to be surprised by the question, but in actuality he was expecting it and was just trying to buy some more time to figure out how to explain himself.

“If you wanted all of this so badly, then why the fuck did you leave when I told you I was pregnant?” Her voice was a bit louder now, and the sharpness in her tone sent chills down his spine.

Doc stood up from the floor and slid into the chair that was next to him, trying to figure out the best way to explain himself. “I had to leave to fix somethin’.”

“For five days?” The woman challenged.

“Yes, for five days,” he replied, beginning to get a little annoyed with her questioning, even though deep down he knew it was warranted. He just wanted her to leave it at that and forgive and forget, but he knew that would never happen. That wasn’t Wynonna Earp.

“Yeah, right. Just admit it, you were scared shitless and left me and our baby. Well guess what? I’m scared shitless too. But I can’t just leave, because I have to grow this baby inside of me! The one that you put in there.” Her eyes began to water. “If you’re too much of a pussy to handle the fact that you got me pregnant, then maybe you’re too much of a pussy to be a father.”

His upper lip quivered at the insult as his eyebrows pulled together angrily. He felt the rage begin to build up inside him, but pushed it down. “I told you, I didn’t leave you. I had to go fix somethin’. Somethin’ for us.” He stated as slowly and as calmly as possible. “And I did, so now everything is as it should be.”

She huffed at his blatant ignorance. “I bet you didn’t go anywhere other than to the liquor store, just like you always do when things get too difficult for you to handle,” Wynonna spat.

“You listen to me woman,” Doc growled. “I was doin’ this for us. I was savin’ us.”

“You were saving us?” Wynonna asked incredulously. “Saving us from what? The chance for our child to grow up in a stable home with two parents?”

He quickly stood up and violently kicked his chair back as he slammed his fists on the table and shouted in Wynonna’s face, “From that son of a bitch Bobo Del Rey!” His chest heaved up and down as he stared at Wynonna, whose eyes were wide with shock. When he caught sight of the scared look in her eyes, he realized that all of the energy from his rage had exploded into the face of the woman he loved. He lowered his eyes in shame and took a step back.

Wynonna’s face quickly shifted from shock to concern. “What do you mean from Bobo Del Rey?”

Everyone in town knew that Bobo was the leader of one of the most violent gangs to ever reside in Purgatory. They called themselves The Revenants. Ward Earp had spent his entire career as sheriff trying to disband the gang and put Bobo away for good. He managed to capture and lock away a couple of the most prominent members, but couldn’t find any evidence on Bobo. It was only a couple of weeks later when Ward and Willa’s car was plowed into by a semi-truck, killing them instantly and halting any chances of Ward sending Bobo to prison once and for all. With Randy Nedley taking over as sheriff, the Revenants knew that the chances of them ever getting caught again were slim to none, and continued their crimes; albeit with a bit more caution and strategy.

When Doc first arrived in Purgatory, he did some of Bobo’s bidding for petty cash. He refused to become a part of the gang, but still participated in a handful of their crimes as an independent. One of his tasks was to get close to Wynonna and make her fall for him so that she would let her guard down and the Revenants could get rid of the rest of the Earps and finally win this feud that began centuries ago once and for all. Unfortunately for Bobo, Doc eventually ended up falling for Wynonna, and as soon as the older Earp found out about his interaction with the gang, all bets were called off, and Doc broke off all interactions with him. Or at least, that’s what she thought…

“What did you do?” Wynonna asked.

Doc plopped into the chair and lowered his head. “I’ve been occasionally workin’ with him to earn some money.”

Wynonna clenched her jaw as the tears finally escaped and began to fall down her face. She couldn’t hold it back anymore; she was furious.

“But as soon as you told me about the baby, I went to the trailer park to see him and told him I was out and that I wasn’t goin’ to do his bidding anymore, and that I wanted nothin’ to do with him or his pathetic posse. He tried to send some of his boys after me, but I managed to protect myself. That’s why you haven’t seen me in a few days. I’ve been tryin’ to lay low for a bit.”

Wynonna knew that meant that he had killed the Revenants Bobo had sent after him. She wasn’t surprised really. It’s not like Doc had never killed anyone before, even if it was in self-defense. And he always managed to get himself into trouble with some bad people, seeing as he usually did what he wanted without giving a shit about how it would affect others.

“Wynonna, we’re safe now. It’s over.” He stated gleefully, as if he had done something right. Little did he know, that he had done something so, so wrong.

Wynonna slowly nodded her head as she looked at the man in front of her. The man she had shared so many personal details with. The man she opened herself up to in a way she never had with anyone before in her entire life. She clenched her jaw as she stood up from her seat and swung her hand firmly across his face, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair. “You lied to me, you bastard! You said you weren’t doing that shit anymore, when in reality you never stopped! God, you must think I’m truly an idiot!” Wynonna spat.

Doc looked at her with confusion. He assumed she would be grateful that he had sacrificed himself to save his family, but failed to see that he was the reason that they were in danger in the first place. “Wynonna, you’re the most intelligent person I know. I would never think that about you. I love you.” He reached out for her, but she jumped back and held her hands up.

“No, don’t touch me. You don’t get to touch me anymore. You’re such a selfish asshole! That man wanted you to get close to me so that they could kill me and my family…Waverly, Gus…” She shook her head at the thought of what could have happened if Doc had succeeded. “And you pretended to leave the gang because you claimed that you loved me!”

“Well, technically I was never actually in the gang…” Doc pointed out.

“It doesn’t fucking matter! This whole time I thought you really cared about me, but all you cared about was your stupid money! You cared more about that than my life!”

“I made sure he stayed away from you and your kin. The jobs he had me do were just things like petty theft from people who owed him cash anyways. I would never let them hurt you, you know that.”

“No, I don’t. How am I supposed to trust you ever again? How am I supposed to feel safe with you around my child?”

Doc swallowed hard as the words sunk in. My child.

“Get out. I don’t want to see you ever again.” Wynonna fumed as she pointed towards the door.

Doc stood up from the chair again and reached out for her. “Wynonna, please–”

“Get out of this house right now or I’m calling the police to haul your ass out! I mean it! I don’t want you here or at the homestead or anywhere near me ever again!”

He stared at her for a moment in shock before snarling at her. “Fine. If that’s the way you want it, then so shall it be.” He stormed off before slamming the door shut.

The sound of the solid wood hitting against the door frame caused Wynonna to immediately burst into tears as she dropped back down into her chair and dropped her face into her hands, violently shaking as she sobbed.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on down here?!” Gus asked as she descended the stairs with a shotgun protectively held in her hands. As soon as she saw the state of her oldest niece, she set the gun down on the table and ran over to hug her.

“Oh, darlin’. It’s okay. It’s goin’ to be okay.” She cooed. She would get the story later, but right now it was her job to comfort the woman.

“Why are men such assholes?” Wynonna hissed through tears.

---

The next day

Nicole decided to spend her lunch break at Shorty’s with Dolls, seeing as they hadn’t spent much time together in the past few weeks. It was understandable with the budding relationship between her and the younger Earp woman keeping her occupied. Even though Dolls missed his friend, he wasn’t hurt by her unintentional absence. He was happy to see his partner in such good spirits and knew that her relationship with Waverly was a good thing for her. But he had been wanting to catch up with the redhead for quite some time, so when she strode over to his desk and asked him if he wanted to accompany her to the local bar for some greasy food and non-alcoholic beverages, he couldn’t refuse.

“It’s been a while since we’ve hung out like this,” Dolls stated as he sat down at one of the only open tables at Shorty’s, placing a large basket of chicken tenders and French fries in the middle. “I feel like I haven’t really talked to you, even though we see each other every day at work.”

“I know, I’ve been so busy,” Nicole replied apologetically as she sat down across from him.

“Yeah, busy getting it on with baby Earp.”

Nicole smacked his arm. “You don’t know that! We could’ve been working on a project together or something.”

“Were you working on a project together?”

“No.” Nicole smirked.

“That’s what I thought.” Dolls shook his head and laughed. “But seriously, I’m glad everything worked out with you two. I’ve never seen you this happy before.”

“Well, I’ve honestly never been this happy before. She’s just so amazing and I can’t even imagine my life without her.” When she noticed Dolls was watching her with a grin on his face, she felt her cheeks tinge pink. “Okay, enough about me. How have you been? Any new ladies I should know about?”

“Actually, there is this one woman…” He trailed off as his face sported a shy grin.

“Uh oh, you’ve got it bad! Who is she?” Nicole asked excitedly.

“Her name is Eliza. Eliza Shapiro.”

“Yeah? What’s she like?” Nicole picked up one of the greasy chicken tenders and popped the end into her mouth.

“Blonde, works for the government, knows how to kick ass, a wizard at poker…”

“Oh, so exactly your type.”

“Pretty much,” he laughed.

“What part of the government does she work for?”

“I can’t really say. Top secret stuff.” He stated as he grabbed a chicken tender.

“So, you don’t know.” She looked at him knowingly.

His head dropped in disappointment. “She wouldn’t tell me.” He quickly lifted his head back up to add, “But I’m so sure she works for the FBI.”

Nicole chuckled and shook her head. “Have you been on a date yet?”

A sly smirk spread across his face. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a date. Unless you count rolling around in bed naked together a date…”

“Okay, yeah, don’t really need to hear the specifics of your sex life.” She stated as she scrunched up her face for a moment before smiling. “But I’m really glad to hear that you’ve found someone. I was a little worried about you after the whole Wynonna and Doc thing.”

Dolls waved his hand in dismissal as he took a sip of his Sprite. “That was just a little crush. I was able to move on pretty quickly.”

“Good thing too, especially considering that she’s pregnant.” Nicole stated nonchalantly as she brought her lemonade up to her lips to take a sip.

“Wynonna’s pregnant?!” Dolls exclaimed in shock as he nearly dropped his glass.

“You didn’t know? I figured everyone in town was talking about it by now.” Nicole was initially surprised, but then realized that the only people who knew about the pregnancy that weren’t immediate family members were her, Doc, and Jeremy, none of whom were really one to gossip.

“No, I had no idea. I guess that explains why she hasn’t been working the night shifts lately. Huh. Well, I guess congratulations to her and Doc.”

“I mean, it wasn’t really planned, but I think she’s more excited about it now than she initially was.” She looked at Dolls and noticed him shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “But we probably shouldn’t say much more about it. I’m guessing she doesn’t want the whole town finding out yet and talking about her.”

Dolls nodded. “Good idea. And I won’t say anything to anyone.”

The redhead nodded. “So, when do I get to meet this Eliza?” Nicole smirked.

“Well actually, I was thinking about throwing a house party this Friday and inviting her. What do you think?”

“Um, yes! I’ve been dying for you to throw a party in that gigantic place ever since I saw it! I still can’t believe you live in a place like that.”

“Yeah, well I’m just living there until I make enough money to afford my own place. It’s not like I earned it or anything. But I should put dear old Mommy and Daddy’s investment to good use.” He smirked as he gave Nicole a high five.

“Okay, so do you want me to spread the word? Or do you want this to be a close friends kind of thing?”

“Spread the word.”

“Got it.” Nicole grinned. She wasn’t much of a party-goer, but sometimes she enjoyed the occasional rave as long as it was safe. She was thankful that the host was a fellow officer who wouldn’t allow anyone underage to show up or anything that would go against the noise ordinance. She enjoyed letting loose every once in a while, but she was still cautious about the safety and consideration of others. But the thing she was most excited for was to walk in there with Waverly on her arm, showing off the gorgeous woman that she had the privilege of being with. It would be the first time they would really go out as a couple without hiding it, and she couldn’t wait.

Nicole and Dolls spent the rest of the hour talking about anything and everything before heading back to the station to finish out their shift.

---

Wynonna trudged into the coffee shop and slumped into the chair behind Waverly next to the door of the back room.

“Uh, hey,” Waverly greeted, slightly confused. She knew it was Wynonna’s day off, but the woman never came into the coffee shop. “Oh, did Doc find you?” She asked excitedly. She was ready to hear all about the apology he gave and how he and her older sister were going to raise their child together and live happily ever after – Waverly was a sucker for romance and happy endings.

“Yeah, he found me all right.”

Waverly’s grin dropped when she realized the sarcastic tone in Wynonna’s voice. “Didn’t he apologize to you? He said he wanted to apologize to you and make things right.”

“Oh, he apologized. Apologized for affiliating with Bobo all this time even after he repeatedly told me that he was no longer working with him.”

“No!” Waverly gasped in disbelief. She truly couldn’t believe that Doc, someone she genuinely thought was a good man, would continue to work with someone so vile. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. He told me himself. When I told him about the baby, he didn’t leave because he couldn’t handle it. He left to go see Bobo and cut ties with him once and for all.”

“Well, that’s a good thing, right? It means that he truly does care about you both.” She looked down at Wynonna’s slight baby bump and smiled at it.

“No, Waverly. That’s not a good thing. It means that he’s been lying to me all this time. He’s been working with Bobo. You and I both know the horrible things that man has done.

“Maybe he was just trying to find a way to make some money to save up for something?” Her eyes lit up. “Oh! Maybe he’s going to buy a ring!” She shrieked in excitement.

Wynonna shook her head in frustration. “Baby Girl, I love your positivity, but sometimes you can be so naïve. He wanted money for himself. Probably to buy cigarettes and alcohol. John Henry Holliday is a selfish coward, and nothing else. Don’t let him fool you like he fooled me.” She pointed a firm finger at her younger sister.

The smaller woman sighed. “I know you’re angry with him Wynonna, and you have every right to be. All I’m saying is that he made a mistake, but he tried to fix it as soon as he found out about the baby. That has to count for something, right? He really loves you. I can see it in his eyes.”

Wynonna stood up from the chair and took a step in Waverly’s direction before resting her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “Waverly, you’ve found this amazing love with quite possibly the most romantic person in all of Purgatory, and I get that you want me to have the same thing, and I really appreciate that. But if I ever do find that kind of love, it sure as hell isn’t going to be with Doc Holliday. I may be carrying his child, but he made it very clear that I’m not carrying his heart.” She gave her sister a weak smile before giving her a peck on the cheek and sauntering out the door.

Waverly sighed as she watched the door slowly shut behind the older brunette, ringing the small bell at the top as it did so, before returning to her previous task.

---

Friday night

After a 30-minute drive into the city, Nicole pulled Waverly’s Jeep up in front of a very tall, very fancy looking building.

“Dolls lives in this building?” Waverly gawked from the passenger’s seat as she leaned closer to the windshield and tilted her head up against the glass in an attempt to get a view of the entire building. Once she was satisfied, she sat back against the seat and looked over at Nicole, who was wearing an amused smile. “I thought only rich people lived here?”

Everyone who lived anywhere within a one-hundred-mile radius of Purgatory knew that the people who lived in this specific building were extremely wealthy.

“Well, Dolls kind of is rich. Or his parents are, anyways.”

The brunette’s eyes widened. “I had no idea! So, this is where his family lives?” She asked as she turned to take a look at the building once again.

“No, just him.”

Waverly’s eyes snapped back at Nicole in surprise, because she knew that if his family didn’t live here, then it meant that they owned a place somewhere else; somewhere just as lavish, which meant that Xavier Dolls was the kind of rich that was beyond her grasp.

Nicole chuckled at Waverly’s reaction. “His family has owned this apartment for years. This is actually the home he grew up in, but they moved away when he was a teenager to a new home and kept this one as kind of a vacation home or as a backup in case they needed it. When he got the job in Purgatory, he moved back into this apartment.”

Waverly nodded in understanding, still a bit surprised by the whole thing.

“Now that you’ve gotten a good look at the building, can we park in the parking garage?” The redhead was more amused than annoyed at Waverly asking her to stop in the middle of the street so she could see the place.

“Oh, yes. Sorry,” Waverly replied sheepishly as Nicole pulled forward into the garage.

Once they found a spot, they made their way inside the building and walked towards the elevator.

“Which floor?” Waverly asked as she pointed her finger over the block of buttons.

“Penthouse.” Nicole replied smoothly. She laughed at the sight of Waverly’s jaw dropping.

“He lives in the penthouse?! Why didn’t you tell me before! I feel so underdressed!” She stared down at her teal tank top tucked into her black flowy skirt with white flowers on it.

“Baby, you look gorgeous. Besides, it’s a house party, not a wedding.”

“Um, a pent-house party,” Waverly corrected as she finally pushed the button, sending the elevator upward towards their destination.

“Still, it’s probably going to be full of dance music and beer pong just like any other house party, despite the venue. Come on, don’t stress about it. We’re going to have a good time tonight.” Nicole placed her hand on the small of Waverly’s back and rubbed comforting circles.

“Oh, I know we’re going to have a good time tonight.” Waverly grinned as she entwined her fingers with Nicole’s and gave her a kiss on the lips just before the elevator doors opened, revealing the sound of pumping music, and a man standing in front of the door.

“Hey Lonnie,” Nicole greeted her co-worker who was standing there in uniform.

“Officer Haught.” He nodded with a smile. Even though Nicole was the new one in purgatory, Lonnie was known as the underdog of the station, since he was often a fuck-up; but a good-natured fuck-up, nonetheless.

“I’m guessing Dolls has you checking ID’s tonight, huh?”

“Yep,” he stated proudly. He took the job seriously, and was actually excited that Officer Dolls trusted him more than anyone to keep the party safe. Nicole knew that it was a job nobody else would want to do since it meant not being able to actually be inside the party and that’s why Dolls gave it to Lonnie, and she would make sure the kind, unsuspecting man never found out.

“Well, I’m glad we have such a fine officer keeping an eye out for us tonight.” Nicole smiled at the grin she received in return. “Do you need to see our ID’s then?”

“No, no. That’s okay,” he snorted. “I already know you and Waverly are over eighteen. You two go on ahead. Enjoy the party!”

“Thanks Lonnie,” Waverly smiled and waved as she followed Nicole towards the door.

Nicole pushed the door open, signaling for Waverly to walk in first before stepping inside of the lavish penthouse. She had seen the place before when she had first arrived in Purgatory and had been partnered up with Dolls. He had invited her over for dinner to get to know her better, and she accepted the offer since she figured she should get to know him as well. And when she had noticed the homemade dinner and bottle of wine laid out nicely on the table, she assumed that he was making advances towards her and quickly told him that she liked women. This resulted in him getting a stomach ache from laughing so hard, explaining that the rotisserie chicken was actually store bought and that he had just put out the bottle of wine in hopes that she would drink it because it was a gift from a friend and he didn’t like wine, which then resulted in them becoming good friends and talking about everything from their childhood to their exes.

But still, even though Nicole had seen the apartment before, she never saw it with so many people and so many flashing lights and…was that a fog machine? She assumed that this would just be a small party, or even an average sized party, but this was almost entering Great Gatsby territory – except with a bunch of hicks from Purgatory and random city people she didn’t recognize – with the sheer amount of people. She began to worry about the safety hazards, until she felt Waverly’s hand gently squeeze hers.

“Hey, we’re here to have fun, remember? You’re Nicole tonight. My hot, sexy, off-duty girlfriend whom I get to show off.” She grinned.

The redhead visibly relaxed at the words and nodded. “Right, sorry. I just wasn’t expecting so many people…so many drunk people.” She looked around the room some more.

“Well you know what I think?” Waverly asked as she playfully smirked.

“What’s that?” Nicole asked without taking her eyes off of the people who were mindlessly dancing to the loud music.

Waverly grabbed an unopened beer bottle from one of the coolers that was sitting against the wall and handed it to Nicole. “I think you deserve to have at least one night of fun without having to be the responsible one.”

The redhead eyed the bottle in her hand cautiously before hesitantly looking at her girlfriend.

“Oh come on, it’s a party! Not once have I seen you let loose and just give in to having fun.” Waverly crossed her arms accusingly.

“Sure you have. Remember last night?” Nicole waggled her eyebrows suggestively, causing the brunette to blush and roll her eyes.

“I meant out in public.”

“That’s because it’s my job to stay on my toes and keep people safe.”

“Well tonight you’re going to be a regular civilian like the rest of us. So, Nicole Haught, if you don’t let loose and party tonight, I’m not giving you any orgasms for a month.” She folded her arms across her chest and gave the redhead a serious look.

“You can’t be serious,” Nicole chuckled.

“Dead serious.” The petite woman held her glare.

“Can I still give you orgasms?” Nicole asked with a grin.

“Nope.”

The redhead stared at her girlfriend for a solid twenty seconds before finally giving in. “Okay, fine.” She popped the cap off on the edge of a nearby table and downed half the bottle while looking at Waverly. “Happy?” She asked before wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand.

“Yep.” The brunette grinned. “Now come on, let’s dance.” She grabbed Nicole’s hand and pulled her into the crowd.