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She couldn’t believe there was a white picket fence.
It was all she could think of as she pulled her truck to a stop in front of the address Waverly had sent her when she finally got in contact with her sister after five years of silence.
Wynonna had been certain that her baby sister moving all the way from Alberta to Quebec would be the most shocking development.
Somehow, the white picket fence was surpassing it.
It wasn’t that Wynonna had thought that Waverly would never settle down somewhere. She knew damn well that, of the three Earp girls, Waverly had always been most likely to have a normal life.
But the stupid fence, around the stupid little house, in the stupid nice little neighborhood… It was almost too normal to believe.
Wynonna got out of her truck after a few moments of internal argument. She examined the two vehicles in the driveway. One was exactly what she would imagine as Waverly’s car, a small red Jeep. The other was as baffling as everything else about the picture in front of Wynonna- it was a large truck with a small trailer attached on the back of it, H & E Landscaping on the car doors.
There didn’t seem to be anyone working on the house or yard, so the truck made no sense to Wynonna. Frowning, tightening her grip on the bottle of wine she had bought when she pulled into town, she walked up to the door and knocked.
The door opened after only a few seconds. Waverly just stood there, staring at her.
She looked older. The same, but older. Or maybe just more mature? Wynonna couldn’t really tell. Her hair was pulled back and she was in jeans and a soft, thin sweatshirt and socks.
Wynonna almost thought that Waverly didn’t actually want her there. Then Waverly surged forward, gripping her big sister in a crushing hug.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Waverly whispered, her voice hiding a sob.
“So am I,” Wynonna murmured, hugging her back just as hard.
As she walked inside, Wynonna found that the house was as neat and simple inside as it had been outside.
“You bought a house,” she commented.
“Yeah,” Waverly said with a grin. “It took a long time, but we finally agreed that it was finally time to settle in one spot instead of wandering the country for the rest of our lives.”
Wynonna paused. “We?”
Never one to miss a cue, Nicole Haught opened the sliding glass door that led to the backyard and stepped inside, pulling off a pair of work gloves. Her jeans were ripped and she was wearing heavy boots and a flannel shirt, and her hair was now short, coming down just past her chin. She was followed in by a pointer and a wire Jack Russell terrier, who both immediately sprinted over and started sniffling Wynonna everywhere they could reach.
“Waves, I don’t know what you want me to do with that stupid tree, it won’t-” Nicole stopped in her tracks when she noticed Wynonna. “O-Oh. Hey.”
“Hi.”
There was a pause that had to be about ten full minutes long.
“For hell’s sake,” Waverly finally grumbled. “Nicole, go shower and change. Drake, Fisher, go lie down. Wynonna, would you like a drink? A sandwich? We have food here.”
“Ah, but do you have donuts?”
Waverly smiled slightly and pulled open a cabinet, extracting a small box of donuts. “Not fresh baked, sorry. Just normal grocery store brand donuts. I wasn’t sure when you were coming. But I figure you won’t have any complaints.”
Wynonna was already struggling to get the box open. “No complaints from me.”
“Have fun with that,” Nicole laughed, kissing Waverly quickly and heading upstairs, leaving the two Earp sisters alone in the kitchen.
+++
Waverly sat across from Wynonna, watching in silence as she scarfed down three donuts.
“How have you been?” she finally asked, her voice low as she played with the handle of her coffee mug.
Wynonna gave the jerk of her shoulder that she used as a shrug. “Fine.”
Waverly scoffed out a laugh. “Really? Five years and all you’re gonna give me is ‘fine’?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Waves.”
“I don’t know. Anything?”
Wynonna finished her donut and rubbed at the powder on her nose. “I’ve just been… around. Went to Greece for a year. That was fun. Traveled around the rest of Europe. Spent some time in Africa. Cape Town was a shitty place to spend Christmas if you like cold weather. I dunno, Waverly, I just… was anywhere but Purgatory.”
Waverly nodded stiffly, stirring some sugar into her mug. “I tried to find you. Two years after… after. Just to see you. Gus said she had met you in Calgary for dinner once, but then… you were just… gone.” She cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair. “I went to Willa’s funeral. It was nice.”
“I wasn’t going to go there,” Wynonna said, a harsh note in her voice. “Not when I had…” She rubbed at her nose again and stood up. “You know what, I think I will take a coffee. Where are your mugs?”
“Second cabinet from the right.” Waverly watched as her sister poured herself a mug and then drank it hot and black. “Nobody ever found out about Bobo. The cops think he just disappeared. Or, at least, that’s Nedley’s official opinion on the matter. I’m pretty sure he knows the truth.”
“Clootie never came back?”
“Not that I’m aware. We… We didn’t really want to be near Purgatory either. Stopped in a few times to see Gus. That’s about it. We both went to college. That was entertaining when you’ve been labeled a serial bank robber and a corrupt cop. Let’s just say Nic and I had to give a few people some lessons in politeness while we were there.”
Wynonna snorted. “I bet that was loads of fun.”
“It was, actually.”
“So, you two…” Wynonna nodded towards the stairs. “You two are still… good?”
“Yeah, Wynonna, we are.” There was a pause as Waverly narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t think she’d still be here.”
“I guess I thought… I thought that once she realized what we had done to her life, she wouldn’t want anything to do with any of us anymore.”
Waverly smiled slightly and took a sip of her coffee. “There was a time when I wished she would. Because I blamed myself for the tornado that ripped through everything she had ever accomplished. But we rebuilt ourselves, Wynonna. And we’re happy. I’m a guidance counselor at a school for troubled kids getting second chances. It’s easy to relate. Nicole does landscaping in the spring, summer, and fall and snow removal in the fall and winter. It might seem like an odd choice, but it’s quiet and peaceful and she can work by herself and she’s good at it.” Waverly took another sip of her coffee. “I don’t think she had it in her to work with a team after what happened.”
“But you’re happy.”
Waverly grinned and nodded. “Very much so.”
Wynonna turned her head, watching the dogs chasing each other around the backyard. “I’m glad.”
+++
When Nicole came back downstairs, she was still wearing boots, jeans, and a flannel, just clean versions. She called the dogs back inside, then kissed Waverly’s cheek until she giggled and pushed her away.
“How have you been, Wynonna?” she asked as she sat down and put her feet up in Waverly’s lap.
“We’ve already gone through that,” Waverly said.
“Oh? The whole deal?”
“Yeah, you missed it.”
“Darn.” Nicole ran a hand through her hair. “I’ll have to catch the rerun when she rants about it to me tonight.”
“Rants, huh? About me?”
Nicole grinned. “Hell, Earp, I get once a week reports about how much your sister doesn’t hear from you.”
“Oh, really?” Wynonna asked, raising an eyebrow at Waverly.
“She does not. I barely talk about you at all. I’m an only child, haven’t you heard?” Waverly lightly smacked at Nicole’s knees. “Also, Nicole is an ass.”
Nicole reached over and stole Waverly’s coffee. “You like my ass.”
“Gross. I don’t think I want to talk to you two anymore.”
“Lame.” Nicole’s phone buzzed, and she glanced at it. “Shit. Mrs. O’Donaghue is bitching about her Sugar Maple again. I should go take care of that.”
“Right now?”
Nicole extracted her legs from Waverly’s lap and leaned forward to kiss her. “Gotta get paid, babe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Okay. We’re having dinner at five.”
“You know I’m always back for that,” Nicole teased with a wink.
She whistled for the dogs and then was out the door, and after a minute, Wynonna heard the truck outside drive off.
“Takes the dogs with her?”
Waverly nodded, grinning with an affection Wynonna wasn’t sure she had ever seen from her as she reached over to steal her coffee back. “They keep her company, since she doesn’t have a crew or anything.”
“Nicole always seemed so… personable. It’s hard to picture her not really liking people much anymore.”
“We all change,” Waverly murmured. “Better or worse? I’m not sure I can say.” She traced the design of the tablecloth for a moment. “She had nightmares for a while. We both did, but she had them worse. Of waking up back in prison, or, on particularly bad nights, waking up on her way to the lethal injection.”
“Jesus,” Wynonna muttered.
“There were a few times when she’d wake up in such a panic. It scared the hell out of me. And I didn’t know what to do except hold her and tell her that it would be okay. Even though I didn’t know if that was the truth.” Waverly stood, putting her mug in the sink and pulling chicken out of the fridge. She rubbed at her eyes and said, “It took a long time for Nicole to get to a point where she could sleep at night. And I’ll never begrudge her the things she has to do to keep it that way, as long as she’s happy. Because that’s all I’ve ever wanted for her.”
“You really do love that brat, don’t you?”
Waverly gave a slow nod. “I’m not sure where I’d be without her. I feel safe now, Wynonna. For the first time in a long time. And that’s thanks to Nicole.” She rubbed at her eyes again and started to prepare dinner. “Sorry. You didn’t come here to listen to me whine.”
“I came here to know you again,” Wynonna said softly. She stood and started washing both coffee mugs. “I’m game to listen to whatever that entails.”
+++
Nicole got back just in time for dinner, an event that was relatively quiet despite each of the three women’s attempts to start conversation. When they finished, Nicole started loading the dishwasher, and Wynonna grinned.
“Still whipped, then, Haught?”
“It’s a semblance of a survival instinct, Earp.”
“If you’re in such a catering mood, you can get me a glass of wine.”
“I can get you a sleeping bag to use on the porch, too.”
“Fine then. See if I share the alcohol.”
“I’m an adult with a paying job,” Nicole said as she closed the dishwasher door and took a bottle of wine out of a cabinet. “I have my own alcohol, thanks.”
“What a bitch.”
Nicole took out a glass and handed it to Wynonna. “Yes, such a bitch. How dare I give you a drinking device from which to have your wine.”
“I could’ve drunk from the bottle.”
“Please.”
“You doubt me?”
“Not at all. Doesn’t make it less lame.”
“Lame?”
“Yeah, what are you, a seventeen-year-old after prom?”
“I didn’t go to prom. How was yours? It was last week, wasn’t it?”
Waverly sighed and stood up, getting herself a glass and filling it with water.
She already knew it was going to be a long night.
+++
It was almost ten, and Wynonna and Nicole were still doing nothing but drinking wine and exchanging sarcastic barbs with each other. Waverly sat between them, rolling her eyes and sipping water.
“By the way, Haughtshot, what happened to your hair? Get it caught in a lawnmower?”
“I was going to ask the same thing about your face, but then I realized that you just got old.”
“Is that the best you got? Because I-”
“Seriously, you two?” Waverly finally interrupted, exasperation in her voice.
“What?” Wynonna and Nicole asked simultaneously.
“You’ve been bickering for three and a half hours! Are you not tired by now? Can I have a conversation with you both now?”
“Aw,” Nicole pouted. “We were having fun.”
“Probably more fun that you usually have, living with this prick,” Wynonna commented, taking a sip of her wine.
“Trust me, she has plenty of fun. Are you sure you aren’t-”
With a groan of frustration, Waverly stood up so quickly that she knocked over her chair, grabbed two glasses of water off of the table, and poured them over Wynonna and Nicole.
“There!” she yelled. “Cool off!”
They didn’t miss a beat. “Hm,” Nicole said, brushing her hair back out of her eyes. “Your sister has always been good at getting me wet, Earp.”
“That’s so smooth of you, Haught. You’re so slick.”
Waverly threw the glasses down on the floor, shattering them both.
“You should be more careful, baby,” Nicole said.
“Yeah, you might hurt somebody.”
“I swear to fucking god,” Waverly snarled as she grabbed the shotgun from by the back door and cocked it dramatically. “I am going to kill both of you. Okay? Alright?”
Nicole tilted her head to the side. “I admire your technique, Waves, but a high powered rifle would be more efficient for killing both of us.”
Waverly moaned in agony and put the shotgun back down, leaning against the wall and covering her face with her hands.
Wynonna took another sip of wine. “Your girlfriend is such a drama queen, Haught. I don’t know how you put up with her.”
“Wife.”
Wynonna choked on her drink. “Excuse me?”
Nicole gave her a smug look. “She’s not my girlfriend, Wynonna. She’s my wife. We’re married.”
As Wynonna gaped at them, Waverly grabbed Nicole by the wrist and yanked her out of her chair, pausing only long enough to point at the broken glass on the floor.
“You’d better clean that up before you go to bed,” she said to her sister, before dragging Nicole upstairs.
+++
“That was amazing,” Nicole snickered as Waverly shut their bedroom door. “I was waiting for the right moment for that, and it was perfect. I can’t believe I won a snark fight against Wynonna Fucking Earp.”
“I can’t believe you teamed up with my sister to piss me off.”
Nicole’s smirk faltered. “I-I, uh… We were just playing around, honey.”
“What was it you said earlier about survival instinct? Yeah, you don’t have one.” Waverly lightly shoved Nicole backwards onto the bed and got on top of her. “Remember that time you were really cocky for months and I made you pay for it by fucking you in the bathroom of a grocery store?”
“U-Uh… y-yes…”
Waverly trailed soft bite marks up Nicole’s neck, then lingered next to her ear. “This is going to be worse.”
+++
Wynonna planned on decking Nicole Haught the moment she saw her in the morning. Not for marrying her baby sister without asking, but for all of the loud goddamn sex that the two of them had the night before.
She knew that, based on the way Nicole had been dragged out of the room, it was probably all Waverly’s fault. That didn’t mean Nicole wasn’t the one who was going to get punched for it.
The plan fell apart the moment she saw Waverly and Nicole come down the stairs, giggling, a look on Nicole’s face so smug that Wynonna contemplated murder. But then she realized that Nicole was wearing ripped jeans and a white wife beater, and the visible skin on her arms, chest, and neck was all covered in various scratches, bites, and hickeys.
The jackass was parading the evidence of what Waverly had done to her, right in Wynonna’s face, and Wynonna didn’t even know how to respond.
“Y-You… You fucking…”
Waverly’s gaze fell to the pristine floor. “Hey, you cleaned the glass up. I’m impressed, honestly.”
As she sat down to drink her morning coffee, Wynonna regained her voice. “You fucking asshole, Haught! I had to hear you bang my sister all fucking night! Give me a reason why I shouldn’t beat the shit out of you!”
Nicole stared at her, clearly at a loss for words. “Uhm. At least you know our marriage is legitimate?”
“Oo.” Waverly winced. “Babe. No.”
Wynonna had already grabbed Nicole loosely around the neck and pinned her against the wall. “Are you fucking serious, Haught? Really? Really?”
Nicole just shrugged.
Before Wynonna could seriously consider punching her sister-in-law, Waverly said, “Aren’t we adults now? After all, Nicole and I are almost at the age to start considering kids.”
Wynonna’s arm dropped to her side like a dead weight. Nicole started choking on air. She shoved past Wynonna and picked up Waverly’s coffee to take a sip. “I-I, uh, I thought, uh…” She cleared her throat. “I thought we had agreed we didn’t want kids?”
“We did, but that reaction was hysterical.”
Nicole let out a heavy, relieved sigh and slumped down into a seat. “Jesus Christ. Don’t give me a heart attack like that.”
“It would’ve been funny if I didn’t have to think about you two pricks raising a kid,” Wynonna said, pouting as she sat down in a chair. “It would just be wrong. You’d teach them horrible things like improperly having sex when there’s a guest in the house.”
“Hm.” Nicole stole a sip of Waverly’s coffee again. “But you’re not really a guest. You’re Wynonna.”
“Shut the fuck up, Haught.” Wynonna cracked her knuckles. “Waverly, before I murder your wife, what’s for breakfast?”
“It’s being delivered.”
“Delivered?”
“Yep. Should be here in a minute or two, actually.”
The front door opened, and Gus McCready walked in, a large paper bag in her arms. “Alright, kids. I have egg sandwiches and donuts. The donuts are for sharing. Wynonna doesn’t get to eat them all.”
Wynonna made a scandalized noise as she walked over to take the bag from her aunt. “And here I thought everybody was happy I was back.”
Gus kissed her on the cheek. “We are. And we’re happy there are donuts.”
“Love you too, Gus.”
“You know you do.” Gus pointed at Nicole. “Haught, put clothes on.”
Nicole immediately scrambled towards the stairs, saying, “Yes, ma’am.”
Gus watched her go, shaking her head with an affectionate glint in her eyes. “Waverly, your girl is a disaster.”
“Not much has changed since we last saw you, then?” Waverly prompted with a grin.
“Nope.” Gus hugged her tightly. “Go smack her upside the head when she puts on one of her four billion flannel shirts. It’s funny to watch her struggle to find her one black t-shirt.”
Waverly laughed and hurried up the stairs after her wife.
“They’ll probably have sex again,” Wynonna grumbled.
“Rough night?”
“I had no idea my baby sister was such an asshole.”
“She’s an Earp, Wynonna. She really didn’t have a choice in that department.” Gus took out a bear claw and handed it to Wynonna. “I was the witness to their marriage. Nicole actually asked me for permission. The kid was a nervous wreck.”
Wynonna, halfway through the pastry, mumbled, “So you knew they were married?”
“Obviously. You didn’t?”
“Didn’t even know Nicole was here.”
“Ah. Well, she is. She and Waverly have been the constants that they each need in their lives.” Gus gave a significant pause. “They could be constants in your life, too. Just like I could be.”
“I’m not sure I deserve that,” Wynonna said softly.
“Kid. It’s been five years. It’s in the past. It’s okay to move on.”
“Is it?”
Gus kissed her on the temple and moved the bag of food away before she could steal another donut. “Yes. It’s about time you forgave yourself, don’t you think? Your family loves you, Wynonna. You don’t need to run from us.”
Wynonna stared blankly at the bag of food. “I’ve never forgiven myself for anything. But I’m starting to think that it might be about time that I did.”
+++
“Are you happy?” Nicole asked as she pulled her black t-shirt over her head.
“Happier than I’ve ever been,” Waverly replied.
Nicole gave her a look.
“Aside from marrying you, you big dumb puppy.” Waverly pushed her down onto the bed and kissed her slowly.
“You were serious, right?”
“About what?”
“You didn’t change your mind about wanting kids.”
“I haven’t changed my mind about wanting kids,” Waverly said, her voice soft. “Neither of us would be capable of handling that. Not after what we’ve been through”
Nicole nodded and kissed her. “Okay. I haven’t changed my mind either, but I wanted to make sure. I don’t want you trapped in a choice because of me.”
Waverly gave her a wry smile. “Ironic, since your entire life is basically something you’re trapped in because of me.”
Nicole pulled Waverly forward, lying her down on the bed and getting on top of her. “I would’ve chosen you no matter what, Waverly Earp,” she whispered. “Whether I was trapped. Whether I was free. Whether we met in the same circumstances or in the same lifetime. It doesn’t matter. In every version of every lifetime, I will always choose you.”
Waverly stroked Nicole’s cheek with her thumb. “I would always choose you, too.”
“That’s good,” Nicole said with a grin, “because you’re stuck with me now.” She pressed a crushing kiss to Waverly’s lips before standing back up. “Can we put our rings back on now? Since we don’t need to fuck with Wynonna anymore?”
“Absolutely.” Waverly took her wedding ring off of her nightstand and slid it onto her finger. “I don’t want to even pretend not to be married to you ever again.”
“Glad we’ve finally found some things we agree on,” Nicole joked.
With a laugh, she jogged back down the stairs.
+++
The four women sat on the porch, watching Drake and Fisher chase each other around the yard with the white picket fence.
“I still can’t believe it,” Wynonna said softly. “I can’t believe how… normal the two of you are.”
Nicole pulled Waverly closer to her, kissing the top of her head. “It took a good long while to get here,” she murmured. “Right, Waves?”
“Never thought we would. Still don’t really believe it.” Waverly snuggled up against Nicole and let out a soft, contented sigh. “I always feel like it’ll be taken away from us. Like it could be ripped away at any moment. But we have a house and a yard and a fence and dogs and jobs. And when that crime spree started, I didn’t think any of us would ever get to see our lives turn out like this.”
“I’m proud of you, you know,” Gus said, watching Drake trip over himself and go tumbling through the grass. “All three of you.”
Wynonna frowned. “What for?”
Gus looked at Waverly and Nicole cuddled up together on one chair on their own front porch, and then she looked at Wynonna, who was relaxed in her seat, the hunted look in her eyes gone for once, occasionally kicking Nicole’s foot to annoy her. All three of them, alive and together and no longer so restless.
She met Wynonna’s gaze and smiled.
“I’m proud of you for surviving.”