98. Found Family

       The couple hadn’t taken much more time to get back to the condo after Wynonna and Nicole got done arguing with one another. They returned and each took a quick shower, not missing the glares that they got from the older Earp when they walked through the front door as she counted their money in the living room. Altogether, they had brought home about 12 grand; Doc with six, Waverly with five, and Wynonna with a little over one. They were happy with what they gathered. Waverly knew it meant that she’d have a lot more to pay her schooling with since they split the cash equally between the four of them. 

       Well, two , technically. Doc had secretly given Waverly most of his earnings anyway and Nicole didn’t even look at her’s when Wynonna gave it over before handing it to her wife. 

       After all of that was settled, they all headed to bed with a couple of lingering stares. No one was going to bring it up, but they were all aware of what the next day had in store for them. Wynonna quietly questioned her sister about Nicole while she was in the other room brushing her teeth, asking if she was alright or not, but Waverly had waved it off, telling her that she seemed to be doing alright considering the circumstances. 

       And it wasn’t a lie because she had been. At least that point.

       Waverly first stirred awake when she felt the bed shift, eyes blinking open in the very dimly lit room. She felt the warmth on her back where Nicole had previously been wrapped around her, but she was gone now. She checked her phone real quick and saw that it was only a little past four in the morning, meaning that they had only fallen asleep a couple of hours before. 

       She rolled over when the bed moved again, seeing the redhead on her side facing away from her. She was only a second away from moving towards her to feel her warmth again when she heard the sharp breath she sucked in. Her brow furrowed and she rubbed her eye, watching her dark silhouette for a couple of moments. Nicole was a relatively quiet sleeper besides the occasional light snoring when she was really deep in sleep or the mouth breathing when she had allergies. She never talked in her sleep or made weird noises unless she was having a bad dream, so when Waverly heard the grunted whine she let out, she knew something was up. 

       The brunette scooted closer to her and gently let her hand press against her back. She was going to begin rubbing it, but she kept it still with a sad dip of her brow when she felt that her camo t-shirt was completely drenched in sweat. She could also feel how tense her back muscles were despite how she was shivering. The redhead’s legs were moving around a little as Waverly gently pulled on her shoulder to roll her to her back after she sat up. She was now able to see her facial features, realizing how tightly her eyes were screwed together and how the muscles in her face were pulling her lips in all directions. 

       Nicole quickly jerked her arms to her chest with her fists clenched, covering the bottom half of her face with some more frightened whines. Waverly pulled the blanket off of her and dropped her hand to her stomach when her head began to snap from side to side as she got louder, shaking her a little to try and wake her without startling her. 

       Waverly knew when she had her own nightmares and such, she needed to be restrained. It didn’t make whatever she was seeing worse when either Nicole or Wynonna was holding her down. But she had learned that with Nicole, she was easy to startle and any sense of urgency or restriction made everything so much worse to come out of. She had learned that the hard way.

       “Shh, c’mon, Cole. Wake up,” Waverly mumbled with a crack in her voice after the Sheriff let out a loud, agitated groan, head snapping back against her pillow hard enough to be painful. 

       “Let go,” Nicole muttered quietly through her teeth as her hands pulled at the t-shirt over her chest. “~save ‘er.” Waverly could only make out the last part of whatever she said. 

       “Wake up, Baby,” she said softly again, shaking her a little harder. 

       She heard a couple threads rip as Nicole continued to pull at the front and the collar of her t-shirt. “Liz’s in the fire,” she said through her teeth again, more forcefully this time. 

       Waverly’s brows raised as she started to piece together whatever it was she was dreaming: Liz was in the fire and Nicole wanted to save her, but someone was holding her back. The redhead was jerking her whole body around now, back and forth, just as if someone did have a hold of her. She took one of her hands when it plopped down and landed on her lap, and she ran her thumb over her knuckles a few times, but Nicole jerked her hand back, basically punching herself in the side of the face with it with the force that she pulled it back with. “Oh, Baby.” Waverly ran her finger over her jaw where it hit. 

       “You asshole!”  

       Nicole’s voice was clear as day now that she had opened her mouth to speak. Waverly leaned over her and flicked the lamp beside her on the nightstand on, seeing the sweat covering her face reflecting the light back up at her. She smoothed her hand down her stomach, shaking her again as she got the other one ready to block her, not knowing if she’d jerk her arm towards her. “Nicole, c’mon. It’s just a dream.” 

       Nicole sucked in a loud, ragged breath as her body went stiff as a board for a few seconds. Waverly really hadn’t expected it, so when she let out a blood-curdling scream, saying no, it startled her and left her ears ringing. A tear rolled down her face and she tried to grab the redhead’s arm when she started moving around again, but she pulled her head back from her when she shot straight up. “Dad, let me go!” 

       Waverly’s eyes widened, and Nicole’s snapped open, flicking around the room as her chest heaved in and out. The brunette squeezed her eyes shut when she heard Alice’s cry from the room over. “Honey, it was just a dream,” she breathed out, sliding her hand down the Sheriff’s back. Nicole quickly looked towards her and the brunette swallowed when she saw how hard her eyes were. “Babe-” Nicole lurched forward, knocking Waverly to her back. Her hands pinned her to the bed by her shoulders with her teeth bared. Waverly pushed against her chest. “Heyheyheyheyhey. It’s me, Cole.” 

       The redhead blinked hard and her face immediately fell, faster than a snap of her fingers. “No.” She scrambled off the brunette, moving towards the headboard and curling into a ball. 

       Waverly sat up, heart slowing it’s thumping against her ribs. “Nic . . .” she said softly. 

       “I’m sorry,” she choked out. 

       “No, Baby.” Waverly began to crawl towards her, but Nicole put a hand out, twisting away from her.

       “Don’t.” She lifted her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I don’t want you near me.” 

       The brunette let out a huff as she continued forward anyway. “Stop that.” 

       Nicole curled further in on herself, scooting away like a frightened animal. “I hurt you.” 

       “You didn’t,” she assured, gently running her hands down her legs that were pulled to her chest. “You didn’t, I promise.” 

       “Tell- Tell me what I did,” the redhead begged. “I woke up, a-and I was pinning you down and y-you were scared and crying. What did I do, Wave? I- . . . I don’t remember.” 

       “You don’t remember anything?” She questioned. “Not even when your eyes were opened?” 

       Her brows furrowed in confusion and she wiped her face with her hands. “What?”

       Waverly let out a sigh, moving to lean back against the headboard beside her. “C’mere, Sweetheart.” Nicole stared at her with uncertain eyes. “Let me hold you, Baby. You’re shaking like a leaf.” She gently grabbed her arm and tried to pull her over, sighing with relief when she allowed her to. Nicole sniffled as she leaned the side of her head against her shoulder, knees still tightly to her chest. Waverly wrapped her arms around her, scooting her down so her ear was resting over her heart. The redhead closed her eyes, letting out a slow, shaky breath as she fisted the sweatshirt at Waverly’s waist in her hand. “So . . . I woke up to you having a night terror. You were wiggling around and stuff, but then you were making noises, and then you started yelling. D’you remember anything about that?” 

       “No,” she mumbled. 

       “Ok, well. I think it was about Liz and your father.” The redhead looked up at her with a cocked brow. “You said her name and you said Dad. You also mentioned the fire and that you wanted him to let you go.”

       “Wanting to go save her or somethin’?” Nicole questioned quietly.

       “I think so. Anyway. Then you screamed really loud before you sat up and your eyes opened. You were looking around. I figured you woke up, but when I said something, you looked towards me and jumped at me. All you did was hold me down for a few seconds before you actually came to, Baby, I promise. You didn’t hurt me. And I wasn't scared, I was just worried about you.” Nicole pushed her face into her chest as more tears ran down her cheeks, letting out a sob she couldn’t hold in. “Shh.” Waverly hugged her closer, slowly running her fingers through her hair.

       “I’m so sorry.”

       “Stop,” Waverly whispered, tipping her chin up and wiping her tears away. “It’s not your fault.”

       “B-But what if something would’ve happened? What if . . . What if I started actually hurting you- strangling you or hitting you or something. I-” She sucked in a breath as the brunette shook her head at her. “I wasn’t there. Mentally, I wasn’t there. Anything could’ve happened, Wave-”

       “But it didn’t,” she said softly. “Nothing happened, Baby.” 

       “It could, though,” Nicole huffed, her voice breaking. She dropped her head back to lean against her chest with a sniffle. “Fuck, you wonder why I drank myself to sleep every night,” she muttered.

       “Hey,” Waverly scolded softly. “Don’t say that.” 

       “I didn’t have to worry ‘bout accidentally murdering my wife in my sleep when I was passed out.”

       “Nicole. Stop.” The brunette’s voice was sharp despite how there were a couple of tears running down her cheeks, and Nicole sank further into her. “Stop thinking like that.” The redhead buried her face into her sweatshirt, and Waverly let out a sigh as she hugged her closer, running her hand up and down her side to try and calm the shakes from the sobs racking through her. 

       The brunette spoke softly to her, reassuring her that everything was alright for the next several minutes until she calmed down for the most part. Nicole lifted her head and leaned it on her shoulder, grabbing one of her hands and holding it in her lap for a few moments before grabbing her sleeve and using it to wipe her nose with. 

“       Ew,” Waverly groaned, wiggling her arm away from her. “You’re nasty.” Nicole smiled a little as she dropped her hand to rest on her chest. Waverly shifted a little to get a pillow behind her back. “. . . You ok, Baby?” 

       Nicole shrugged with nod. “I guess.” 

       “You wanna try and get some more sleep?” She questioned softly as she pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

       The Sheriff’s fists automatically clenched, and Waverly only noticed because one closed around the finger Nicole had been messing with her rings on. “No,” she mumbled. 

       Waverly pulled her hand from her’s and cupped her jaw, tipping her head up to look at her. “You only got, like, two hours of sleep, though.”

       “I don’t wanna.”

       “Why not, Honey?” 

       The redhead swallowed, “I just . . . want you to hold me.” She shifted to sit up and Waverly let out a sigh with pursed lips. “But- Not in here. I don’t-” She looked around the dark room, and the brunette’s brows furrowed sadly at how frightened her eyes were as her hands shook in her lap. “. . . Not in here,” Nicole repeated, though it was in a soft whisper this time. 

       Waverly ran her hand down her back, feeling how she jumped when she touched her. “Ok. We’ll go downstairs.” She looked towards her timidly, and the smaller one cupped her cheeks. “It’s alright, Love. We can go.” Nicole stared into her eyes for a few seconds until she was sure she wasn’t mad at her because, for whatever reason, she thought she would be. She nodded against her palms and Waverly smiled, pulling back and scooting to the side of the bed, climbing off. Nicole slowly followed, taking her hand when she offered it and standing up on wobbly legs. She grabbed the grey fuzzy blanket off the bed and wrapped it tightly around herself before following Waverly as she led them out of the room. 

       Waverly looked to their right when they walked out, having seen Wynonna out of the corner of her eye. She was slowly pacing up and down the hallway with Alice in her arms, seeming to be trying to get her back to sleep. Wynonna turned and started walking back in their direction, stopping when she saw the two. Nicole was slowly continuing towards the stairs, but Waverly stopped when she caught her eye. Neither of them said anything, but their gaze surely held all the conversation that would have been spoken. Waverly started with a sorry look and her sister shook her head with a hint of worry in her eyes as she nodded towards the redhead in question. The younger brunette all but shrugged with a shake of her head, and Wynonna clenched her jaw with a sigh, dipping her head to look at the baby as she continued to rock her as she walked. 

       The brunette looked back towards Nicole, giving her hand a squeeze before allowing them to continue down the stairs. “D’you want anything before we sit down?” She questioned once they reached the bottom. The redhead shook her head, continuing to gently pull her along to the couch and pointing at the L-extension with a furrow of her brow. “Wherever you wanna sit is fine, Baby.” 

       “Here,” Nicole mumbled.

       “Ok.” Waverly dropped down onto the extension and pulled a pillow out from behind her, getting comfortable before giving her wife a nod. Nicole curled up on top of her, leaning her head against her shoulder once she was settled and poking the remote for the TV out from the blanket wrapped around her.

       Nicole flicked the TV on, and Waverly immediately cringed when she saw the News channel that it was on was broadcasting the live footage from a building fire somewhere in Vegas. “Shit,” the brunette muttered under her breath as she quickly grabbed the remote and changed the channel, having felt Nicole go stiff in her lap. She glanced up at the screen to see that it was on some newer Disney Jr. cartoon with Simba that she had never once heard of before looking down at her and pulling her closer, slowly running her fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “The News always has the worst timing.” 

       Nicole blinked hard a few times as she stared at all the animated lion cubs on the screen before letting out a breath as she took the remote back and turned the cable off, directing herself to the TV menu and flipping through the pre-recorded television clips before choosing the very first one on there. She relaxed into her wife’s lap the second the open shot of the baseball field came into view, and Waverly raised a brow, obviously noticing that this was an older Rangers game by the camera quality. 

       If she had to guess, she’d say it was from the early 2000’s. 

       “What’s this?” She questioned softly, leaning her cheek against the top of her head as she traced her eyes over the wide shot of some players warming up on the field. The sportscaster began talking, droning on about the weather as Nicole sat in silence, keeping her eyes on the TV and tracing the buttons on the remote with her finger.

       Waverly waved off her no-response, continuing to listen and watch the TV. A couple of minutes went by with a few different shots of the field and players. She almost didn’t notice it, but the sportscaster stopped talking mid-sentence before beginning again. 

       “Did that kid just throw that?” He questioned, obviously talking to whoever was near him and not into the microphone. “Play that back- A better shot of it.” 

       The screen changed to a different camera angle; one that was a lot closer to the field opposed to the previous that had been in the air. Waverly cocked a brow as she watched the playback, seeing the younger kid at home plate testing their very fast pop time.

       A young kid testing their pop time at a Rangers vs Yankees game in the early 2000s. 

       Waverly looked down at the redhead with wide eyes. “Wait, that’s you?” 

       Nicole stayed quiet again, but the brunette didn’t need her confirmation anymore because if the short-haired strawberry blonde woman that ran over to the kid wasn’t enough to prove it, when she pulled the mask and helmet off them and a mess of red hair fell out sure was. 

       “Holy shit,” Waverly said under her breath, running her hand down her arm. “You never told me that got on TV.” 

       “How d’you think the MLB found out about me?” Nicole mumbled, shifting and pulling Waverly’s arm under the blanket so she could hold her hand in her lap. 

       Waverly had never really thought about that, but it did make sense. She watched on quietly for a minute as a different dude talked about catchers before the camera changed once more and it showed the original sportscaster walking towards Liz and Nicole on the field, waving them over. 

       “Y’all wanna do a quick interview?” He questioned as he approached, and both of their brows went up. 

       “Like, for TV?” Baby Nicole asked with a huge, dimpled grin, and he nodded. Her eyes shot right to the camera. “Sick!” 

       She was standing right next to Liz and was only an inch or two shorter than her, even at that age. Baby Nicole was a lot lankier than Nicole was now since she hadn’t grown completely into her long limbs yet, and she still had a squishy baby face thanks to being mid-puberty and all. She had the baseball cap she had gotten at that game on backwards that she knew was sitting in her suitcase upstairs right now, and her hair was a little lighter than it was now, falling past her shoulders.

       Waverly pouted her lip, cupping Nicole’s cheek and peppering the other side with a few kisses. “Oh my God, you were adorable.” The redhead smiled softly, snuggling into her.

The sportscaster chuckled. “Well, my name’s Garrette Prowell and I, along with everyone that’s watching this channel, just watched you throw one hell of a cannon to Posada over there.” Baby Nicole blushed dark with a shy smile. “What’s your name, Kid?” 

       “Nicole Haught.” 

       “Hot?” He questioned with a small laugh. 

       “Haught,” Baby Nicole repeated with a little more accentuation that brought out her drawl. 

       “Haught, gotcha,” Garrette said with a nod. 

       “Every damn time,” Waverly sighed, looking down at her with a tiny smirk. 

       “Says the one who’s been a Haught for only, like, five months,” she huffed, shaking her head at her when she winked.

       Garrette flicked his eyes to Liz and the camera shifted towards her. “And are you Mom?”

       Baby Nicole let out a bark of laughter and Liz snorted, shoving her arm. “God, no. I’m the cool aunt. Name’s Liz.” 

       Waverly smiled as she watched Baby Nicole standing beside her trying to contain her laughter, glancing down to see the tiny smile on her wife’s face as well. She looked back up at the TV and let Liz’s image melt into her brain. She had seen a few pictures of her, especially here at the condo, but seeing her on video was different. It made her seem more real, and it just made Waverly’s heart hurt for Nicole that much more. 

       Liz truly was a beautiful woman. She almost mirrored the body type Nicole had now, and they shared their dimples and doe eyes. Though, aside from barely being a ginger, her face was slimmer than Nicole’s and her jaw was sharper on the edges. Personally, Waverly thought she looked like Nicole morphed with Ruby Rose, but that was just her opinion. 

       “Alright, Nicole,” Garrette started. “How old are you?” 

       “13,” she answered. 

       “13? Wow.” He shook his head. “What, uh, what’d Posada say your pop time was over there just a second ago?” 

       “2.03,” Baby Nicole said with the biggest grin. “I’ve always been told Ima good catcher, but . . .” She glanced over to Liz with wide eyes. “I never believed it til now.” 

       “Oh, I’d say more than a good catcher, Kid. You’re going places with an arm like that.” 

       Baby Nicole blushed dark again, and Liz wrapped her arm around her, pulling her closer and rubbing her hand on her head. “You’re gonna make me proud ‘n be the first chick in the MLB, right?” 

       “Duh,” Baby Nicole grinned.

       Garrette continued on with a few more questions for the both of them, but Waverly pulled her eyes from the screen and looked down at Nicole, humming softly as she pressed a kiss to her forehead and wiped the tear from her face. “It’s ok,” she whispered gently. 

       “I miss her,” Nicole mumbled, closing her eyes as she pushed her face into her neck. 

       “I know, Baby,” she sighed, hugging her closer. “But look.” She nudged her a little, getting her to look towards the TV again when she nodded towards it. “You’ve got this to remember her with- Plus a bunch of other things, too.”

       Nicole swallowed, biting her bottom lip to keep it from wobbling as she slowly nodded. “. . . I know.” 

       “It’s not the same as having her here, but you’ve seen what her tombstone says. She wouldn’t want you like this, Honey. You’ve gotta keep remembering that.”

       The redhead let out a shaky sigh, wiggling her head a bit to rid it of the emotions that were clogging it. “She didn’t live to watch me cry about her dying,” she mumbled, referencing the quote that she had just mentioned. Nicole wiped her face and leaned the side of her head against her shoulder, letting out a breath as she watched on. “She’d smack the shit out of me right now if she could.” 

       Waverly let out a soft chuckle, letting her hand slide down her arm. “Then let’s give her a reason not to and watch this. I’m interested in what Baby Nicole’s favorite ballpark food was.” 

       “Ooh! Pulled pork nachos,” Nicole said in time with Baby Nicole, looking up at her with a small smile. “It’s always been pulled pork nachos, Darlin’.”

       Waverly rolled her eyes with a sigh, “God, you’re so American.” 

.  .  .

       “Everybody good?” Waverly asked from the driver’s seat of the Rover. She got the consensus of an agreement, so she put it in reverse and backed out of the condo’s driveway, pulling away. They were off to grab a nice breakfast before they headed to the cemetery. She hadn’t figured that she was going to be the one driving, but Nicole, one, was only running on however much sleep she had gotten before her night terror, and, two, had curled up on the passenger’s seat when they had loaded up. Waverly was just lucky the vehicle had a built-in GPS, so she was good to go as she navigated herself through early Las Vegas traffic. 

       She herself had managed to get some sleep after Gus and Mama wandered out of their room right before the Rangers game ended. She had pushed against it, but Nicole had told her she could head up to bed, and Gus and her mother had promised that they’d watch over her until she fell asleep. But Nicole unfortunately never was able to. 

       Waverly had pretty much done everything for her wife that morning. She was the one that had to drag her off the couch so they could go upstairs to get ready. She had gotten out the outfit for the day that she had packed. She had even drug her into the shower with her and made her stand under the boiling hot stream of water until she got the motivation to wash the sweat from the night before off of herself. 

       It was testing and pushed her buttons, but Waverly knew she wasn’t doing any of it on purpose, and all she wanted to do was make her feel better, so she did it with little complaints.

       Waverly pulled the car into a parking spot outside the breakfast restaurant they had decided on and climbed out. She closed her door as everyone exited the vehicle and walked around to Nicole’s side, opening the door and tapping her thumb on the window frame when she saw she hadn’t made any move to follow. “C’mon, Sweetheart.” She held her hand out, opening and closing it a few times with a soft smile when she met her eyes. Nicole sighed, taking her hand and getting out, interlocking their fingers as they all made their way inside. 

       A waitress took them to the circle booth in one of the corners of the restaurant. Waverly gave the Sheriff an encouraging nudge and she climbed in, scooting around to the middle. Waverly followed and the other four sat on either side of them, Wynonna setting Alice in the highchair that the waitress set at the end of the table. 

       She took their drink orders after setting the menus out, turning away to go grab them. Waverly opened her menu, looking towards the redhead to see that she was more focused on spinning her ring with her thumb, her eyes to her lap instead of on the menu. “Hey.” She grabbed her left hand to still her finger, letting go and tipping her head up to get her to meet her eyes. “Find something to eat, yea?” 

       “Just want my chocolate milk,” she mumbled, leaning her head on her shoulder and holding one of the brunette’s hands with both of her’s in her lap. 

       “You’re gonna eat something, Nic,” Waverly sighed, squeezing one of her hands as she pulled the menu down so they could both see it. “At least a pancake or something.” Nicole stayed quiet the whole time that she flicked through it, even after she had already decided what she wanted herself. Waverly shook her head with a little defeat, flicking the page one last time and almost closing it and just letting it go, but she paused, tracing her eyes over one of the items and feeling her lips pull up into a tiny smile. She slipped her hand out from Nicole’s grip and dropped it to her black skinny jean covered thigh, running her hand across it a few times with a squeeze. 

       The waitress came back to their table after a couple of minutes, handing out their drinks and taking their orders. Wynonna, of course, ordered the most expensive breakfast dish on the menu as she poured the small cup of apple juice she had gotten into one of Alice’s bottles and set it in front of her. Doc ordered what he wanted and then Waverly ordered her own food before looking down at Nicole for a second. “And, uh, can I also get the chocolate chip Mickey Mouse waffle?”

       The redhead lifted her head to look at Waverly, and the whole table smiled softly when the tiniest of smiles pushed on Nicole’s face for the first time that morning. Even the waitress smiled a little, though she really had no idea what was going on. She cleared her throat,  “And d’you want the fruit and whipped cream or the ice cream on that?” 

       Waverly looked to Nicole again with a raise of her brows and she threw her a look. “Ice cream,” the brunette answered with a chuckle. 

       “And sausage or bacon?” 

       Waverly looked towards her, getting shot yet another look. She let out a sigh with a shake of her head. “Both.” The waitress laughed a little as she wrote it down with a nod before moving to Gus and Michelle. Waverly ran her thumb over Nicole’s knuckles with a smile. “Are you gonna eat now?” 

       “Yea,” she answered quietly, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before leaning her head back on her shoulder and sipping on the chocolate milk cradled in her hands through the straw. 

       The brunette grinned, letting out a small sigh of relief. “Thought so.” 

.  .  .

       All of the women waited in the lobby area of the restaurant for Doc to get back from changing the baby in the bathroom. (He had lost the coin toss, their common way of making the decision as to who would do the job after Doc got over his fear of changing diapers.) Nicole was the only one that was turned around looking out the window to the parking lot, as everyone else was leaning back on the window sills facing the glass doors. 

       “. . . Uh oh, he’s dad walking,” Wynonna mumbled, shooting Waverly a worried glance and pushing herself off the window sill as Doc headed towards them with a look on his face none could quite decipher. 

       The cowboy pushed through the doors with Alice held to his shoulder, her little jeans in his hand, and the diaper bag, unzipped, in the other hand. “I believe it is best that we haul some ass.” He rushed right out the door, the rest of them tailing quickly behind him. 

       “John Henry, would you like to, I dunno, share with the class ?” Wynonna questioned with a huff as they all climbed into the Range Rover. 

       Waverly started the car, looking up at him with a deathly tip of her head in question as she pulled out once everyone was sitting. “Please do.” 

       Doc cleared his throat as he got Alice back into her pants, setting her in the car seat and buckling her up. “Well . . .” He sat back in his seat and removed his hat after he buckled himself up. “I was just mindin’ my own business, as one does in a john, when a fine young fellow ‘round Waverly’s age strolled in. I noticed the look I’d been sent when he took his first gander at what it was I was doing. I thought that’d be it, for he moved along and did his business.” Doc paused and looked towards Wynonna’s raised brow beside him. “But I was wrong with my assumption.” 

       “Would you get on with it?” Michelle huffed from behind him. 

       He pursed his lips but continued. “The fellow didn’t even bother to wash his hands after they were acquainted with his-”

       “Doc,” Waverly groaned.

       He cleared his throat. “He walked back on over t’ me and crossed his arms, so I took the same position and kindly asked what his problem was . . .”

-  -  -

       “What’re you doing, Man?” He questioned with a laugh.

       Doc raised a brow, nudging the brim of his hat up. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

       “Why’re you changin’ your kid? Ain’t that your wife’s job?”

       The cowboy’s nostrils flared and he took a step towards him. “If you truly believe that, I pray to God that you’re never gifted a child of your own.” 

       He put his hands up and backed up with a chuckle. “Hey, all I’m sayin’ is that’s pussy work right there.”

       Doc’s lip trembled with the snarl that took over his face and he shot forward, nailing the idiot with a punch that sent him to the floor. The man let out a yelp and grabbed his face as Doc moved to stand over him, ripping one away from his face. “Lemme tell ya somethin’, Son. There ain’t nothin’ pussy ‘bout bein’ a father.” He moved away and gathered all his things, throwing Alice over his shoulder and shaking his hand out before heading out the door, leaving the jackass on the floor in his dust.

-  -  -

        “Aye, gimme some!” Wynonna grinned, sticking her hand out. He raised a brow at her in confusion and her face lost it’s excitement. “Give me a high five, Henry.” Doc’s eyes widened in realization and he smiled as he did so.

       “I’m proud of you, Doc,” Waverly said with a smile. “That shit-ticket better be glad it was you and not me.”

       “Why? Cause you would have droned on about breaking gender norms for 17 hours?” Wynonna questioned. 

       The brunette flicked her eyes up to the mirror and shot her a glare. “I’m the one in charge of keeping all of you alive in this vehicle right now, remember that.” Wynonna’s eyes widened at her. 

       “Really, though,” Gus smiled. “Good on ya, Cowboy.”

       “But let’s refrain from doin’ anything else illegal over the next 24 hours cause, I dunno about y’all, but going to jail in Vegas during the week of The Fourth of July doesn’t sound like a fun idea to me,” Michelle grumbled. 

“Ditto,” most of them mumbled in agreement.

.  .  .

       Nicole chewed her thumbnail as Waverly slowly turned into the cemetery. The chatter in the car had quieted as she slowly drove along the asphalt road for a bit until she slowly rolled to a stop. Waverly shut the car off and looked towards her wife, pulling her hand away from her mouth. “. . . You wanna go alone first like normal?”

       Nicole swallowed with a shake of her head as she unbuckled. “I want all of y’all there.” 

       Waverly nodded, slowly climbing out of the car as everyone did the same. Wynonna got out and grabbed Alice out of her seat, looking up at the redhead in beside her and giving her a small smile as she held her out for her to hold. Nicole smiled a little, scooping her up and hooking her arm under her butt. The baby grabbed at the collar of her navy button-up, pulling her third button undone when she tugged at it. Wynonna let out a huff, trading her shirt in her little fist out for her elephant teether toy and straightening the black bow on her head. “That’s Waves’ job, Kiddo.” 

       Alice shook her toy around, making it rattle as she pointed her other hand out towards the brunette as she walked over. “Wavey.” 

       Waverly smiled, sliding her hand down Nicole’s arm as she pressed a kiss to Alice’s cheek. “Ain’t nobody allowed to undress your auntie but me,” she grinned, looking up at her Nicole with a wink. She ran her thumb over the dimple that popped up on her wife’s face before dropping her hand and turning, gently pressing it against the small of her back as they walked around the car. 

       Nicole boosted Alice, glancing down at her as she leaned her head on her shoulder with the toy in her mouth. She looked up at the rest of them and let out a shaky breath. “Alright . . . Let’s go.” 

       Nicole led the way over as they walked through a row or two before she turned and stopped, dropping down onto the grass and laying her legs flat, plonking Alice down in between them to lean back against her. Waverly was next to sit, taking a seat beside her with her head on her shoulder, and Wynonna was next, dropping down on the other side and wrapping her arms around one of the redhead’s. Mama and Gus sat right behind them, and Michelle gave Nicole’s shoulder a squeeze as Doc sat beside Wynonna, hitching his knee and placing his hat on top of it. 

       “So . . .” Wynonna started slowly after a few minutes. “This is the sexy son of a bitch that helped shape you into the Flamin’ Haught asshole that you are?” 

       She got shot a glare from Doc, chastised by Gus and Michelle, and a Jesus fucking Christ from Waverly, but Nicole let out a snort as she looked towards her. “Damn right, it is.” 

       Wynonna grinned, giving her arm a squeeze. “She could have maybe dislodged the giant stick that’s been up your ass since I met you, but still. I think she did a pretty good job.”

       The redhead traced her eyes over the words on the headstone. “Yea . . . I think we all know I don’t share much of who I am with my mom. Besides, ya know.” She made a vague gesture to her face and hair. “The only things I share with my father are some of his anger issues and drinking tendencies.” She let out a sigh and Waverly dropped her hand to her thigh. “The majority of me is things I shared with Liz. From my sense of humor to my music taste to how protective I am over people I love and care about. That was all her just as much as it is me- Hell, a shit ton of it’s from her influence. She’s the one who taught me that it was ok to be myself, she’s the one who taught me to challenge those who looked down on me, she’s the one who gave it her everything to try and make me not be the depressed teenager that hated the world, and when she couldn’t, she’s the one that taught me to not give up on people cause she never gave up on me. And-” Nicole sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, locking and unlocking her jaw a few times. 

       Waverly squeezed her hand when she felt for it to ground herself, looking up at her with a nod of assurance to get her to continue. “And I just wish she was here to see me now . . . with all of you. Cause she believed in me when I didn’t. I didn’t think I’d ever find people that truly loved me- that I’d ever find my people. That’s why I got married to a girl I had known for about five hours. I thought that was the best I would ever get, but . . .” The Sheriff looked towards Waverly, and she smiled as she wiped the tear that got stuck in her dimple. “Then I found you. The love of my life and final piece of me that I was missing. And with you, I found Nonna.” She looked towards her, seeing the genuine emotions on her face that were rarely there. “The annoying piece of horse shit that I wanna shoot 99% of the time who’s also my best friend that helps me find the balance in everything.” 

       “Shut up. I’m just the girl with the big ass . . . ass,” Wynonna mumbled. 

       “Girl,” Nicole said with a tip of her head.

       Wynonna pursed her lips before sighing as she leaned her head on her shoulder, “You right, them boots is tight.”

       The redhead grinned and gave her a fist bump, “Yea, top-shelf.” She dropped her hand back to rest on Alice’s stomach as she turned her head. “Anyway . . . Cause of y’all, I found Gus.” The older woman gave her a soft smile. “She’s one hell of a woman that ain’t afraid to knock you on your ass until you learn to pick yourself up again and has treated me like she’s known me my whole life since the moment I met her.”

       Gus leaned forward, grabbing the side of her head and dragging her towards her as she sat forward so she could push a kiss to her cheek. “I love ya, Kid.” 

       Nicole gave her a smile. “Love you, too.” She turned her head in the other direction. “And because of the three of you, I found Michelle . . . Since she is my mother-in-law, I’ve learned I need to fear her every second of my life.” 

       “You bet your ass,” Michelle said with a sharp nod. 

       The redhead gave her a toothy smile before clearing her throat and continuing, “. . . But along with being a strong ass woman that doesn’t take shit from anyone and is willing to do whatever to protect her family , you also kinda made my wife, so I guess thanks for that, too.”

       Michelle blinked at her for a moment, jaw opening and closing a few times before she nodded. “She’s one of  . . . my favorite creations.” 

       “One of?” Waverly questioned with a huff.

       She let out a sigh, grinning just the slightest bit. “Fine. You’re my favorite, but don’t tell your sister.” 

       Michelle threw Waverly a wink as Wynonna let out a loud scoff, “Hey!”

       The older woman looked towards her and pulled on her lip that she had pouted out. “That was a joke, ya know. Yeesh.” 

       Wynonna's brows raised, and she pulled her lip back as she turned back forward. “Yea . . . of course I did.” 

       “Mhm,” they all muttered, and Wynonna rolled her eyes.

       Nicole shook her head at all of them. “Anyway.” She brought all of their attention back to her and continued on with what she had been saying. "Somewhere in the midst of everything, I found Doc. Not only was he what solidified my belief to just expect the unexpected in Purgatory, but he’s also proved to me one of the, uh, most important things I’ve learned, and . . . it’s that not all dads are garbage.” The redhead glanced down at Alice with a small smile, looking back up at him and seeing the awe in his eyes. “Cause before you, I really found it hard to believe . . . but you’ve loved her to the moon and back since she was in the womb and you really stepped up to the plate when you needed to.” 

       “Why, that’s only thanks to you , Sheriff,” Doc mumbled.

       Nicole shook her head. “Deep down, I know you would’ve done the right thing and came home on your own. I think you know that, too.” Doc pursed his lips and dipped his head some, basically proving her right. She smiled as she looked down at Alice, turning her around and lifting her out in front of her for a second before pulling her back in and pressing a kiss to her face. “And for you.” She let the baby stand in front of her, rubbing her thumbs on her stomach. “I didn’t know I could love something so tiny until you! And you make me soft, so I’m wrapped around your wittle baby finger and will do anything you want me to.” 

       “No, really?” Waverly muttered, rolling her eyes at Nicole’s baby voice that really made her heart melt. 

       “And you’ve given me baby fever, so if I could get Aunt Wavey pregnant, she would be!” They all groaned at that and Nicole pouted her lip as she lifted Alice, hugging her closer as she looked towards her wife with puppy dog eyes. “But she says no babies yet.” 

       Waverly shook her head at her with a tiny smile that she was trying to hold back, rolling her eyes as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of her wife’s mouth. “A couple more years, Love.”

       “A couple?” Nicole questioned, lip still pouted.

       “Just a couple,” she assured with a chuckle, pinching her thumb and pointer finger together. “I don’t wanna deal with that during my first year of teaching.” 

       The pout on Nicole’s face left and her brows raised as she looked back towards Alice, memories of the hard times with her as a newborn flashing rapidly through her mind. She looked back towards Waverly with a quick nod. “Yea, on second thought, maybe a couple years . . .” 

       The brunette giggled, leaning her head back on her shoulder. “Thought so.” 

       Nicole sighed, setting the baby back on the grass. “Where was I going with all of this?- Oh, right. Uh, I never believed I’d find my people. People that wanted me for who I was and didn’t try to change me into someone I wasn’t. And . . . I just wish Liz was here to meet all of y’all. Not only so I could prove to her that I did it, but to prove to her that she was right. I was able to become more than the kid that hated the world. I’ve got my dream job, my dream home, friends that care about me, family that accepts me, a wife that puts up with my dumbass, and two fur babies that I love to death.” Nicole shrugged again, looking around at all of them. “I’m just . . . really happy with where I’m at right now, and it’s cause of all y’all, so thanks . . . for being my found family. I’ve always wanted one and I’m glad I’ve finally got one.”

       “Awe,” Wynonna mumbled, turning and wrapping her arms tightly around her. “We love you, Haughty.” 

       Nicole laughed as everyone piled on for a group hug, almost knocking her over. “Ow, ok, too tight- Wynonna, let go of my boob.”

       Alice let out a squeal, wiggling out from the tangle of arms around her and pushing herself to her feet. She walked forward the couple of feet that it took to get to the headstone and stopped in front of it, pressing her hands against the face of it.

       She could have done it to any part of it. The words on the quote at the bottom. Her birth date or death date. Elizabeth or Miller, too. But out of all the marks on the front that meant nothing to her brain yet, Alice chose to trace her little finger over the L in Liz that was in quotes between her first and last name. 

       Nicole swallowed back the emotions crawling up her throat and pulled out of the hug, scooting forward and looping one of her arms around her middle, pressing a kiss to her temple. Alice turned her head towards her and gave her a big smile, deep-dimpled, just like her Mama. The redhead let out a shaky breath as she looked towards the headstone in thought before quickly pushing herself up with her niece in her arms. “Alright, let’s go.”

       “W- Nic, we just got here,” Waverly huffed as the redhead was already halfway to the car. 

       Nicole turned around to face them with a grin. “And if we wanna have enough time to have a beach day, we need to get going!” 

       “But we aren’t leaving for Cali until-”

       “Liz’s favorite place in the whole wide world was the ocean- She loved it even more than me. And I’ll be damned if we ain’t gonna go live it up there on her birthday.” 

       They all looked at one another as Nicole climbed into the Rover before slowly smiling and shaking their heads as they pushed off the grass and followed. Who was to argue about leaving a day early to get to the ocean? 

       They all piled into the Rover and Waverly buckled herself up in the driver’s seat, looking towards Nicole with a raise of her brows. “Are you sure you want to go a day early?”

       She nodded with a smile. “I’m sure.” 

       Waverly let out a sigh as she started the car. “Alright. See if you can change the dates for the Airbnb then. We’ll go pick our bags up and head off.”

       Nicole smiled as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, looking out Waverly’s window as they pulled away and saying a silent goodbye. She knew this is what Liz would have wanted. She wouldn’t have wanted them to sit there and be sad as they talked about her. She would want them out having fun, living life to the fullest at her favorite place in the world. 

       And that’s exactly what they were going to do.

.  .  .

       “Oh my God, I see it!” Wynonna gasped with her face pressed against the car window when the ocean came into view on her side.

       It hadn’t taken them much time at all to get their things from the condo and head off, so they had made pretty good time getting to California. Waverly chuckled as she drove on, turning down the road of their beach house and scanning her eyes around until she found it. 

       “Finally,” she breathed out, turning into the driveway and putting the car in park, leaning back in her seat to stretch some. Her head snapped towards Nicole when she felt her push something into her hand, watching as her door flew open right after. She didn’t know what was happening until she looked down at the wedding ring that she had handed over, snapping her head up and watching her sprinting towards the water. She sat up quickly with wide eyes. “Nicole Rayleigh Haught. I swear to God, if she-”

       Yep. She was.

       As Nicole ran, she was undoing her clothes. She first got her shirt unbuttoned and off of her body and then came her belt. Waverly groaned as she got out of the car, walking over and putting her hands on her hips as she watched her almost fall over when she pulled one of her shoes off, doing the same exact thing when she got rid of the other. They were all out of the car and watching by the time she managed to strip her jeans, leaving her in just a sports bra and her boxers as she continued towards the ocean. 

       “If anyone asks, we don’t know her,” Waverly mumbled. 

       “You mean us?” Wynonna questioned.

       “What?-” Waverly looked towards her, eyes rolling far back in her head when she watched her drop her black jeans on the pile of the rest of her clothes. “Nonna.” 

       “Cowabunga, Bitches!” She shouted as she ran after the redhead, letting out a whoop. 

       Nicole reached the water and trotted through it until it was deep enough to fall into. She popped back up and turned around, grinning ear to ear when she saw that Wynonna was halfway to her. “C’mon, Earp!” She shouted as she slicked her hair back to get it out of her face.  

       Wynonna ran into the water, letting out a yelp when the cold water touched her legs. “Oh, fuck! This was a shitty id-” 

       Nicole launched herself at her and knocked her back into the water, blocking at her arms that she was flailing when they came back up. “Ow!” She complained, trying to swim away from her. 

       “It’s cold!” Wynonna whined.

       “Wow, who knew!?” She laughed. “It’s not even that b-” She turned her head towards the shore and smirked when she saw just what she was hoping for: Waverly and Doc running for them in just their underwear.

       “Look who decided to join the party,” Wynonna deadpanned as they each reached them, Waverly climbing Nicole like a tree as she squealed about the cold water. “Doesn’t look like you’re pretending you don’t know her, Babygirl.” 

       Waverly lifted her head from where she had buried it in Nicole’s neck, shooting her a look. “Hey, ok. I thought about it and decided, ya know what, who the fuck cares?”

       “There you go, Baby,” Nicole grinned. “See, I don’t care if people see me in my pizza boxers.”

       Waverly cocked a brow, sitting back and looking down to see that she was, in fact, in pizza boxers. She looked back up at her with a snort. “I don’t know if I like those or Doc’s tiger print ones better.” 

       Nicole and Wynonna looked towards him, and the brunette let out a bark of laughter as she moved towards him. “Oh, hell yea. Doc wins.” 

       “I personally think these are quite fashionable,” he mumbled with his hands on his hips. 

       “You do you, Cowboy,” Wynonna sighed, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards deeper water. “Where’s our child?” 

       “With her grandmother,” Doc informed before dropping to float on his back. “I believe they are fixin’ to pick up the Sheriff’s trail of clothes and then take everythin’ inside for us.” 

       “How kind,” Wynonna drawled mockingly, turning her head towards Nicole and Waverly when the redhead tossed her out in front of her. “Damn, Ginger. It’s been, like, two minutes and you’re already red.” 

       Nicole looked down at herself, seeing the slight pink tint on her arms when she lifted them out of the water. “Yea. No surprise there.” 

       Waverly swam over and grabbed onto the redhead since she couldn’t touch where they were at, looking pointedly at her as she was lifted onto the redhead’s hips again. “You need sunblock.-” She pulled up on her bra when Nicole glanced down with a smirk. “And I need to put a real swimsuit on cause I don’t wanna flash anyone.” 

       “Too late for that,” the redhead mumbled. 

       She rolled her eyes, pushing off of her and swimming for the shore. “C’mon, Perv. You, too, Nonna. We need to help Gus and Mama.” 

       “Fine,” she groaned, dragging Doc to follow them out. 

       Nicole stood at the edge with Waverly when she reached it and looked out for a few seconds, both waiting on those two and taking in the view. They reached the sand and Wynonna narrowed her eyes at the smirk on the Sheriff’s lips. Her eyes slowly widened and she shook her head. “Don’t you dare-”

       “Last one there changes the baby!” Nicole shouted, already pedaling through the hot sand towards the beach house, and, of course they all took off after her.