WHAT: Waverly and Nicole set a course for their future (and fangirl a little at the end) WHERE: Earp Homestead land WHEN: This evening about sunset WARNINGS: Nope STATUS: Complete
It felt like a jinx to say that, to even think it, but overall, Waverly found Vallo to be a reprieve from Purgatory. Her hometown was nonstop - some sort of supernatural bullshit day after day, night after night, back-to-back-to-back. For a long time, it felt like it was truly never ending, and it had only just began to ease before she and Nicole ended up here.
Oh, things were definitely eventful in Vallo - hectic and insane and sometimes downright dangerous, there was no denying that! But it wasn’t all on them. Wynonna didn’t have to be her Champion or the Earp Heir anymore. She didn’t have to take on every demon in town to protect them (not that it stopped her but still!). There were so many people willing to take up that fight here, at least an entire Purgatory’s worth.
So, Waverly was focusing on the smaller things, the life things. She and Doc had been building and planning to convert the barn into a proper home for months. She had ideas and thought maybe she’d move herself and Nicole in when it was all done, but that wouldn’t be for a while. It had gotten a good, fresh coat of paint, some repair work done inside, but they had plans to add in a whole second story, put in electricity, plumbing, the whole nine yards. Now that winter had passed, they’d start looking for contractors, but she figured it would be another six months, at least, before anything’s done and final.
In the meantime, they made do on the Homestead. The house was a little tight, but she had all the people she loves most in the world with her, just a few steps down the hall at any given moment. That was about all she could ever ask for. But now that they’d been here a year (give or take), she figured it was time to really take the reins and figure out what she wanted to do. Between Shorty’s, the DOA, and the projects she’d gotten going around here, she’d never been lacking, but she was thinking about personally now.
She loves Nicole. Marrying her was one of the best choices she ever made. They were very much still in their honeymoon phase, even a year down the road. Nothing truly bad had come for them since they’d been here, so it was easy to be that way, easy to feel like every day is the day after their wedding and they can just be happy. They knew they had more in their future, though; they saw it - their little boy, perfect little troublemaker that he was. Waverly wants Jameson, more than she could possibly say; she wants a horde of babies with Nicole’s eyes and smile and maybe her hair because it’s long and luxurious and she’s always been a little vain about it.
All of that required one of the things Waverly does best: planning. So, one day, when the afternoon was drawing to a close and the sun would be setting in about an hour, she drags Nicole out to the Wynonna’s truck (which she’d borrowed from Wynonna, padding down the bed with cushions and pillows and blankets for the evening) and drove them out to the edge of the land they’ve claimed as part of the Homestead. It was bigger now than it ever was in Purgatory, and yes, Waverly had definitely thought of building more from the ground up. But one construction project at a time.
She popped the back open and curled up with her wife, watching the sun slowly dipping down in the sky, back to Nicole’s front, head resting against her shoulder, watching the sun come down. “Did you ever think we’d be here so long?”
Hearing about Waverly’s adventure in the Garden of Eden had tamed the notion of Heaven in Nicole’s mind but she knew if it existed how people always spoke about it, this moment would be hers. Neverending time spent with the love of her life, the two of them nestled together under a blanket draped across their shoulders, comfortable, relaxed. Happy. When Waverly joined her, Nicole pressed her lips to the top of her wife’s head as she laid it on her shoulder, eyes closing as she breathed in the scent of Waverly’s shampoo.
“Mmm, no.” In fact, Nicole spent most of their first few weeks believing this was yet another level to Purgatory’s neverending shenanigans. Maybe actual Purgatory, not good, not bad, just a waystation to wherever they would be thrown next. “I kept waiting for something to go wrong the moment we decided to settle. Not like this place tends to do but the way Purgatory used to. Instead we…were kept? Maybe? I don’t know. No prophecies or heirs or wars. Just us being people.”
One thing she did miss about Purgatory though was knowing what she was meant to do. She was the sheriff, the angel shield, part of the crew that kept Purgatory’s madness from breaking out into the world as a whole. Here she was still trying to find her footing, joining the defense teams, working at Shorty’s, offering assistance to the DOA when things got crazier. Something had to click. Her personal life being wonderful, her marriage with Waverly the best thing that ever happened to her, would balance with her work life.
“How do you feel about that?” she asked softly, resting her cheek against the top of Waverly’s head. “About being here so long?”
Waverly hummed. Being kept was a good way to put it. If there was one thing they’d learned about Vallo during their time here, it was that their comings-and-goings weren’t up to them. They could have been there for a day and disappeared again — according to Wynonna, that had happened before with Nicole. And before that, there’d been two other versions of them that were around for months. She was pretty sure the versions they were now had the record, though.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess…it almost doesn’t feel like it’s been a year. But it has, and this feels…permanent, at this point. And I like it here, a lot better than Purgatory.”
She’d always imagined traveling, growing up in a tiny little town like Purgatory. She was definitely one of those cliches who wanted to be anywhere else than their hometown. She’d come around in recent years, accepted her fate when she’d found out she was stuck in the Ghost River Triangle. Purgatory was home, regardless of its crazy, and being there with Nicole made it okay.
Now — well, they’d traveled but definitely not in any way she’d expected. They were still essentially trapped, but Vallo was every big city and country town she’d ever dreamed of visiting all crammed into one space. She really did like it here.
“Time flies when you’re having fun. Or being attacked by metal animals. Or being sucked into a Lifetime movie. Or becoming someone else. Or…” Nicole could have continued but decided that was enough reason for why a year seemed so much shorter. “I like it better than Purgatory too. Anywhere with you is home to me but here we’re…free. Wynonna isn’t the heir, you don’t have to worry about the Garden here.”
Despite saying the words, the concept had never occurred to Nicole until right then as she said it. Free. They were able to do whatever they wanted, build lives how they wanted instead of planning around what ifs and maybes. Well, Vallo could still send them back at any time and they might need a plan for that but if they spent their life waiting for it to happen and never did anything just in case…what a waste of life and family that they fought so hard for.
“We can do anything we want here, baby,” she murmured, finding Waverly’s hand under the blanket wrapped around them to grip tightly. “I have a few ideas of what we could do with that freedom but I want to hear what you think first.”
Oh yeah, Vallo was far from perfect. Waverly would never claim otherwise. There were situations that came up, usually on at least a monthly basis, but everyone banded together to take care of it. The fate of this place wasn’t solely on their shoulders; in some ways, it was hard to accept, but in others, it was a relief. And she enjoyed the work she was doing, especially with the Welcoming Committee. Putting people at ease when they first arrived here (or trying to; some were more stubborn than others) was sort of perfect for her.
“I want to start a family,” she said quietly. “What Doc and Wynonna have with Alice and the new baby coming… I want that with you. I want our baby.” She missed him, more than she usually let on. He was a little troublemaker, but he was theirs, and she wanted that experience. “Maybe not now, but I figured…we oughta start planning, you know?”
The breath hitched in Nicole’s chest and her grip on Waverly’s hand tightened. The thought of Jameson, the possible future with a little boy that was theirs, the little family they built together, crossed Nicole’s mind more often than not after his short visit months previous. While she and Waverly could talk about anything, the step in that direction seemed so big and she’d waited instead, waited to see any indication that Waverly felt the same.
And here it was. “Me too.” Nicole’s affirmation was breathless and she drew in a deep breath, smile growing. “I want us to have our little boy together, to be his mothers. You would make a fantastic mother, baby.” She leaned in to kiss Waverly hard, enthusiastic and passionate. “Yes. Yes, I want that too with you.”
Waverly chuckled into that kiss, surprised but pleased, kissing back with just as much fervor. “Good,” she breathed, hands raising to cup Nicole’s face, stroking down her face. “Wouldn’t wanna be alone in all that. Single parenthood’s not exactly for me. Not when my hot wife is gonna be just as fantastic a mom.”
She admired people who could do the single parent thing, but it just wasn’t her. And she knew she’d never have to, not as long as she had Nicole. She wouldn’t be even considering this journey if her wife wasn’t just as receptive. Judging by that reaction, that big smile on her face, she knew this wasn’t a show Nicole was putting on for her benefit.
“I would follow you anywhere, Waverly Earp, and never leave you alone but I also want you to know that I am very, very with you in this matter.” She snuggled closer to Waverly under the blanket, not that there had been much room between them to begin with.
Nicole gazed out at the property, thoughtful. “I’m not sure I would be this sure if we discussed it in Purgatory with…well, Purgatory being Purgatory. But here, even when things go sideways, it’s not targeted at our family and we have family here that we won’t have to worry so much. All these people we can rely on if we’re out of commission because we forgot who we are for a moment or something,” she said quietly. “It’s never been a question of having a baby with you but the environment the child would come into. Here is perfect for us.”
Waverly re-settled into Nicole’s arms, back against her front, arms slipping beneath the blanket draped around them. She was glad they’d brought it; it wasn’t winter anymore, but it was still cooler in the evening as spring slowly began making way for summer. She could feel the cool breeze already, as the sun sunk lower and lower in the sky.
“I get it,” she said, and she meant that. Purgatory wasn’t exactly the most hospitable environment, and while Waverly wanted kids, even before meeting Jameson, she probably would have foregone them back home. Things may have relaxed in her hometown, but there was still always the potential for danger, and it would be their responsibility to clean it up. She didn’t mind being the hero there, but it was nice not to have to play that part here in Vallo.
“Let’s just hope we stick around long enough to make it happen.” There was always the possibility they’d be gone tomorrow. She tended not to linger in those thoughts, but it was always there in the back of her mind. Vallo wasn’t Purgatory, but it had its own unique set of challenges.
That last part hadn’t dampened Nicole’s enthusiasm but it did stick in her mind since they met the little boy in their possible future, the idea that they could disappear and leave him behind. “We will need to put a plan in place just in case. Work out who would take him if we…” Nicole trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence.
She shook her head. “As much as I hate to say it, it’s just like writing a will and we’ll make sure it stays up to date since things can change so quickly and suddenly.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Waverly agreed. It was practical, and she had always been a proponent of practical things. She’d been worrying about a will for a long time - more for Wynonna than herself, though, since the Earp Heir tended to be doomed by circumstance. Here - well, it was basically the same, honestly. The whims of Vallo decided their fate so they’d need to be safe. “I bet I can get recommendations from the DOA to get us started.”
“We need more lawyers among our numbers.” Regina Mills was a good option when she’d been in Vallo and she knew Roz Walker had been interested in going to school for law but that seemed to be it. “That sounds good though, baby. I think that’s what we need to get started and take our next steps.”
The smile from earlier returned and Nicole glanced at her wife, her beautiful, amazing, intelligent wife with whom she was moving towards building a family with. “We’re going to do this.”
It was true that there didn’t seem to be many lawyers among the considerable number of Outlanders here. Lots of Americans, sure, but there were also a ton of people from a place called Exandria, people from current times, past, future. It was a big mixed bag, but the lawyers were few to none. It would probably make a good joke, but that was a task for another time.
“We’re at least gonna start,” Waverly chuckled. She didn’t foresee there being many obstacles in their way, but who knew! Anything was possible around here. “What about you, baby? What else do you want to do here? I know that beautiful brain of yours must have plenty of ideas.”
Nicole laughed softly. “I won’t shame you if you find wrinkly and gray beautiful,” she teased Waverly gently. “Honestly? Before I was having trouble finding my footing, what I wanted here, but putting that piece in place? That we’re going to try? It helps. I have us, I have our future, and I’m going to work from there. Maybe see about doing more work for the DOA or at Shorty’s?”
“Well, you’re always welcome at Shorty’s,” Waverly said easily. Their old bar had gotten popular out in this neck of the woods, and they were usually pretty filled up in the evenings. Trivia Night was a particularly big hit, and she’d even ended up doing some digging into Vallo history so the locals had something else specific to them. It was a good time, and she enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than she ever had at home - might have something to do with being the one calling the shots.
“And I thought you mentioned Carol said something to you about hiking? You absolutely need to go hiking with Captain Marvel, baby! Make you some hot-girl-shit friends. You’d fit right in!” A big smile followed that and a playful kiss to her cheek.
“I think Shorty’s is one of the few things I missed from Purgatory and I’m glad it’s here. We should look into doing the chili cook off again except with a better prize than freedom from false imprisonment.” It also gave her a way to honor Nedley somehow, bring his presence to Vallo with them even if he wasn’t there physically. She missed her pseudo-father figure.
Nicole lightly nudged her. “You too! I mean we talked about bringing our significant others along as well so you and her girlfriend, all us hot girl shit…people.” She tumbled over the last few words, laughter spilling out. “Which does not sound as awesome as when you said it. But yes, absolutely.” She leaned in to Waverly. “Also Captain Marvel!” Nicole mock whispered, sharing her inner fangirling with Waverly.
“And Sara Lance,” Waverly contributed with an equally big smile, pressing her forehead to Nicole’s. Living here was so freaking cool! There were so many people from other worlds, particularly the superheroes they recognized from their movies and TV shows. She had learned quickly not to fangirl at people and tell them she recognized them and knew their life stories because, frankly, that was rude as hell. Sometimes it was hard to believe this wasn’t some whacked out dream. The best kind, though!
“Think they’d come to Shorty’s for your chili cook off? I bet they totally would.” She was all for that plan regardless of whether they got any ‘celebrity-esque’ competitors. She missed Nedley, but she knew how close he and Nicole had been. Of course she was okay with her wife honoring her mentor and their old friend.
“Which is a little awkward when I remember she was my crush when she was fictional. I mean fictional to us. Obviously she’s been real all her life where she came from?” And somewhere they were a TV series which Nicole chose to not dwell on too much for the sake of her sanity.
“I think some people like to cook and some like to eat so as long as there’s food involved why not? We can pick an organization to support and the entry fees will go there and we’ll think up something to award the winners.” She’d never set up a chili cook off before but how hard could it be? She ran Purgatory’s sheriff office after all. Which was a chaotic mess in its own right. “It could be fun or it could be chaos as only our clan can create.”
“I think that sounds like a brilliant idea,” Waverly replied. “Vallo’s people sort of just…accepted us when we popped up here. It’s only right to give some back, and if there’s chaos in the process? Even better.”
This was the good kind of chaos, after all. The kind that didn’t involve sending demons to Hell or turning into a literal angel (which was something she generally preferred not to think about) or spending months in the actual Garden of Eden. She would take some chili-incited chaos any day.